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Posts: 15 | Thanked: 206 times | Joined on Jul 2012 @ Finland
#366
Wow, there is many articles coming in Finland Sorry for these wall of textes! Is there a possibility to do spoiler-tags so I could hide some text inside them?

This article is from Finnish newspaper called Uusi Suomi

http://www.uusisuomi.fi/raha/51905-j...koinen-tilanne

Jolla can become a bitter pill to Nokia: "Special situation"

"Well this is a special situation", admits Jussi Harmola. He is the CEO of the mobile phone company called Jolla, which came to public last weekend. He worked with his team at Nokia in february 2011 developing MeeGo -operating system and smart phones based to that OS.

Then came the day (11th of February 2011) and the turn, that afterwards closed down the entire MeeGo team at Nokia. CEO Stephen Elop firstly crushed MeeGo project because it was too slow and after that announced that Nokia will go with Microsoft and its Windows Phone.

Jussi Hurmiolas career at Nokia ended in March 2012.

"The whole MeeGo-organization just disappeared. Half of the people in Jolla is from Nokia and major part is the ones who got fired", says Hurmola to Uusi Suomi (another Finnish newspaper)

Jolla was founded within Nokias Bridge program, which Nokia created to support the redundant workers re-employment and entrepreneurship. Now the former Nokia MeeGo team members are developing Jolla MeeGo-based smart phone to Nokia Windows phones as a competitor.

"Nokia developed something great - the world's best smartphone product. It deserves a successor", Jolla announced during the weekend.

Jollas possible success would not benefit Nokia, as MeeGo is an open source software. It is managed by the Linux Foundation, and the software is free to be developed and used.

"After all, this is an unusual situation, but this is how open source software works", Hurmola says.

Hurmola does not want to comment on Nokia's solution to push MeeGo, developed with high expectations, aside.

"None of us at Nokia was at a level that we would know reasons for the decision", he says.

"We are grateful for Nokias Bridge program."

Equally polite Nokia welcomed yesterday Jolla to the smart phone field.

Jolla has a tough goal: the first smartphone to be announced as early as this year. What makes this challenging project easier is the fact that the operating system is familiar.

"We've already done this a couple of times", Hurmola says, referring to Nokia's so far the only MeeGo phone, N9-model.

"We are not starting from scratch."

The designing of the new phone was started already last year. The manufacturing of the device will be done by external partner, Hurmola says. Jolla is responsible for equipment design and operating system.

"There will be more news after a while. Our partner is an international, large company", Hurmola reveals little bit more to open.

About the features of the upcoming smartphone Hurmola remains silent.

"At the time of the anouncement, the company will explain in more detail what this device is and what it has eaten", Hurmola says.

"But what we are doing, is a new interface and new user experience. That is why we chose MeeGo so that we are able to lead and make new things by ourselves. [Apple's] iPhone and [Google] Android operating systems are great, but people have already seen them and may want something new. You can learn from these operating systems.

Hurmola has announced the company's goal to develop tens of millions of phones as a seller. He is asked about the big talking and he has to specify that it is not a goal but a strategy.

"In this area, it is difficult to be a small player. If you want to be in this area, one needs to be big."

"Our goal is to generate a wave that will swing this market, and ride on top of the wave with Jolla-based telephones.

According to Hurmola, the company is currently having the foundation money for the first part which is the designation of the product. The donors are private investors.

"After the weekend there has been contacts from institutional investors. But we want to go with private investors might, so that we can manage our project better."