Don't think patent trolls have anything to do with it.

Jolla just have a very weak piece of hardware, which no doubt costs them more than double (mayble triple?) what most phones with similar specs would cost to make, because; 1) it's not an off the shelf OEM design, and to some extent they designed it themselves so all the packaging is different; 2) because the hardware is such an unattractive proposition for buyers and Jolla know this, they can't place large orders (because they'd go unsold), so they get no discounts or economies of scale. Yet they need to make a profit on the hardware, because they have zero income otherwise (no paid apps, no licensing Sailfish to OEMs yet), so relative to its specs and build quality the price is set at an obscene level, which then in turn puts off most potential buyers (both casual/interested, dev and primary phone purchases). Basically, with the current phone, Jolla are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

Situation is very different to the N9. Nokia had a decent piece of hardware (excellent looks) with an OS and UI that had received universal plaudits. It was a very attractive proposition. However, Elop & co needed to bury it, so hence the 'eccentric' availability, marketing and dumping it in minor markets, whilst not offering it in big markets where there was a lot of demand. Jolla on the other hand can't possibly get deals with carriers in any European (or North American) markets (beyond their native Finland), because the phone is so unattractive both spec wise and aesthetically (those bezels are so 2009) and Sailfish is still in a really basic state. So they're forced to try to enter markets where competition isn't too fierce and a small player might catch a break (Namibia, Kazakhstan etc), or gigantic markets where competition is overwhelming (India & China) but because of the vast number of consumers, they're bound to sell a few devices simply because they're a bit different.

The most positive thing for them currently is undoubtedly their deal with Hutchison Whampoa. It's extremely unlikely that 3 HK will sell many of the existing device, and I'm sure HW & Jolla are both more than aware of this ... however it shows some faith or good will on the part of a huge, global player, which stands them in good stead if future Jolla phones are an improvement, or more importantly, high quality Chinese OEMS (of which there are lots) license Sailfish and sell their devices.