Jolla's Sailfish OS now compatible with Android hardware and apps

Finnish-based Jolla, responsible forthe MeeGo-spinoff that is the Sailfish OS, has today announced thatit has hit a major milestone by achieving compatibility with bothAndroid apps, and the hardware that usually powers Google's OS.

This will definitely make Sailfish aconsiderably more enticing option for manufactures that wouldusually think long and hard before getting involved with a new OS. AndAndroid's sheer popularity, while a part of the equation, is hardlythe sole reason for OEMs' abstinence from experimenting – as greatas the OS itself may be, in the end it's only as good as its appecosystem is extensive. In the case of Jolla and its nascent SailfishOS, the aforementioned problem should prove to be much less of anissue, seeing as the company is already boasting that ultra-popularapps such as Spotify, WhatsApp and Instagram are fully functional onSailfish. This has the potential to convince quite a few moremanufacturers to give Sailfish a spin.

As is to be expected – it's not allgood. While Jolla's brainchild won't have app developers code theirtitles from scratch, the Finnish company says that the Play Storewon't be available. Instead, Jolla will be working with third partyapp stores, which are pretty popular in places like China (which,incidentally, is a market Jolla is specifically targeting), but notnearly as much in the West.

Jolla also didn't miss theopportunity to mention Nokiaand its recent deal with Microsoft, and, naturally, attempt to make the best of it:

In case you didn't know, Fins, naturally, haven't taken the news that the company that has turned into a sort ofnational symbol has been sold off very well. As you probably guessed, thismeans that Jolla will have the opportunity to swoop in and fill thevacuum left behind – after all, the company ismade up of Nokia refugees.

source: Jolla