Jolla, a rival to Android, tapped crowdfunding site Indigogo Wednesday to support a new tablet and hit its funding goal of $380,000 in just two hours.
The device is 7.9-inches and has a 2,048 x1,536-pixel resolution display, as well as a 5-megapixel camera. More importantly, however, the device runs the company's operating system, Sailfish OS, which is based in Linux.
"Jolla Tablet's Sailfish operating system will be unlike anything you've tried before. Once you try it, you'll never want to go back," said the company on the Indiegogo page. "Independent and open source, change whatever you like, whenever you like."
Sailfish is different in both design and functionality from Android and iOS. The operating system is based mainly on swipes and the company has said it is very focused on multitasking. For example, instead of a user having to switch between active apps, multiple active apps can be displayed on the screen at once.
"Multitasking on Sailfish OS shows all your running apps conveniently in one single view," continued the company. "At a glance, you'll see everything that's going on, as well as easily switch between apps. You can also control Sailfish OS apps directly from the multitasking view -- for example, change your music or play and pause your video stream without opening the app in full."
One concern many users are likely to have is a lack of apps, since the OS is relatively new. While it does not have access to the Google Play store as it's not an Android device, many Android apps can run on the tablet, which can be downloaded through third-party app stores such as Apptoid.
Jolla was first created by a number of ex-Nokia employees and the company debuted its first smartphone in November 2013. Initially, 450 handsets were available via a local carrier in Finland, DNA. The device then hit the shelves in December 2013 and is now available in Finland and other parts of Russia. The new tablet will ship to the U.K., wider distribution in Europe, the U.S., India, China, Hong Kong and Russia.
Sailfish OS is very much focused on privacy and customizability, with the company saying it will not share users' information with other companies. The open-source operating system is currently at version 2.0.
"We are completely different to any other company you'll ever support," said the company. "All of our customers can have their say on the direction of our products through Jolla and other open source communities that we work closely with. Help us make the Jolla Tablet, then be a part of making it yours."
