Jolla’s Sailfish operating system has not had much time in the spotlight lately. It is not because there is nothing newsworthy about it, but in the hyper-competitive landscape of smartphones, the established players are not slowing down for anyone.

Sailfish made its official debut last year, and the reception was generally warm. The media took it for what Sailfish was, a new operating system. The market focus for hardware and the OS in general has been centered on the European markets since then.

Sailfish OS is distinct in that, similar to webOS, it is navigated completely by gestures, there are no navigation buttons.  For some that will mean a learning curve from a device like an iPhone, Windows Phone, or event an Android device, as the "home" button is a bit of a refuge (when in doubt, just push the button). 

If you have been wanting to take a look at how the Sailfish experience might work for you, but are not in Europe or did not want to spend €349 ($475) on a new mid-range-spec device like the Jolla Smartphone, there is good news. Jolla announced that it is going to make available a Community Alpha test of a Sailfish launcher for Android devices, provided they are running Android 4.3 or later.

The process to get an installation link for your device is simple, but available only for a limited time:
  • Send an email to jolla-launcher@jolla.com from your Google account by June 27, 2014
  • Include your name and which device you are using
  • Await a Google Play installation link with instructions

    • Jolla states that your email will be used solely for purposes of registering users for the Community Alpha and keep you up to speed with progress during testing. Once the Alpha test period is over, your email will be purged.

    To participate, the following is required:

    • You must have a Nexus 4 or Nexus 5, or a device running Android 4.3 or higher
    • You must have a Google account (presumably with unfettered access to Google Play)
    • You must be willing to provide feedback and report issues during the test period to together.jolla.com

    After this phase of testing, there will be another test period that will be available to more people. The Jolla Launcher is designed to provide an experience of Sailfish OS, and it will work like a skin on the Android device. Jolla is calling it “risk free,” and it certainly looks like a great way to generate interest. Are you going to give it a try?

    sources: The Jolla Blog via Daily Mobile

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