A new report translated from Finnish tech news site 3T has many in the media taking a second look at Jolla today, as comments from CEO Jussi Hurmola have led to the idea that once the first Jolla Mobile phone launches later this year, the operating system will ship with the capability to run existing Android apps without issue thanks to its integration of the ACL runtime sold by developer OpenMobile as a bridge for existing smartphone platforms that lack application volume, which includes Jolla, since it’s core operating system is MeeGo-based using the Mer Project core and Qt.
The ACL runtime as sold by OpenMobile is meant to bridge the gap between Android and platforms such as Symbian and Tizen by allowing devices based on the aforementioned operating systems to run full Android apps natively, without any performance or compatibility issues, as it uses Android Dalvik virtual machine in its core in order to be able to run Android apps. While Jolla did not outright confirm or deny whether it would or would not ship with ACL support in its first device, the company took to its Twitter account to elaborate that the addition of Android app support wasn’t the complete picture in terms of application support and that more information would be forthcoming.
Should Jolla’s first phone indeed ship with Android app compatibility via ACL, this does give it immediate access to Google Play, Amazon App Store and countless other Android apps without dealing with the negative aspects of Android, such as decreasing manufacturer support for hardware and updates and Google’s increasing shift to gain more direct control over hardware design and operating system direction. Another hint was also given in the way the first device will look like when launched when Hurmola revealed that it will feature a 3.5 inch display, but declined to elaborate further on device specifications.
Update: The spokesperson for Jolla has confirmed that the initial report was incorrect, stating that Jolla has yet to finalize its hardware spec and has also not finalized its application support and ecosystem outside what is already supported by Mer Project and has also rejected initial claims that Jolla will ship with ACL runtime support for Android apps.
“We are looking into many different options to enhance our application ecosystem story, and MeeGo as an emerging platform is of course going to look at all cross platform options. There are many different vendors and cross platform technologies in the open to provide cross platform functionality across basically all the existing ecosystems” . “We are happy to work with all these companies and communities to extend the reach of MeeGo, but we are not ready to single out any of these technologies or companies.”
