After smashing through its original crowdfunding goal of $380,000 in just over two hours, eventually raising $1.8 million before the campaign closed in December, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised to see the Jolla Tablet return to Indiegogo.
To keep things interesting (and, presumably, a little more competitive), the iPad alternative, which runs Jolla’s open source Sailfish OS, is now being offered in a 64GB version, along with a few other updated specs. These include a bigger battery (4450mAh, up from 4300mAh) and limited support for microSD cards up to 128GB.
The latter means that you’ll be able to use microSD cards for back-ups and extra storage, but, due to Microsoft’s licensing limitations and to keep with Jolla’s ‘open’ ethos, cards that are over 32GB and formatted for use in the Jolla Tablet will not be readable by Windows computers or other devices, such as cameras, phones or tablets, that sport microSDXC support.
“We feel that this suits best with our community’s wishes and Jolla’s values,” says the company.
A couple of other changes see the tablet’s display now being fully laminated, and the addition of gyroscope and compass sensors. However, the proximity sensor that was previously touted will not be included.
Otherwise, on the hardware front, the Jolla Tablet is aiming to square up to the iPad Mini 2, with a 7.9-inch screen, sporting a resolution of 2048 x 1563. Inside, it’s powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, has 2GB of RAM and includes a 5MP rear camera.
Meanwhile, this time around, you have until the end of February to back the iPad alternative built by the same team of (largely) ex-Nokians who are also behind the Jolla phone.
Talking of which, the company is offering a special phone+tablet bundle as one of the available perks on its Indiegogo campaign, should you want to go all in on Sailfish OS. That’s the operating system that rose from the ashes of Nokia’s Meego OS, the company’s intended successor to Symbian before it jumped off a burning platform and into Microsoft’s arms.
Of note to previous backers of the Jolla Tablet, for a new perk of $25 you can upgrade to the new 64GB version.
Here is a full list of Jolla Tablet ‘perks’ on Indiegogo:
Jolla Tablet 32GB: $219
Jolla Tablet 64GB: $249
64GB upgrade for early birds: $25
Shipping: $20
The Combo: Tablet 32GB & Phone: $419
The Combo: Tablet 64GB & Phone: $449