Jolla tablet pre-orders go live today, Android app-compatible 64GB model for €299

Jolla today opened up pre-orders to everyone for its Sailfish OS-powered tablet. Customers in all EU countries, the States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Norway, Switzerland, India and Russia can pre-order both the 32GB and 64GB models for €267 ($298) and €299 ($335) respectively. Devices are available in limited quantities from Jolla’s own online store.

Jolla’s tablet has been in development for some time and was initially backed by crowd-funding site Indiegogo. Like many small, up and coming manufacturers, the company is supported by a loyal fanbase and constantly takes tips and suggestions from its community. Although the operating system isn’t strictly Android and doesn’t use Google Play Services, it is compatible with Android apps and comes with a simple third party store with the ability to download most of your favorite titles.

I tried the Jolla tablet back in February at MWC in Barcelona, and I was impressed by the hardware. It’s a sleek metal chassis that measures just 8.3mm thin and hosts a 7.85-inch, 2048 x 1536 fully-laminated IPS display with a pixel density of 330ppi. It’s powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core 64-bit Intel Atom processor and a 4,450mAh battery. What’s more, it has expandable storage via Micro SD (up to 128GB) and has both rear (5MP) and front (2MP) cameras.

Sailfish OS is an interesting operating system, in that it’s entirely gesture-based. There are no buttons anywhere, not even virtual ones. Various swipes and multi-touch gestures launch various layers of the UI. It’s a little unusual, but potentially very quick and productive once you’ve found your way around. I liked it a lot when I tried it out on the experimental Jolla phone, and later on the tablet.

Although the pricing is pretty competitive, it’s worth noting that if you’re ordering from the U.S., you’ll need to pay the shipping. If you’re not entirely convinced, but want a powerful 8-inch tablet, it’s worth keeping the new ASUS ZenPad 8 in mind. When in stock, that tablet gets you 64GB storage, USB Type C and 4GB RAM for just under $300.