The Finnish based company Jolla is known for spinning off Meego into Sailfish OS. Today they have announced a major milestone in the development of their platform by achieving compatibility with both Android apps and hardware used to power Google's mobile operating system.What exactly does this mean for Sailfish OS? Well with Android's popularity in the app department, Sailfish will come with a distinct advantage over other new platforms - an established app ecosystem. As a customer we are potentially looking at Nokia quality devices with apps and specs only seen on Android devices. Something which Nokia fans could consider a dream come true.
However the Google Play Store itself won't be available to Sailfish OS users, even though app developers won't have to code their titles from scratch. Jolla will have to work with third party app stores in order to distribute their apps. Third party Android app stores like the Amazon App Store and those available on BlueStacks are already popular, but countries like China prefer them as their primary choice. Since Jolla is specifically targeting markets like China with their new platform, this may not be so bad for them.
Jolla also didn't miss the opportunity to mention Nokia and its recent deal with Microsoft, and, naturally, attempt to make the best of it:
"Due to extremely positive feedback and increased demand in the past weeks, we are offering another pre-order opportunity for our second production batch later this week through jolla.com. This will be targeted to Finnish customers who want to express their passion for the Finnish mobile industry,” said Tomi Pienimäki, CEO of Jolla.Nokia has been a national symbol to the Finish nation, and its recent acquisition has not been taken well. Given Jolla's Nokia roots, the success of the Jolla brand would ideally allow the company to take the place that some would have wish Nokia had taken.
source - Jolla