Interview: Jolla (Sailfish OS) CEO Sami Pienimäki

Loading player...
In this episode of the podcast, Duncan McLeod is joined by Jolla CEO Sami Pienimäki to talk about the implications for the world of smartphone operating systems of the US government’s decision to force Google to hang up on Huawei.
In the podcast, Pienimäki discusses the impact the decision could have on Jolla’s Sailfish OS, an open-source smartphone operating system tailored for business users and governments around the world. Jolla, Pienimäki says, has received enormous interest from Chinese smartphone makers in Sailfish OS in the wake of the US government’s directive to Google.
Could Sailfish OS, which has its origins in the Linux-based MeeGo OS – previously developed by Finland’s Nokia and US chip giant Intel – potentially be an alternative operating system to Android for Chinese device makers that fear being cut off by Google? Pienimäki explains why he thinks this is the case.
Sailfish OS, which runs Android apps, can be installed by users on a range of handsets, with the software actively being developed and ported by a large community of open-source developers.
Pienimäki explains why Jolla pivoted from the consumer market – at one time it developed its own smartphone and tablet devices – and into the corporate and public sector markets, and why he believes the US government’s moves against Huawei will shake the foundations of the mobile industry.
He talks about Android’s dominance – it’s installed on about 90% of active smartphones – and whether this dominance is poised to be broken by the developments around Huawei. Could a third major smartphone operating system platform now emerge?
He provides his views on Huawei’s new Hongmeng OS, and its chances of success, and talks about why he thinks previous attempts to tackle Android’s dominance with projects such as Ubuntu Touch and the Firefox OS failed.
It’s a great discussion. Don’t miss it!
24 May 2019 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS | Donovan Marsh on AI and the future of filmmaking

Award-winning South African film director Donovan Marsh has pivoted to artificial intelligence filmmaking and believes generative AI tools could fundamentally reshape how movies are made – and who gets to make them. Marsh, whose 30-year career includes directing the Hollywood submarine thriller Hunter Killer starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman,…
7 Apr 52 min

TCS+ | Vodacom Business moves to crack the SME tech gap

Everyone agrees that small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the South African economy. But the reality on the ground tells a different story – too many small businesses are still running on spreadsheets and WhatsApp, locked out of the tools that could help them compete. In this episode…
5 Apr 34 min

TCS | MTN’s Divyesh Joshi on the strategy behind Pi

MTN South Africa has launched Pi, a digital-only mobile operator that runs on MTN’s network but operates as a standalone brand, offering contract-free mobile and home 5G connectivity through a single app, with no call centres, no credit checks and no lock-in. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, TechCentral…
1 Apr 21 min

TCS | Anoosh Rooplal on the Post Office’s last stand

The South African Post Office has been in business rescue – a form of bankruptcy protection – since July 2023. Business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons have made it clear to parliament that the entity will not survive liquidation unless a R3.8-billion bailout is received soon. With some…
27 Mar 27 min

Meet the CIO | Healthbridge CTO Anton Fatti on the future of digital health

Anton Fatti, chief technology officer of HealthBridge, says the doctor-patient relationship must remain at the centre of digital transformation in healthcare, even as AI reshapes how medical practices operate. Speaking on TechCentral’s Meet the CIO podcast series, brought to you by NTT DATA, Fatti said AI and cloud computing are…
23 Mar 45 min