problem is........... they don't make any profit on anything. And judging by their weird decisions since the begining, it seems deliberate.

When I saw it, I thought for a while: "Maybe finally something with hwkb". Jolla is really wasting the niche.

Most hardware that would be built now with a keyboard would invariably break quite quickly. Build quality has waned almost as fast as the mainstream want for a hardware keyboard. Almost.

They already are a niche product. Becoming an even more niche product would not be advisable if they wanted to turn a profit and/or continue to make strides in their visibility.

If you want visibility, do something new. Not another rectangular slab with a glass front. And before anyone starts shouting about the OS, no one really cares. If anything, the OS is a detriment.

Gonna disagree with you somewhat here. Where we agree; they need to do something different/new indeed. They did that with "The Other Half" on the initial release, but it's been some years since that first came out.

Now? They need to put something in the hands of folks that's a bit more up-to-date - specs is an argument I'll not venture into since honestly it's not the older phone and thus "new".

Where we disagree; I think this stalls a lot of the naysayers once these devices have been delivered and the company can be seen as moving forward past this tablet non-delivery. This is a necessary and visible move, but it's less about the hardware than it is about maintaining their position and intent to become an alternative solution than iOS and Android.

While I'd love to have seen a device that incorporates Kinect-like touch-less gestures - I hate touching my phone and leaving fingerprints when I need quick information and it's on my desk. Or I'd love to have seen a device that sorta breaks the mold like the vaporware Ubuntu Edge looked to do with some killer specs and industrial design - again, we knew that it was not going to make it at that campaign price. But at the end of the day, I see this as a way to stay relevant. Seems to be working; this thread as evidence.

Now let's hope the people with the devices endeavor to make something memorable as opposed to folks that just argue ad nauseum just to be right about something. I've no time or temperament to deal with that level of folly. I'd just rather deal with stuff that makes sense and has an impact.

I agree with everything you said. The kind of visibility I meant (same as the kind I thought you meant to start with) is the visibility by Jimmy Public. You know, the guy sitting next to you at work and feverishly tapping in Wazzap on his Samsung. The guy who would normally never have looked in Jolla's direction. The kind of visibility you are talking about is fine but it applies only to those who are already watching. Kinda like preaching to the converted.

By the way, the kind if customers who like Jolla for the OS (as opposed to, say despite the OS) also happen to be the kind who like a hardware keyboard. If not a complete match, there is at least a large overlap.

I truly doubt that the folks coming from iOS or Android could be converted until more functionality and devices exist. That's why I went the direction I went in regards to visibility. Simply stated, they need more than a few thousand pieces and a few hundred incomplete apps to change the layman's mind.

I am just not sold on this. That's just my personal take and perhaps my own stubbornness to accept otherwise.

buy a surface
put your fav linux + gnome3 on it
???
profit

Can you buy a surface without giving money to Microsoft?
Can you fit a surface in the pocket?

The question marks are if the wireless and/or touch will work, right?

Gotta be.