Monday, May 9, 2016

Berezkin compete with Android – Vedomosti

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Last Thursday, the Minister of Communications Nikolai Nikiforov announced in his twitter-account opened in Tatarstan Innopolis Development Center of the Russian mobile operating system (OS). We are talking about a global mobile operating system, much of the code that will be written in Russia.

The development company will “open mobile platform.” According to “SPARK-Interfax”, 80% of the company (through another company – “Votron”) belongs to the founder of the power of UST Gregory Berezkin, and the remaining 20% ​​- Mikhail Verozubov. His main task of the company calls the competition with the Android OS on the market cost of mobile devices and operating systems created by it will be based on Linux.

The resulting operating system is not meant for the public sector and for ordinary users, said “Vedomosti” Berezkin. Appearances in Russia the first devices on the OS he expects a few months later are already in talks with the producers, but with what it is – does not speak. It is assumed that these smartphones will be affordable and will not compete with premium devices Berezkin explains.

The state plan

According to the Ministry of Communications approved April 1, 2015 to plan import share of imported software client and mobile operating systems in the Russian market should be reduced from the current 95 to 75% by 2020 and to 50% by 2025.

The new OS is not created from scratch. About a year ago it became known that Berezkin has acquired the Finnish company Jolla, created originally from Nokia. The company develops its own smartphones and tablets based Sailfish OS. Berezkin said “Vedomosti” that the developers of Innopolis finalize Sailfish for the needs of Russian users – for example, the interface will translate into Russian, will work on the ecosystem and on the Sailfish ported popular applications. There were no significant improvements in the security situation is not planned, said Berezkin.

The general director of the Russian office of Lenovo Gleb Mishin said that Lenovo will discuss the possibility of partnership with Jolla and its Russian shareholders. Technical difficulties in installing the operating system Sailfish for Lenovo smartphones, he does not see, but the only advantage of this product is called open source, and the presence of the Russian shareholder. It is unlikely that this product will be prospects for the consumer market, as is very difficult to convince the ordinary customer to switch from the original to the Android system like Android, says Mishin. However, this project would have been interested in the Lenovo, if there was a separate national market: the system would pass the required certification, and at the same time the state would limit public procurement Android-devices.

The interlocutor of “Sheets” in one of the retailers also doubts about the prospects of such a device in the private market. At the expense of prices to compete with Chinese manufacturers is practically impossible, he said, as well as at the expense of custom features: buyers are accustomed to Android devices and their ecosystem.

«The Messenger” traces the emergence of interesting novelties, but have not yet had the opportunity to meet with smartphones running on Sailfish, said a representative of the retailer Maria Zaikina. The offer from the manufacturers of devices on this operating system to sell gadgets, “The Messenger” has been received. Rate perspectives on Sailfish OS devices in the Russian market Zaikina difficult, because they do not know the characteristics of these gadgets and their prices.

The development and launch of the new operating system – it is very complicated and hardly promising in the near future, says executive vice-president of “Euroset” Basil Lukanin. Competition in the market is large and the consumer OS is now understood and accepted only two OS (iOS and Android), he continues.

In November last year Jolla is in financial difficulties because of which sent about half of its employees on unpaid leave. Since September, a group of investors from different countries Jolla negotiated with the company’s management (who owns a significant share in the startup) to increase its stake. As a result, May 3 Jolla has announced a $ 12 million investment attracted to December 2015 the Company will continue to work on Sailfish OS and abandon the production of tablets, according to a report Jolla. The composition of the company did not disclose the investors. Berezkin confirmed “Vedomosti” that at the end of last year invested in further Jolla.

From this Finnish company last year and have been linked hopes the Ministry of Communications on the development of a national mobile OS. At the beginning of June 2015 Jolla won a tender of the Ministry of import substitution OS for mobile devices. In addition to the Finnish company UST entered a consortium of developers, as well as a software company and ESK “Yandex”.

OS development cost based Sailfish estimated at 2.225 billion rubles., Of which 1.89 billion rubles. It was to be financed from the budget. However, since the allocation of money for this project is the Ministry of Communications is not reported. The representative of the Ministry of Communications said that the company did not apply to the ministry for financial support.

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