In mid-2014 I first heard about Jolla and Sailfish OS and immediately bought a Jolla 1; wrote apps; participated in the IGG campaign for Jolla Tablet; bought the TOHKBD2; applied for (and got) Jolla C.
Sounds like the beginning of a good story doesn’t it?
Well, by the beginning of 2017 I had sold everything (except the tablet, we all know what happened to that one).
So what happened?? I was a happy Sailfish user, but Jolla’s false promises disappointed me.
Yet, despite all that, I still think about Sailfish OS to this day. I think it’s because, despite some proprietary components, the ecosystem around Sailfish OS is ultimately open source. And that’s what interests me. It also got a fresh update which solves some of the problems that where there 5 years ago.
Nowadays, thanks to the community , Sailfish OS can be installed on many devices, even if with some less components, but I’m looking for that complete experience and so I asked on the forum if there was someone willing to sell his Xperia device with or without the license… and I got one for free. Better still, in exchange for some apps!
To decide which applications to create, I therefore took a look at that ecosystem. I started with the apps I use daily on Android and looked for the Sailfish OS alternative (spoiler: I’m impressed, good job guys!).
I am writing them all here because I am sure it will be useful to someone else:
- AntennaPod (podcast app) -> PodQast
- Ariane (gemini protocol browser)
- AsteroidOS (AsteroidOS sync) -> Starfish
- Connectbot (ssh client) -> built-in (Terminal)
- Conversation (xmpp client) -> built-in (Messaging)
- Davx5 (caldav/cardav) -> built-in (Account)
- DroidShows (TV series) -> SeriesFinale
- Element (Matrix client) -> Determinant
- Endoscope (camera stream)
- Fedilab (Mastodon client) -> Tooter
- ForkHub (GitHub client) -> SailHub
- FOSS Browser -> built-in (Browser)
- FreeOTP -> SailOTP
- Glider (hacker news reader) -> SailHN
- K-9 Mail -> built-in (Mail)
- KDE Connect (KDE sync) -> SailfishConnect
- Keepassx (password manager) -> ownKeepass
- Labcoat (GitLab client)
- Lemmur (Lemmy client)
- MasterPassword (password manager) -> MPW
- MuPDF (PDF reader) -> built-in (Documents)
- Newpipe (YouTube client) -> YTPlayer
- Nextcloud (Nextcloud files) -> GhostCloud
- Notes (Nextcloud notes) -> Nextcloud Notes
- OCReader (Nextcloud RSS) -> Fuoten
- OsmAnd~ (Maps) -> PureMaps
- Printing (built-in) -> SeaPrint
- QuickDic (dictionary) -> SailyDict
- RedMoon (screen color temperature) -> Tint Overlay
- RedReader (Reddit client) -> Quickddit
- Signal -> Whisperfish
- Syncthing (files sync) -> there’s the binary, no UI
- Transdroid (Trasmission client) -> Clutch
- Vinyl (music player) -> built-in (Mediaplayer)
- VLC (NFS streaming) -> videoPlayer
- WireGuard (VPN) -> there’s the binary, no UI
- YetAnotherCallBlocker (call blocker) -> Phonehook
So, to me it looks like almost everything is there, except:
- a gemini protocol browser
- a client for GitLab
- a client for Lemmy
- a UI for Syncthing
- a UI for Wireguard
I’ve already started to write a UI for Syncthing, then maybe I could write the browser for the gemini protocol or rather the GitLab client?
Please consider a donation if you would like to support me (mention your favourite project!).
Many many thanks to Jörg who sent me his Sony Xperia 10 Plus! I hope I don’t disappoint him!
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