Jolicloud netbook ships in the UK

A Linux-based netbook that uses software from French development company Jolicloud has been launched.

Tariq Krim, co-founder and chief executive of Jolicloud, told ZDNet UK that the Jolicloud-based netbook — known as the Jolibook — began shipping to UK customers on Monday.

The Jolibook popped up for pre-order on Amazon on 12 November, and is currently showing as due for delivery in one-to-three months. However, Krim said that this delivery estimate is incorrect, and that units began shipping on Monday morning.

"The delivery is actually wrong [on Amazon]. If you buy it, it will come the next day. Amazon said they will be updating it Monday morning," Krim said.

Manufactured by Vye Computers, the Jolibook pairs a 1.5GHz dual-core Atom N550 processor, 1GB RAM and a 250GB hard drive alongside the Jolicloud 1.1 operating system. It also has a claimed battery life of seven hours and is priced at £279.99.

The Jolibook, equipped with Jolicloud OS 1.0 and manufactured by Vye Computers, has begun delivery. Photo credit: Jolicloud

The Jolicloud OS places an emphasis on cloud computing and is built using HTML5. It comes preloaded with a number of popular apps such as the Google Chromium browser — the open-source version of the Chrome browser — as well as Facebook, Spotify, Skype and the VLC media player.

When asked whether the Jolibook would make it to other markets outside the UK, Krim said that the UK is a "test market".

"We wanted to try the UK market first, as we feel it's a really interesting market," Krim said. "Also, the partner that we're working with has a lot of connections with the education market, so we made sure that the product we have is not only good for social and apps but also for schools... It's compatible with the English school system."

Krim also said that the company is talking to investors about the possibility of other manufacturers launching Jolibook products.

"We're discussing it with a lot of our funders... The idea for us is that we're not a hardware company, so we don't do Jolibooks... If people are willing to make a computer that has an affordable price, a differentiated design and install Jolicloud as the default OS, then they are good-to-go for a Jolibook."

Currently, the only way to purchase the Jolibook is via Amazon or directly from the Vye Computers listing, but Krim says that they will be looking to add more.

"Initially we've launched with just a few online stores but we're looking at a wider [distribution]," he said.