Firefox OS Developer Preview Devices Announced(geeksphone.com)
geeksphone.com
Firefox OS Developer Preview Devices Announced
http://www.geeksphone.com
18 comments
The developer preview is an actual phone, not a webpage.
Currently it's just a webpage, because you can't actually buy the developer preview phone yet. It will be a phone, but it isn't yet.
No buy link, what a wasted announcement.
They unveiled... a holding page.
Not that I think it's a good practice, but the fact is a lot of companies announce products with great fanfar before they're actually available. Right now there's a press conference where they're talking about the phones. There's a Twiter tag:
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23geeksphone&src=hash
Since Geeksphone is in Madrid, twenty minutes from my home, I hope I can just walk in and buy one as soon as they're for sale.
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23geeksphone&src=hash
Since Geeksphone is in Madrid, twenty minutes from my home, I hope I can just walk in and buy one as soon as they're for sale.
They should have at least had a a announcement mailing list for me to enter....
While i am a Mozilla Fans, i hate to admit it is just not a well run company.
While i am a Mozilla Fans, i hate to admit it is just not a well run company.
The parts that matter are quite well run but the marketing side of things could apparently use some polish. For what it's worth this is simply a dev phone announcement and not meant to be a consumer device announcement.
I am quite excited for this not because FxOS will take over android/iOS but because it will give people a trusted organization behind their private data. This has less impact on the North American market but more in other countries that tend to value privacy.
I am quite excited for this not because FxOS will take over android/iOS but because it will give people a trusted organization behind their private data. This has less impact on the North American market but more in other countries that tend to value privacy.
This website is made by geeksphone, which Wikipedia says is a Spanish startup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeeksPhone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeeksPhone
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I'm stoked that they partnered with geeksphone. I adored my geeksphone one. The pricing is what will be important here, as the low end android handsets are still lacking in the low-end market, in terms of performance anyway[0].
If they beat Androids performance, and development is easy, then it has a shot in my opinion. I mean, your basic apps are there already (such as http://x.Facebook.com), and if it's simple enough to port my mobile web apps over, I know I'll take the plunge.
[0] Source: I sell phones in Australia
If they beat Androids performance, and development is easy, then it has a shot in my opinion. I mean, your basic apps are there already (such as http://x.Facebook.com), and if it's simple enough to port my mobile web apps over, I know I'll take the plunge.
[0] Source: I sell phones in Australia
I loaded up Firefox OS on a Nexus S a few months back and the performance was really really poor compared to Android 4 running on the same hardware.
Their low end device looks similarly specced, so I'm a bit worried about how it will come off. Haven't gone through loading up the latest builds so perhaps performance has improved a lot.
Before Android 4.* (especially 4.1 and Butter) I think there was room for another competitor in the market, but I'm having a hard time believing FirefoxOS is going to be able to make significant inroads.
Android has finally grown up and contract-free low end phones are now available for $60. I would expect the 2013 ultra low end handsets will be 4.* which is really going to be a game changer.
Their low end device looks similarly specced, so I'm a bit worried about how it will come off. Haven't gone through loading up the latest builds so perhaps performance has improved a lot.
Before Android 4.* (especially 4.1 and Butter) I think there was room for another competitor in the market, but I'm having a hard time believing FirefoxOS is going to be able to make significant inroads.
Android has finally grown up and contract-free low end phones are now available for $60. I would expect the 2013 ultra low end handsets will be 4.* which is really going to be a game changer.
The performance of Firefox OS today on 800MHz hardware is many times better than it was on the Nexus S devices back in the day. This is partly due to hardware but mostly due to the OS maturing.
In short, today's build of Firefox OS will run very fast on these developer specifications.
In short, today's build of Firefox OS will run very fast on these developer specifications.
Good to hear, maybe time to load it up again to see where it has gone. I was really jazzed about it (bought a Nexus S just for the occasion) but seeing just how bad it was really broke my heart.
"A few months back" is like 1/3rd the lifetime of the project. Also you're comparing a development pre-1.0 release with a 4.x release of another project. On most phones in the target price range, the latter isn't even going to run.
Agree on a few months back perhaps being ancient history.
Disagree that it is unfair to compare FirefoxOS and Android, consumers don't care who started when, they care about the product now. (and let's not forget FirefoxOS is bootstrapped off of Android so they are hardly starting from scratch)
Disagree that it is unfair to compare FirefoxOS and Android, consumers don't care who started when, they care about the product now. (and let's not forget FirefoxOS is bootstrapped off of Android so they are hardly starting from scratch)
>they care about the product now
They care about what is on their phone when it is released. I'm pretty sure that's not going to be a version "of a few months back" from now!
Conversely, all the really cheap Android phones on sale here run either 2.2, 2.3, or if you're very lucky, 4.0. And I don't expect those to magically get 4.1.2/4.2 anytime soon.
I get the impression the HN crowd doesn't really know what a low end phone is, let alone they have seen or used one.
They care about what is on their phone when it is released. I'm pretty sure that's not going to be a version "of a few months back" from now!
Conversely, all the really cheap Android phones on sale here run either 2.2, 2.3, or if you're very lucky, 4.0. And I don't expect those to magically get 4.1.2/4.2 anytime soon.
I get the impression the HN crowd doesn't really know what a low end phone is, let alone they have seen or used one.
I live in Rwanda, so I very much know what the IDEOS and company are like. As a matter of fact I have both versions of the IDEOS in my drawer actually.
I'll check out Firefox OS on the latest builds for sure, but I'd be surprised if we weren't seeing the new IDEOS coming out this year with the latest 4.x Android. We'll see.
I hope Firefox OS does well, I'm just saying that their window of opportunity for addressing the low end market with something unique is very quickly closing.
I'll check out Firefox OS on the latest builds for sure, but I'd be surprised if we weren't seeing the new IDEOS coming out this year with the latest 4.x Android. We'll see.
I hope Firefox OS does well, I'm just saying that their window of opportunity for addressing the low end market with something unique is very quickly closing.
Firefox OS is not bootstrapped off of Android. In fact, it is nothing to do with Android. Firefox OS is a Gecko engine (the one behind Firefox) being run by a light-weight Linux kernel. There is no Android in there.
> In fact, it is nothing to do with Android.
Err, well, no. You're both right. The lowest levels of B2G are the kernel from Android, RIL (telephony stack from Android), and other little bits like that (e.g. gralloc, which is what allows the fast texture sharing). There's a lot of Android in B2G, but it's well out of the view of users.
Err, well, no. You're both right. The lowest levels of B2G are the kernel from Android, RIL (telephony stack from Android), and other little bits like that (e.g. gralloc, which is what allows the fast texture sharing). There's a lot of Android in B2G, but it's well out of the view of users.
Yep. Android is going to go over the top this year selling 4.x devices well under the price points of any of the competition.
Software ultimately matters more than hardware and we're rapidly getting to that point in mobile.
Software ultimately matters more than hardware and we're rapidly getting to that point in mobile.
Is that an officially endorsed dev platform by Mozilla? It sure seems to imply it, but I can't see anything on the website that directly says so. I have no doubt it'll run the builds, but when you're buying a pre-launch dev platform it makes a big difference if it's the one the core devs are going to be using and be an official platform target. I'm not suggesting it isn't, but its not on the site.
Is this official enough? It's on the front page. https://hacks.mozilla.org/2013/01/announcing-the-firefox-os-...
I'm going to buy a device just to support their initiative. For some reason I think it might become a raspberry pi of phone segment. Everything is open source so it's possible to tweak it as much as you heart desires.
Considering specs of the lower gen phone it should cost about $100.
Considering specs of the lower gen phone it should cost about $100.
A $100-to-consumers, thoroughly hackable phone would be a bonanza for geeky hobbyists, feature phone users and Chinese companies selling to the developing world. Let's see if they can get prices down to where people will not think too much about how they'd rather have Android.
I know Javier, the 20-yo entrepreneur behind Geeksphone - he's a brilliant mind, simply outstanding. I also know the CEO, really nice guy.
They knew it was gonna be a risky move, but I think they just nailed it. Congratulations Javier and the Geeksphone staff!
Aww come on! I just ordered an N9 so I could run Firefox OS (and several other phone OSes coming out this year) and now this comes out?
The masses: "Should I buy an iPhone or a Galaxy?"
On the other hand it's a dev preview, not something designed to be used by high end customers.
I think the important point is that consumers don't care about Firefox OS today, and likely won't in the future, even if it ever becomes widely available.
Right now, Firefox OS is extremely far back in line. It's behind Android, iOS, various mobile versions of Windows, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, MeeGo, and several others.
If it offered something special, then there's the remote possibility that it could succeed. But it really doesn't. It's quite unremarkable, and the emphasis on using HTML5 and JavaScript for app development will likely repulse many good developers who'd prefer to use a language like C, C++, Java or Objective-C.
It just keeps looking more and more like a dead end, even as they make progress.
Right now, Firefox OS is extremely far back in line. It's behind Android, iOS, various mobile versions of Windows, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, MeeGo, and several others.
If it offered something special, then there's the remote possibility that it could succeed. But it really doesn't. It's quite unremarkable, and the emphasis on using HTML5 and JavaScript for app development will likely repulse many good developers who'd prefer to use a language like C, C++, Java or Objective-C.
It just keeps looking more and more like a dead end, even as they make progress.
the emphasis on using HTML5 and JavaScript for app development will likely repulse many good developers who'd prefer to use a language like C, C++, Java or Objective-C.
But it will attract developers who use HTML5 and Javascript, of which there are a great number.
FirefoxOS is clearly aiming itself at low-end devices in emerging markets. None of the other players have done a great job here, so yes, there is a market. We're just not in it.
But it will attract developers who use HTML5 and Javascript, of which there are a great number.
FirefoxOS is clearly aiming itself at low-end devices in emerging markets. None of the other players have done a great job here, so yes, there is a market. We're just not in it.
A brand new thing is not behind things which have been effectively abandoned by their makers, such as Symbian. Even compared with platforms like Blackberry, there is much greater opportunity to build momentum as a new exciting thing (Blackberry isn't going anywhere). Which isn't to say this momentum will be used well.
Like it or not, the core of the idea is using web technologies. And there are good developers who like this. After all, you can use the same mix of skills to make the website as the mobile app.
If you want to write apps in Java or Objective-C, there are already platforms for that. Firefox OS will not get extra traction by being an inferior version of those platforms.
Like it or not, the core of the idea is using web technologies. And there are good developers who like this. After all, you can use the same mix of skills to make the website as the mobile app.
If you want to write apps in Java or Objective-C, there are already platforms for that. Firefox OS will not get extra traction by being an inferior version of those platforms.
It's a ton of wasted effort, at best. From the start I've failed to understand why Mozilla thinks something like this is necessary, or even wanted.
The OS is meant to be on phones targeted at consumers outside the typical smartphone market. It's supposed to be a high quality low-end alternative to iOS/Android, unless I'm forgetting something.
The first world middle class masses, sure.
It's too late in this generation for another serious competitor to emerge in mobile. Microsoft might be able to muscle its way into double digits but everybody else is just too late to the game now.
Better to focus on what comes after phones & tablets, whatever that is.
Better to focus on what comes after phones & tablets, whatever that is.
There is still a lot of dissatisfaction with mobile, and plenty of room for improvement. The leaders want you to marry their platform at the expense of services offered by competitors. A newcomer might make inroads just by making it easy to use various competing services out of the box.
That describes Apple well enough but Google's stuff is everywhere and best in class in most cases.
Google Sync was EOL'd 2 days before I bought my Windows 8 phone, leaving me with no way to sync my Google calendar on it. I don't want to be in anybody's walled garden exclusively, I want more interoperability and platform independence. Even Google has plenty of room for improvement.
It's certainly best in class in touch parallax and mediocre usability.
Because nothing defines usability like a crap soft keyboard, broken voice search, broken inter-app sharing, tiny, static notifications, and junk stock apps, right?
Take away Gmail, Google maps, and Google search and all your iphone has left to brag about is smooth scrolling.
Take away Gmail, Google maps, and Google search and all your iphone has left to brag about is smooth scrolling.
You act like everybody wants to be the next Apple. I and many others will be happy with a smart phone that runs free software. There's room in this space for "The Red Hat of Phones" to come make some money and foster a loyal, if small, community. I don't know who it will be yet, but I don't think anybody expects Mozilla or Canonical to produce the next iphone.
Not enough others to drive a third app ecosystem or significant profit base.
Did they not say exactly that about Linux in the 90s?
Why do you need a third app ecosystem when a significantly more open phone should be able to run most code written for Linux or the web? Again, nobody is claiming they'll be the next iphone.
Why do you need a third app ecosystem when a significantly more open phone should be able to run most code written for Linux or the web? Again, nobody is claiming they'll be the next iphone.
If you are Mozilla, then likely it's not better to focus on what comes after. Because you have no idea what that is, and it might not even provide an opening for promoting the open web, to which "app stores" based on proprietary technologies are antithetical.
Looks like it is an ARM v7 CPU in the cheaper device (ARM v6 S1 SOC CPU cores don't go up to 1GHz), which is good to see as the baseline.
The Keon:
CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 1Ghz.
UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA).
GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE).
Screen 3.5" HVGA Multitouch.
Camera 3 MP.
4 GB (ROM) and 512 (RAM).
MicroSD, Wifi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB.
Battery 1580 mAh.
The Peak: CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.2Ghz x2. UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA). GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE). Screen 4.3" qHD IPS Multitouch. Camera 8 MP (back) + 2 MP (front). 4 GB (ROM) and 512 (RAM). MicroSD, Wifi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB, Flash (camera). Battery 1800 mAh.
The Peak: CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.2Ghz x2. UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA). GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE). Screen 4.3" qHD IPS Multitouch. Camera 8 MP (back) + 2 MP (front). 4 GB (ROM) and 512 (RAM). MicroSD, Wifi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB, Flash (camera). Battery 1800 mAh.
There's a phrase that has been going around the usual meme-heavy sites for some time that I think would be useful here: "Shut up and take my money." Strutting around while making announcements of something people already know about, only to have those announcements lead to a holding page rather than a buying opportunity, only irritates people. Give them something they can buy, and they will.
Couldn't they have done this design without ripping off the water droplet background from Apple? http://www.geeksphone.com/#slider-peak
The windows in my 1850s-era apartment do this automatically when it rains, so I'm guessing Apple didn't come up with this idea alone.
irony: this site looks bad on firefox for android
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Looking forward to holding this in my hand. For a few cents per unit, they might have made it even more compelling by adding dual SIM slots, certainly Chinese vendors seem to be able to manage this on <$100 Android handsets.