“This week we are announcing our new Firefox OS developer preview phones because we believe that developers will help bring the power of the web to mobile. These developer phones are being developed by Geeksphone in partnership with Telefonica and Geeksphone.” Loving the orange.
…as ubuntu’s phone os.
i.e. not successful.
Reasoning? Dismissing the success of an OS by it’s perceived (by you) future commercial failure is childish. This is an Operating System site, we’re interesting in Operating Systems here; hobby OS, commercial, has-been’s, and educational.
Edited 2013-01-22 12:48 UTC
I’m excited about it, as well as Ubuntu Phone OS. I plan on installing B2G/Firefox OS on my Nexus S once I upgrade this summer.
Android wasn’t successful the first year it was publicly available, and look at it now. Granted, Google is bigger than Mozilla and Canonical, but you can’t say for sure where a technology will go until it’s been in the open for a while.
Plus, Google don’t necessarily have any motive to stamp on Mozilla for this. Their aim is to drive people to their online services, which is almost as likely to happen to users of Firefox OS as users of Android.
I’d be more worries about Apple because some of the screenshots look more akin to the iPhone than any of Samsung’s handsets did:
https://hacks.mozilla.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/geeksphone-peak…
Is too early to tell. There are a few interesting things to note.
Negative:
1) The mobile market is notoriously difficult to break into, especially now that all the “easy” avenues to gain marketshare have been taken advantage of by Apple and Android.
2) It is unclear if Firefox has the developer outreach muscle to bootstrap the OS.
3) Aiming for emerging markets doesn’t immediately imply success. What medium to long term strategy does Mozilla have? I’d be interested in their long term roadmap.
4) Can they get more OEMs on board? Do OEMs see a need for this vs Android or low end Windows Phones?
Positive:
1) Firefox is competing in a segment of the mobile market that isn’t as entrenched, and lends itself nicely to new comers. Most of the up and coming OSes without deep financial pockets are targeting this because its the next frontier in the mobile OS wars.
2) With Firefox’s use of HTML5, there is a lower barrier to entry. Has this ever translated into success beyond on paper? Has there been one HTML based App platform which showed any sort of tangible benefits? I’m skeptical, but optimistic here.
3) Nokia broke into emerging markets in a big way again with their Asha Series40 line, especially their Asha Touch range (blurs line between feature and smart phone). Based on Mozilla’s initial hardware, this could be an Asha competitor. If anything, it proves the idea has legs.
I don’t think Firefox OS will be successful overnight. If they’re lucky, we’ll see shoots of growth a few quarters to a year from now. I expect this to be something they gradually work away at, and there is a lot of room for Mozilla, or anyone else to slip up.
I was psyched right up until I looked at the specs on the phones: no UMTS Band IV. Crap. Well, guess I’m just going to have to find something else to install Firefox OS on.
The specs are less because they are aiming for the for lower-end smartphones market. Especially the developing countries such as Brazil and China.
In countries like Brazil marketshares aren’t yet set, supposedly that is where the most growth and demand is for a new type of phone.
The world needs more orange coloured handsets. Best of luck to Mozilla.
It looks very much like an ZTE (Chinese company) Blade 2 or Blade 3 with what it seems like almost (if not totally) identical specs. Can it be another rename for this phone? (In some countries they are called “san fransisco”, in others “wind” and so many other names.) If so i am very happy, then maybe i could wipe this phone i have and install firefoxOS on it instead of android and play with it one day. I doubt i would buy a new one anytime soon though as i upgrade phones about once every 9 years or so.
Good catch; it most certainly is.
Not a bad base.
Mozilla does work with ZTE on phones, so wouldn’t be surprised if it is.
Developer phones usually aren’t all that different from existing models, but I’m sure you knew that. 🙂
Edited 2013-01-22 19:00 UTC
… but only those who are Dutch or have lived in the Netherlands can really appreciate it. For all the others here’s a refresher:
http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2010/11/30/no-7-orange/
Though, with mobile, orange colour is often associated with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_(telecommunications) …misleadingly, in this case
(since Firefox OS is in partnership with Telefonica, the phones should be dark blue I suppose)
Edited 2013-01-22 18:54 UTC
I am dutch and I like the orange in Firefox and Ubuntu. But I don’t care about the queen, oranje or soccer.