Is there some technical detail in Firefox OS that makes it a good choice for cheap phones? I've come to understand that it's not particularly lightweight, but am I wrong?
Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
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Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#32Personnally, I would also love to have a second phone like this one. Cheap, simple, just to "phone&browse". No apps. I live in France
I recently got a KitKat phone, and felt instantaneously trapped in Google Play land (no improvement over Apple Appstore I guess), not a good feeling. A 'web' based OS would be a nice thing to try.
What's the difference between Android with a web browser and a Firefox OS phone? Literally nothing.
And people ignored WebOS when it was released in favor of Android, even though WebOS used HTML and Javascript for apps and was so hackable you could load a new kernel over USB, and Palm themselves gave you directions how on their official website.
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to be rude, but what stops you from buying an old android phone/iphone 3GS/any older windows phone? I can almost guarantee that they will be faster for browsing than any of these new ultra-cheap Firefox OS running phones.
You might think that, but you've got to be careful not to let old phones update. I've got a Galaxy S2 I use mainly as a wifi hotspot with a data-only sim, and while it used to have a pretty snappy UI, these days it really crawls, almost to the point of being unusable. To be honest I've not looked particularly hard at why this is, but how well a phone runs a browser, for instance, isn't frozen in time when the phone i…
You are absolutely right, but a phone that is few years old and has 512MB of ram is going to load pages faster than this new $35 firefox OS phone which only has 128MB.
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recently got a KitKat phone, and felt instantaneously trapped in Google Play land (no improvement over Apple Appstore I guess), not a good feeling. A 'web' based OS would be a nice thing to try.
What's the difference between Android with a web browser and a Firefox OS phone? Literally nothing. And people ignored WebOS when it was released in favor of Android, even though WebOS used HTML and Javascript for apps and was so hackable you could load a new kernel over USB, and Palm themselves gave you directions how on their official website.
Well, Android Apps run on Dalvik/ART, which is not HTML5/js but I agree, it's not a real difference, except in FirefoxOS marketing strategy, targetting ultra low end devices with heavy (heavier than ART) apps will result in an absurdly unusable system.
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#35At this point, I think Mozilla really needs to: 1) launch a high end phone, capable of competing in specs with the Nexus 5 and the like; 2) release the first Firefox-OS tablet, which would be a prove very valuable to kiosks.
Firefox OS has a huge advantage when running on low-memory phones. The most memory intensive thing typically run on a low-end phone is the web browser. (Or an app that wraps a browser, like Facebook). So the ability to run a web browser is the limiting factor. Every other OS has to have enough memory to run a GUI + a browser. Since Firefox OS uses the browser for its GUI, it theoretically can run smoother in 128MB or…
That doesn't seem to be the case at all according to the ArsTechnica review: 128MB cripples the phone to the point of near-useless.
The original iPhone had 128MB RAM.
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#36Go Firefox OS! Save the world from the "apps"!
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#37What the fuck? the price of the article is '$25', and all the links they give show a 80€ => $100 tag price... http://www.materiel.net/smartphone/?f[11037]=Firefox+OS http://www.cdiscount.com/telephonie/telephone-mobile/zte-ope... http://www.rueducommerce.fr/Telephonie/Smartphone/Smartphone... http://www.webdistrib.com/cat/Smartphone-ZTE-Open-C-Night-Bl... http://www.ldlc.com/telephonie-gps/telephonie-portable/mobil..…
Is is the same as the ZTE Open C Firefox Phone? because I tried it and it's pitiful. IIRC it's £60 in the UK.
Don't bother with that phone, it's useless.
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#38I am SO excited about the possibilities Firefox OS provides. I do realize it's in early stages now, and there are many hurdles for the Mozilla team to overcome for it to become a real player in the market, but I'm crossing my fingers.
Specifically, I can't wait to see what local developers in developing countries create to improve the lives of people within their communities and societies. With the barrier to entry lower to develop these HTML5 apps (not only concerning the tech stack, but also regarding the cost to buy hardware), I expect the app development community will gain valuable members with more diverse backgrounds and life experiences.
From what I observe in myself and in those around me, I think we are best at addressing challenges we have been personally affected by. Therefore, I think great potential rests in empowering people from all around the world, living in incredibly diverse communities, to create local solutions to local problems.
Mozilla team - keep it up, my friends. I'm rooting for you!
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to be rude, but what stops you from buying an old android phone/iphone 3GS/any older windows phone? I can almost guarantee that they will be faster for browsing than any of these new ultra-cheap Firefox OS running phones.
You might think that, but you've got to be careful not to let old phones update. I've got a Galaxy S2 I use mainly as a wifi hotspot with a data-only sim, and while it used to have a pretty snappy UI, these days it really crawls, almost to the point of being unusable. To be honest I've not looked particularly hard at why this is, but how well a phone runs a browser, for instance, isn't frozen in time when the phone i…
Not letting your phone update maybe isn't a great solution if you care about security at all.
Users shouldn't have to choose between 'affordable' and 'currently supported'; I hope Firefox OS can help here.
Re: Firefox OS Shows Continued Global Growth
#40What the fuck? the price of the article is '$25', and all the links they give show a 80€ => $100 tag price... http://www.materiel.net/smartphone/?f[11037]=Firefox+OS http://www.cdiscount.com/telephonie/telephone-mobile/zte-ope... http://www.rueducommerce.fr/Telephonie/Smartphone/Smartphone... http://www.webdistrib.com/cat/Smartphone-ZTE-Open-C-Night-Bl... http://www.ldlc.com/telephonie-gps/telephonie-portable/mobil..…
The cheapest devices ($25 are $35) are sold exclusively in India and similar low-income countries, AFAIK. In the western world, you can only get Alcatel, ZTE, etc.
They're being sold on eBay as well (by resellers), but never bellow $65. I wonder who's buying them.