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Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

zdnet.com

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Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#11

Post by padenot »

kryptiskt wrote: post #9
portmanteaufu wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty torn about Firefox OS. On the one hand: * Mozilla's at the helm. My privacy is more likely to be respected. * Whipping up Firefox OS apps is stupid simple. On the other: * They don't seem to want to target higher-end handsets. * There's no NDK and as far as I'm aware there are no plans for one. While most of my Android apps could be rebuilt easily in Firefox OS, the programs with 3D graphics or C library d…

Thing is, there's nothing else that runs natively, it's just Gecko on SurfaceFlinger. FirefoxOS' UI is entirely implemented above that in HTML+JS. So there is no infrastructure that can be opened up to allow native apps, it would have to be written from scratch.

Nope, we hit below SurfaceFlinger. gralloc and direct gl, actually.

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#12

Post by mtgx »

freehunter wrote: post #10
Apocryphon wrote: post #2

The race for third place is heating up! It's very interesting to consider Ubuntu Touch vs. Firefox OS - what happens when two platforms backed by two champions of FOSS come into conflict? Not that conflict is inevitable, and it's explicitly against the public mission statement of Mozilla, at least, but these platforms will still be competing with each other for the few devs and consumers who reject both iOS and Andro…

Wouldn't Ubuntu Touch and FirefoxOS be competing in the race for 5th place? Windows Phone has third place locked up, and Blackberry is a very strong 4th place right behind them.

I doubt WP8 has 3rd place locked up. It's 3rd place, but it's a lot closer to 4th,5th, etc, than it is to iOS and Android. Blackberry and "strong place" don't match.

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#13

Post by kryptiskt »

padenot wrote: post #11
kryptiskt wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thing is, there's nothing else that runs natively, it's just Gecko on SurfaceFlinger. FirefoxOS' UI is entirely implemented above that in HTML+JS. So there is no infrastructure that can be opened up to allow native apps, it would have to be written from scratch.

Nope, we hit below SurfaceFlinger. gralloc and direct gl, actually.

Ah, thanks, I thought SurfaceFlinger was kept from Android.

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#14

Post by nrivadeneira »

mtgx wrote: post #12
freehunter wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't Ubuntu Touch and FirefoxOS be competing in the race for 5th place? Windows Phone has third place locked up, and Blackberry is a very strong 4th place right behind them.

I doubt WP8 has 3rd place locked up. It's 3rd place, but it's a lot closer to 4th,5th, etc, than it is to iOS and Android. Blackberry and "strong place" don't match.

What would be the nearest 5th place contenders to WP8 and Blackberry?

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#16

Post by shmerl »

portmanteaufu wrote: post #6
tombrossman wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is two 'champions of FOSS' but only one clear winner for us privacy-conscious users. Long-term Ubuntu user here looking forward to retiring my Android phone for a Firefox model. I just got a Nexus 4 for my wife and for the first time ever didn't replace my phone at the same time. If Firefox releases something a bit higher-end in the next 6-9 months I am very likely to switch.

I'm pretty torn about Firefox OS. On the one hand: * Mozilla's at the helm. My privacy is more likely to be respected. * Whipping up Firefox OS apps is stupid simple. On the other: * They don't seem to want to target higher-end handsets. * There's no NDK and as far as I'm aware there are no plans for one. While most of my Android apps could be rebuilt easily in Firefox OS, the programs with 3D graphics or C library d…

For high end handsets, consider Jolla's Sailfish.

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#17

Post by superuser2 »

tombrossman wrote: post #4
Apocryphon wrote: post #2

The race for third place is heating up! It's very interesting to consider Ubuntu Touch vs. Firefox OS - what happens when two platforms backed by two champions of FOSS come into conflict? Not that conflict is inevitable, and it's explicitly against the public mission statement of Mozilla, at least, but these platforms will still be competing with each other for the few devs and consumers who reject both iOS and Andro…

It is two 'champions of FOSS' but only one clear winner for us privacy-conscious users. Long-term Ubuntu user here looking forward to retiring my Android phone for a Firefox model. I just got a Nexus 4 for my wife and for the first time ever didn't replace my phone at the same time. If Firefox releases something a bit higher-end in the next 6-9 months I am very likely to switch.

>for us privacy-conscious users

You're phone's OS is almost entirely irrelevant with regard to privacy. The snooping that we know about (PRISM, AT&T selling private data, etc.) is happening at the carrier level.

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#18

Post by bad_user »

portmanteaufu wrote: post #6
tombrossman wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is two 'champions of FOSS' but only one clear winner for us privacy-conscious users. Long-term Ubuntu user here looking forward to retiring my Android phone for a Firefox model. I just got a Nexus 4 for my wife and for the first time ever didn't replace my phone at the same time. If Firefox releases something a bit higher-end in the next 6-9 months I am very likely to switch.

I'm pretty torn about Firefox OS. On the one hand: * Mozilla's at the helm. My privacy is more likely to be respected. * Whipping up Firefox OS apps is stupid simple. On the other: * They don't seem to want to target higher-end handsets. * There's no NDK and as far as I'm aware there are no plans for one. While most of my Android apps could be rebuilt easily in Firefox OS, the programs with 3D graphics or C library d…

> They don't seem to want to target higher-end handsets

It's only the beginning and I think they are smart for doing this - iPhones are high-end and cheap Androids suck. The low-end market is still dominated by Symbian, or Bada, or Rex, or Asha, all of which suck.

They have a real shot at gaining significant market-share with this strategy. iOS and Android have too much inertia to beat by playing the high-end game.

Re: Verizon backs Ubuntu smartphone

#19

Post by Apocryphon »

freehunter wrote: post #10
Apocryphon wrote: post #2

The race for third place is heating up! It's very interesting to consider Ubuntu Touch vs. Firefox OS - what happens when two platforms backed by two champions of FOSS come into conflict? Not that conflict is inevitable, and it's explicitly against the public mission statement of Mozilla, at least, but these platforms will still be competing with each other for the few devs and consumers who reject both iOS and Andro…

Wouldn't Ubuntu Touch and FirefoxOS be competing in the race for 5th place? Windows Phone has third place locked up, and Blackberry is a very strong 4th place right behind them.

I think right now there aren't any strong 3rd place contenders. Windows Phone is the anemic upstart, BBOS is the swiftly declining dinosaur. Whatever the strengths or weaknesses both platforms have, neither have managed to project a truly compelling value proposition for consumers to seek out as an alternative.
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