Phones based on alternative mobile operating systems (Firefox OS, Sailfish OS, Tizen…) are due to be available this year. The first entrant appears to be Telefonica ZTE Open, an entry level phone running Firefox OS that will be available in Spain on July 2, 2013 (Tomorrow).
Here are the specifications of the device:
- SoC – Qualcomm MSM7225A ARM Cortex A5 @ 800Mhz
- System Memory – 256 MB RAM
- Storage – 512 MB ROM + micro SD card slot (4GB SD card included)
- Display – 3.5″ HVGA TFT, One Point touch + Gesture Captive (Two point option)
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 2.1 + GPS (with AGPS)
- Network – UMTS
- Sensors – Accelerometer, Ambient Light
- Camera – 3.2MP canera
- Battery – 1200mAH
- Dimensions – 114 × 62 × 12.5 mm
This a low end device by today’s standard, but that’s exactly what Firefox OS is for. I’ve recently been told by a Mozilla developer that Firefox OS is now about equivalent to Android 1.x in terms of features. Developing apps for the platform is supposed to be easy as everything is written in HTML5, and a marketplace with free and (eventually) paid apps is available.
The phone is cheap by Europeans standard as it will be available from tomorrow for 69 Euros including VAT on Movistar.es including 30 Euros for prepaid customers. 69 Euros is equivalent to about 69 US dollars once you remove VAT, and the usual markup for European customers. Telefonica will also sell the phone in Colombia and Venezuela in the next few weeks.
Deutsche Telekom is expected to launch its own Firefox OS phone, “Alcatel One Touch Fire”, in central European markets soon with similar specs as ZTE Open.
Update: Firefox OS Video Demo
Via H-Online
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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