While we might mainly hear about Android, iOS, Blackberry OS and Windows Phone – there are actually quite a few other mobile operating systems in the works including Sailfish OS, Tizen, Ubuntu (touch) and Firefox OS.

All of these later projects are still in the early stages of rolling out onto hardware, but we do have some news on Firefox OS. It seems that Mozilla and Foxconn have teamed up, sending out press events for an event on June 3rd, where they plan to reveal something Firefox OS related.

But what exactly? Just another Firefox OS budget smartphone? IF an anonymous source that “has knowledge of the matter” proves correct, it’s actually a tablet.

Up until now, just about everything we hear about Firefox OS seems geared at budget-end smartphones. Still, branching out to tablets makes a great deal of sense. The budget tablet market continues to grow with devices like the Nexus 7 doing quite well in the sub-$250 category. If Mozilla and Foxconn could take Firefox OS and optimize it to run well on extremely cheap tablet hardware – something with a MediaTek processor, maybe – perhaps they could create a solid device that aims around the sub-$150 mark.

For now, all of this remains rumor and speculation. There’s also the question of whether anyone would consider a Firefox OS tablet, when Android devices are already relatively cheap and yet compliant with a large array of apps.

Growing partnerships for Firefox OS

Keep in mind that Firefox OS isn’t geared at the same crowd as iOS and even Android. Sure, Android has budget devices but that’s not its sole (or arguably even primary) focus. In contrast, Mozilla aims to use Firefox OS to reach out to markets that are interested in making the switch to smartphones but can’t afford the Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5. This mainly includes emerging markets, but Mozilla also has plans for the low-end segment in countries such as the United States.

The goal is to create something as cheap, or cheaper, than budget Android devices but with optimization that makes them perform much faster.

It still remains unseen whether this will work for Mozilla, but apparently quite a few companies have at least some faith in the idea: Foxconn now makes for the 19th partner with Mozilla for their Firefox OS project.

And for Foxconn, Firefox OS could be a move forward for a company that has expressed interest in moving beyond just creating parts and devices for other companies like Apple. With Mozilla’s Firefox OS, the door could finally be open to creating their own hardware, aimed at the emerging world, including China.

What do you think of Firefox OS as a smartphone and tablet OS? Does the idea of a low cost, HTML5-based OS appeal to you? Can Mozilla pull off the idea of a “fast yet cheap” platform?

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The mobile market is quickly becoming very crowded. We already have iOS and Androd leading the pack, with Blackberry and Windows Phone (and even Windows 8 to some extent) duking it out for that precious “third place” position. Is there room for more contenders?

Like it or not, they are coming. While many alternative operating systems have existed for a long time now – like Symbian and Aliyun – many of these alternatives are only popular in the developing world and really don’t generate much excitement or hype, even if Symbian was pretty big during its height.

Ubuntu, Firefox OS and Tizen on the other hand are all receiving quite a bit of attention. So where do they sit so far?

Firefox OS – Initial Impressions

At MWC 2013, Firefox OS in particular has seen quite a bit of love headed its way with the general consensus being that its current hardware isn’t exactly great, it has some bugs but underneath these problems is tons of potential.

The idea of an OS that is all about open web standards isn’t exactly new, and Firefox’s implementation is somewhat like a cross between Web OS and Chrome OS in that regard. It has apps and all of these apps can be locally stored and used offline, but they can also be used directly from the net if you don’t want to install the directly for whatever reason.

Who supports them?

Lot’s of folks are interested, actually. To name a few vendors, we have Alcatel, LG, ZTE, Sony and Huawei. Carriers include Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and likely others that have yet to come forward officially.

Who is the target audience?

At launch, it will be the developing world. The current handsets we’ve seen are very basic with single-core processors and 256MB of RAM. That said, the company also plans to bring its OS to lower-end and even eventually mid-range markets in North America, Europe and elsewhere down the road, likely through carriers like Sony.

Ubuntu Touch – Initial Impressions

Ubuntu (unofficially referred to as Ubuntu Touch) too has been called out for having tons of potential with its very scalable OS that works with phones, tablets and computers. At its heart the OS is the same for all the platforms but presents different UIs depending on the situation. In fact, if you plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse into a Ubuntu phone you would be presented with the full desktop UI and experience.

There is plenty of promise for Ubuntu on mobiles. That said, the early preview of the tablet and phone has been considered less than great with many problems to work out between now and when it is actually ready. For example, mobile broadband currently isn’t supported. Again, it is an early preview and not meant to be a daily driver.

Who supports them?

Officially? No vendor or carrier has been announced. Still, there are likely at least a few vendors and possibly even a few carriers in the background that are working with Canonical to get Ubuntu out onto the market, but right now we haven’t had any official names dropped.

Who is the target audience?

Those that love customization, tweaking, power and scalability. In short, Ubuntu is the dream OS for the power user. The question is whether it can become a reality or if it really is nothing more than a pipe dream. At this point, it is hard to say for sure.

Tizen 2.0 – Initial Impressions

Last but not least is Tizen. Like the other two newcomers, its demonstrations haven’t been perfect just yet either. The device was seen at MWC running on Samsung test hardware and while it looked nice enough, the browser had stuttering issues during scrolling and other bugs to work out once again.

Who supports it?

Tizen has a lot of major backing, being developed by Samsung and Intel and many others such as SK Telecom, Sprint, Vodafone, Fujitsu, KT, NEC and Panasonic. Samsung has even added a little extra support in the form of blending parts of its older Bada OS into Tizen.

Who is the target audience?

Honestly for Samsung it is about not placing all of its eggs in one basket. Instead of completely relying on just Android, they now have Tizen and Windows Phone 8 as alternatives. The target audience with Tizen isn’t quite as clear as Ubuntu or Firefox OS.

From what we are seeing, Samsung and partners will likely produce handsets in both low, middle and high-end ranges so I guess the best answer is that the target audience is those who aren’t quite satisfied with Android, iOS or any of the other options on the market right now.

Conclusion

All three newcomers are far from finished products and have a long ways to go, but they all also have tons of promise. It remains unseen how much they will directly clash since they are somewhat have distinct plans in mind, but I’m sure there will still be some rivalry between the three as they attempt to emerge as a fourth place contender and even take a stab at competing against Blackberry and Windows Phone, perhaps.

Honestly, as it stands, Firefox OS seems to have the most launch partners ready to go, with Tizen not too far behind. As for Canonical? Right now their support is limited, though that could change. Of course its extremely open nature (even more so than Firefox OS) means that it might not see tons of love from many major carriers especially in countries like the United States.

What do you think of the three newcomers? Which do you feel has the best shot at really turning into something big? Conversely, do you feel the market is way too crowded for either of the three to make any major impact?

The post Tizen vs Firefox OS vs Ubuntu: Battle for Fourth Place appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The arrival of Ubuntu, Firefox OS and Tizen 2.0 has certainly made the world of mobile operating systems a bit crowded. While Sony is going after a low end phone strategy by choosing Mozilla’s browser-based OS, Samsung appears to be more ambitious as it is going with Tizen and the Tizen 2.0 running reference device that the company showed off at MWC might be a proof of high end devices to come.

The 720p resolution developer phone runs version 2.0 of Tizen which is meant to run both native and HTML5 apps, or a mix of the two (the Vimeo app is an example), unlike the Firefox OS.

As you will see in the video from Engadget below, the OS has familiarities to what you get with many other modern OSes. You have to slide from left to right at the bottom of the display to unlock the screen to get to the home screen with a grid of apps. Swipe down from the top to reach the notification area which lets you adjust brightness and access Settings, and long press on the physical home button for the multi-tasking screen. Check out the video below to see the device in action.

As for when a Tizen 2.0 powered device will be available, Japanese NTT DoCoMo has announced that it will introduce one sometime in the future, while France Telecom-Orange will launch Huawei and Samsung devices later this year. In case you are wondering, in the US Sprint will most probably be the first carrier to offer one as the carrier became part of the Tizen Association in 2012.

It’s too early to say which new OS will become more popular in the future, but Tizen certainly has the advantage of heavy support from Intel, Samsung and other companies.

[Source]

The post Samsung Developer Handset Running Tizen 2.0 (Video) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

ZTE, Alcatel, LG and even Sony are all taking a great deal of interest in Mozilla’s FireFox OS, and already have a couple of entry-level phonesare  ready to go on sale sporting the new system, but Android powerhouse Samsung isn’t biting.

The low-cost nature of FireFox phones makes them ideal candidates for developing smartphone markets, and that is exactly where Samsung sees it’s own Tizen powered phones. Samsung are investing a lot in to Tizen, and have just announced that they have combined their Bada OS into the platform.

Mozilla’s OS is still in the early days and manufacturers are adopting the OS, but if we were them we would prefer the mighty Samsung as a powerful partner rather than competitor. What do you think of Firefox OS, can it compete in the fierce mobile market? How about Tizen?

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Believe it or not, ZTE is actually the fifth largest smartphone company in the world. And now the Chinese company is preparing to broaden its horizons by unveiling its first smartphone powered by Mozilla Firefox OS. Yes, we’ve got another operating system on our hands.

Just as people can choose between Safari, Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox for their desktop web browsers, the same is quickly becoming true with cell phones, choosing between iOS, Windows Phone, Android and, soon, Firefox too. There isn’t much in terms of details being released by ZTE’s foray into Mozilla’s mobile efforts, but an official statement from ZTE says that they have two major announcements at MWC 2013, the Android-based Grand Memo and a new Firefox OS-based ZTE handset.

 I’m not sure how a ZTE Firefox phone will do in this increasingly crowded and complex market, but it’s good to see that one of the “big five” is on board with Mozilla. Ultimately though, Mozilla isn’t looking for major piece of the pie, instead the company simply wants to reach out to the low-end market segment, and the developing world. Whether that strategy will work or not? That remains unseen for now.

[Source]

The post ZTE Firefox Phone Coming to MWC 2013 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

With Ubuntu, Blackberry, Android, Windows Phone and iOS in 2013, we’re already pretty spoiled for choice this year, but that’s not stopping Mozilla from stepping into the smartphone arena and showing the masses what they’re capable of.

Talk has been quite small regarding the Firefox mobile OS, but Mozilla have now announced their developer preview phones equipped with their new mobile OS. The new phones have been built by Mozilla in partnership with Telefonica and Geeksfone, and come equipped with a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. The screen on the new phone will be a 3.5 inch screen with a grainy resolution of 480×320. The phone will also come with a 3 megapixel camera, and a 1580mAh battery.

The specs look extremely outdated, but what’s important to remember is that the OS is focused on the mid-end and low-end range, and Mozilla seems confident with their new OS, regardless of the hardware. The operating system seems to be heavily based around HTML5 and Mozilla has said the Firefox OS will use it to do tasks like make phone calls and send texts.

Stormy Peters, Director of Websites and Developer Engagement at Mozilla, seems quite content on making the OS a powerful community, similarly to the desktop web browser. “We are working on bringing the power of the web to mobile, through Firefox OS, along with all the power of open standards and an open community, and once again, we’d like to invite web developers to join us.”

Seeing as Telefonica is partly behind the new mobile project, it’s possible that the low-spec’d phones will be marketed along with different contracts binded to certain mobile networks, such as O2.

[Source]

The post Mozilla Announces Developer Preview of their Mobile Firefox OS appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

In the past we’ve covered development about Firefox OS, including their browser-based simulator for testing it out on your PC.

Still, when is Firefox OS actually coming? We’ve been hearing 2013 for a while now, but the good news is that Mozilla is finally giving us a bit more information about what the future holds.

According to Mozilla, Brazil will be the first market this year. Mozilla has also confirmed Alcatel, Qualcomm and ZTE are all partners involved in the effort to bring Firefox OS out to the market.

So what’s in store outside of Brazil? Mozilla is talking about these plans right now it seems. “Telefonica has announced plans to ship devices in Latin America in 2013. While we have no further announcements at this time, interest and momentum continues to grow in Firefox OS,” says Mozilla’s VP of products, Jay Sulivan.

The good news is that ZTE is filling in some of these blanks for us. ZTE says that they are working to bring their handsets over to Europe this year, and are also considering aiming at the North American market. Their US launch will hinge on how well Firefox OS takes off elsewhere.

So why Firefox OS? The idea is that it uses open-source technology that makes it fast and easy to use, even on low-end, low-cost hardware.

The idea is that it could be appealing towards those in the developing world or those in major markets that just can’t afford or refuse to spend high-dollar on a phone.

Additionally, since the entire OS uses technology such as HTML5, any web programmer should be able to easily be an app developer for the platform. This should make it very easy for programmers to come out with interesting apps, in theory at least.

The smartphone world is getting crowded, but Mozilla believes that Firefox OS could be perfect for the lower-end market. What do you think, do they have any chance at all?

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The post Mozilla Prepares to Launch Firefox OS in Brazil, Working with ZTE and Alcatel Going Forward appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

While Firefox OS isn’t here yet, it is coming soon— sometime in early 2013. If you are interested in the OS and want to give a test drive, you previously could use a nightly build and throw it onto the Raspbery Pi or even flash it to a Galaxy Nexus. These methods were both quite complicated, though. Good news, a new Firefox browser plug-in allows you to emulate FireFox OS on Mac, Linux and Windows.

The plug-in is called r2d2b2g and works pretty well. The Windows version is said to be the least stable, but I actually didn’t run into too many problems with most of the apps and settings I played around with. The only real issue came when I tried to use the browser, all it did was crash the plug-in. Luckily, reloading the plug-in only takes a few second so no big deal.

The interface seems to be a bit of a cross between iOS and Android in many ways. For example, downloading apps works similarly to iOS in that you click an app and it goes to your front “homescreen” for installation. In fact, all your apps are stored on the pages of the homescreen in a similar manner to iOS.  I haven’t had tons of time to play around, about an hour. My overall impressions? While it’s hard to truly rate or review the OS unless its on an actual touch-based smartphone– I like it. It’s sleek and seems to work rather well. In an emulated environment it runs very quickly and page-turns and other actions are very smooth. Whether or not it runs this smooth on real hardware? Only Mozilla knows for sure.

If Mozilla can optimize the OS to run on very low hardware and if carriers are willing to carry it for really cheap (like $50 or less with contract), it could very well have a market. I don’t see this doing as well on high-end devices as first, but if it is cheap enough, first time smartphone users might be willing to give it a go.

If you want to take Firefox OS for a spin yourself (I recommend trying it), here’s how:

1) First launch Firefox. If you don’t have Firefox on a Mac, Linux or Windows PC– download it first.

2) Next, click here to download the add-on/plugin.

3) After it finishes downloading and installing, go to the upper-left “FIREFOX” tab. Click on “Web Developer” and then navigate to “Firefox OS Simulator” within this sub-menu.

4) This will launch another screen that has a tab on the left that says “Stopped”. Press it and Firefox OS will boot up. That’s it, you are now ready to play around for yourself.

After you try it, comment below and tell us what you think of your first impression of Mozilla’s mobile OS. Has anyone else tried it already? What are your thoughts?

The post Want to take Firefox OS for a spin? Firefox Plugin Makes it Easy appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

For a while now, Mozilla has been talking about its upcoming Firefox OS and how they hope to have it ready to market by 2013. Firefox OS isn’t designed for those that want a high-end phone, instead it has the entry-level market in mind.

How appropriate then that one of the first companies to come forward about working with FireFox OS is ZTE. For those that don’t know, ZTE is a major Chinese company that makes mostly low and midrange electronic devices. They aren’t the best brand out there, but their products aren’t all that bad either.

According to ZTE, they hope to diversify its line of products and reduce reliance on Android and Windows Phone going in to the future. One of the ways they hope to do that is through Firefox OS.

Mozilla’s HTML-based platform is certainly intriguing, but it’s still to early to call on whether or not Firefox OS can truly make a difference in an increasingly crowded mobile OS marketplace.  Are you interested in Firefox OS? If so, would you consider a ZTE smartphone, or would you rather buy a Firefox OS device built by a more popular brand?

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Google’s Android is starting to get caught up in legal battles against Apple. Many feel Apple is too bossy, pushy and is too locked down with iOS. There is a lot of people on both sides, here. Some say Apple is evil, some say Android (and Samsung) are reaping what they sow.

Many are in the middle and aren’t taking sides. While Android and iOS might not be in an immediate danger when it comes to their solid position in the mobile market, now is probably the best time to prepare an alternative to both iOS and Android. None of the alternatives will likely kick Android or iOS off their perspective thrones, but they could still a little bit of their thunder- and customers.

Sure, there will be readers that say “Nah, I still stick by Android”, and some who say the same about Apple. But there will be those that are just buying whatever phone looks coolest. Some of these people are also sick of the drama between Apple, Samsung and, to a lesser extent, Google.

This is probably why any news about Windows Phone 8 devices have been met with a lot of views and comments. People aren’t necessarily sold on switching to another platform but they are curious. Windows Phone 8 and the upcoming BB10 might be getting most of the attention when it comes to alternative OSes, but they aren’t the only upcoming player.

Mozilla is preparing to launch its own mobile platform, FireFox OS in 2013. We’ve already seen some pictures from nightly test builds, but we have little information about the look or feel of the app store- until now.

The pictures above paint a very similar store that is designed to get in-and-out as quick as possible. It’s not super detailed, but it has a minimalist charm to it. Is this how the store will actually look when we finally see Firefox OS land on smartphone hardware? It’s hard to say for sure. The release is still a half year or more away, that’s plenty of time for it to change.

What do you think of the “Firefox Marketplace”, based on the limited screenshots you see here? Like the look, or not?

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