Spice Fire One:First Firefox OS phone is India

Firefox OS in its earliest avatar

Mozilla’s Firefox OS as a smartphone operating system has had a negligible impact on the market, but all that could change very soon as the first Firefox smartphone has been announced for India. The Spice Fire One has predictable low-end specifications and a greatly attractive price tag.

At Mobile World Congress, Mozilla unveiled plans to expand to additional markets in Latin America and eastern Europe, and also announced a blueprint for any phone maker to make $25 Firefox OS smartphones, which it has now delivered on seemingly with the Spice Fire One, priced at Rs 2,299.

Many vendors are touting their low-cost Android devices as built for the first-time smartphone buyer. But we think that Android, iOS, BB 10 and Windows Phone are so far advanced for most first-time buyers that they don’t even know how to tap the full capability of the OS. Firefox is meant for just this crowd, making it easier to get apps and simple to use for non-practiced users. Firefox OS is built specifically for low-powered phones, and is optimised to run on hardware as low as a single-core processor, which is what Spice’s Fire One sports.

The phone is expected gives users the basic experience, without the performance overhead. It’s meant to decentralise the app publishing process of the leading operating systems, by giving developers full freedom to publish Web apps. The idea behind Firefox OS is it’s a Web-first platform, and not apps-first. It uses the full suite of Web standards such as HTML 5, WebRTC or RTSP for live video streaming, to bring apps and or to convert web pages into apps. In fact, if you use an Android phone, you can check out how this works as the Firefox broswer app lets you install apps from the Marketplace, like you would a regular Android app.

There’s a handy advantage with this system. Unlike on iOS or Android, where you may have to download apps, with Firefox OS, you have instant access to all apps, since they are basically modified versions of the website or webpage. Firefox says its search-and-launch mechanism will at least partially rid the problem of searching for and installing apps, which is part of the learning curve on any smartphone. This also means that developers don’t have to be bound by app-store rules that most OSes have. A developer could publish any app for Firefox OS on the Firefox Marketplace, just as easily as they would make a webpage.

Screen Shot of FireFox OS

Mozilla says its currently making big changes to the OS, which will come to handsets over this year. Among the changes is one for the way users access recently used apps or the notification centre. In a bid to set itself apart from the likes of Android, Firefox is working on a cross-platform sync service with Firefox Accounts, which was introduced with the radical Australis makeover. With Firefox Accounts, Mozilla can better integrate services including Firefox Marketplace, Firefox Sync, backup, storage, or even a service to help locate, message or wipe a phone if it were lost or stolen, according to the company. It would ensure your open tabs are synced across the phone and your PC.

The latest version of the OS, v 1.3, addresses some concerns such as POP3 email support, and NFC connectivity for interfacing and triggers. Firefox has also made improvements to the camera app, with support for continuous autofocus provided the hardware is present for such a feature. It’s surely adding a lot of things that are considered crucial in modern day smartphones, but in its own way.

Of course, the big questions are always about what one can do with the phone, the apps, games and utilities available. Here’s where Firefox OS could come undone. Sure, the Marketplace boasts popular apps such as Line, Twitter, Facebook and even Candy Crush, but it’s still a very underwhelming collection. WhatsApp, for example, would be the first app most smartphone newbies look for, but it’s not yet available on Firefox. That could of course change as more devices and vendors come into the picture. But the hard fact is that Firefox OS is still quite nascent and that’s its biggest drawback. Firefox is hoping it can impress first-time smartphone users with how much can be done in so little, which is something Android has yet to convince anyone about, save for a few exceptions.

Android is clearly dominating the budget segment, and such a monopoly is never a good thing for consumers. Choice is great, and Mozilla and Spice are making options available. Make no mistake, Spice is fully invested in Android; the company's website does not yet have a page for the new Firefox OS phone, so it’s clearly just the first step to gauging reaction. And at Rs 2,299 for the Fire One, it’s making thing s way easy for the undecided buyer.

Firefox OS phones might not be so revolutionary that they will change the Indian smartphone market or to dethrone Android; no one thinks Firefox OS is mature enough to do that. But Firefox has the right idea of targetting first-time smartphone buyers, and now we can wait for more manufacturers to follow Spice’s lead, if the first Firefox OS phone is a hit.

Intex Set to Launch Firefox OS Smartphone Under Rs. 2,000 on August 25

Intex, as promised a couple of months ago, seems all set to finally launch its first Firefox OS-based smartphone, the Cloud FX this month.

The company has started sending media invites for an event
scheduled on August 25. Intex is touting that the event will see the
launch of "India's lowest priced smartphone."

Intex has already revealed that the company's first Firefox OS
smartphone will be called Cloud FX and will be priced under
Rs. 2,000.

There's no doubt that the launch of Firefox-OS based smartphones will offer Indian consumers more options in the entry-level segment than just the dominating Android OS platform.

The Indian smartphone market has lately seen some major Android
handset makers, such as Micromax, Motorola, and Samsung, pushing
their smartphones into the sub-Rs. 10,000 category. The launch of a
new Firefox OS smartphone will definitely increase competition in the
budget smartphone segment for
domestic as well as global handset manufacturers.

The company had also announced some of specifications of the Intex
Cloud FX smartphone, which will include a 3.5-inch display (resolution
unspecified), and will be powered by a 1GHz processor (number of
cores unspecified).

Other features detailed by Intex for its Cloud FX smartphone running
Firefox OS include a 2-megapixel rear camera, as well as Wi-Fi and
 Bluetooth connectivity.

Notably, the specifications detailed by Intex were noticeably similar
 to the reference $25 Firefox OS smartphone platform unveiled by
 Mozilla and
Spreadtrum at MWC.

The reference $25 (roughly Rs. 1,500) Firefox OS smartphone is
 based on the Spreadtrum SC6821 chipset, which supports 3.5-inch
 HVGA (320x480 pixels) touchscreens, integrated Wi-Fi and
 Bluetooth connectivity, FM radio and camera functions, and access
 to HTML 5 apps. We can expect the Intex Cloud FX to sport the
 same display resolution and connectivity features mentioned by
 Spreadtrum.

Apart from Intex, Mozilla had named Spice as another Firefox OS
 smartphone partner for the Indian market.

Unfortunately, we are yet to hear any official word from Spice on the
 launch of its first Firefox OS smartphone. An earlier report had
claimed a July timeframe for the launch of Spice's first Firefox OS
 smartphone; however, that never happened.

EU, South Korea join forces to develop 5G technology

The European Union and South Korea are expected to unveil a new partnership today which focuses on the development of 5G networks.

According to draft documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal, South Korea and the European Union will set up a joint research group for 5G system development, the creation of technology standards and radio frequency preparation to ensure 5G technology can be accommodated in the future.

The joining of forces will be overseen by two major groups: Europe's 5G PPP and the South Korean 5G Forum. Overall, the group's target is to play a dominant role in setting a "global consensus" and vision by the end of next year.

According to the EU, while one hour of high-definition footage can be downloaded on 4G networks in approximately six minutes, 5G technology would cut this time down to only six seconds or less. It is hoped that speeds of up to 1Gbps can be achieved, and mobile 3D images, Ultra-HD, hologram transmission and "cutting edge" social networking services will be supported.

A report released by network monitor OpenSignal suggested that as of February 2014, there are 76 countries with LTE currently active -- but coverage and user experience varies. South Korea -- which has a mobile penetration rate of over 100 percent -- is the best performer, with the average user experiencing LTE 91 percent of the time. The EU is no longer a top dog in terms of communications technology, and 4G is patchy at best across the bloc. Unless the EU catches up, economic growth is likely to suffer, something EU businesses have criticized for years.

In January, the South Korean government said it plans to be the first entity to introduce 5G networking technology to the masses, and hopes the technology will be ready for launch by December 2020. Local firms, including the country's three major telecommunications firms and technology giants such as Samsung and LG have long been in talks with the government, and $1.49 billion in total is expected to be invested within 5G through 2020.

The plans announced earlier this year also stipulate partnerships with the U.S., China and Europe in order to establish standards and avoid future patent disputes.

In 2013, South Korean technology giant Samsung claimed it has made breakthroughs in the development of next-generation networking technology, and was able to transmit data at a speed of 1Gps through the 28 gigahertz (GHz) band. 

Intex to Launch Sub-Rs. 2,000 'Cloud FX' Firefox OS Smartphone in August

Soon after Mozilla's announcement that domestic handset manufacturers Intex and Spice were going to be launching Firefox OS-based smartphones in the 'next few months,' Intex and Spice have made statements to the same effect.

While Spice has only provided a July timeframe for the launch of its first Firefox OS smartphone, and said (via BGR) it would be a dual-SIM supporting device, Intex has listed some specifications of its first Firefox OS smartphone as well.

Intex in a statement on Thursday said its first Firefox OS smartphone, the Intex Cloud FX, would be priced under Rs. 2,000 when it launches in the first week of August. The company said the Cloud FX would sport a 3.5-inch display (resolution unspecified), and be powered by a 1GHz processor (number of cores unspecified).

Other features detailed by Intex for its Cloud FX smartphone running Firefox OS include a 2-megapixel rear camera, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The specifications detailed by Intex are conspicuously similar to the reference $25 Firefox OS smartphone platform unveiled by Mozilla and Spreadtrum at MWC 2014.

The reference $25 (roughly Rs. 1,500) Firefox OS smartphone is based on the Spreadtrum SC6821 chipset, which supports 3.5-inch HVGA (320x480 pixels) touchscreens, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, FM radio and camera functions, and access to HTML 5 apps. We can expect the Intex Cloud FX to sport the same display resolution and connectivity features mentioned by Spreadtrum.

Commenting on the launch, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Business Head of the Mobile vertical at Intex, said, "Intex association with Mozilla Firefox is a step towards our brand's promise to offer quality products to our consumers to improve their lives and set industry benchmarks. Intex Cloud FX is aimed at fulfilling the idea of - 'Smartphone for all' which will be priced below Rs. 2,000. This smartphones will be equipped with enhanced phone and browser features of Firefox OS with an access to a rich ecosystem of latest web applications improving users overall smartphone experience at affordable prices"

Intex in its statement also added it is targeting sales of 3 million smartphones this year, after selling 1.5 million last year. So far, Spice has not provided more details about its unnamed Firefox OS smartphone that's due in July. We'll keep you updated as soon as we know more. What do you think of the sub-Rs. 2,000 Firefox OS smartphones due to hit the Indian market as soon as next month? Do they stand a chance against Android in the intensely competitive budget smartphone space? Let us know in the comments section below.