You’re likely familiar with Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system. You might even be in the know about Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS and RIM’s Blackberry OS but you might not be familiar with Mozilla’s Firefox OS. Firefox OS is a mobile operating system that is a little different from other operating systems because it is targeted for lower end phones that can be deployed in developing markets like central America, Africa, and Asia.
Now the fact that Firefox OS is targeted for lower end devices should not turn you away because it really makes use of the limited resources in a great way and if you get the right device you can expect a really nice experience.
The Devices
I have had the opportunity to review 3 different phones on my blog. 2 of the devices are what are called developer preview phones. These are lower end devices that are purpose built to be cheap devices for developers. These phone are the ZTE Open and the Keon Dev Phone. Both of these phones leave a lot to be desired but where they shine is the open hardware and ease of use when upgrading things like the firmware. These were the first Firefox OS phones released last summer and fall for people to start developing for the platform.
If you are a little disenchanted by the developer phones that is ok, the phones exist just to make apps for you to enjoy on the phones that are made for consumers. Just recently Mozilla announced the Firefox Flame phone. The Flame is the best Firefox phone on the market and is the first Firefox phone I would consider usable as an every day phone (and I have been using it for about a week solid now). I wrote a review of the Flame the other day which ended up being pretty much an exclusive review due to the developer preview program.
If you don’t have time to read the review of the Flame it is worth knowing that the device is sporting a 1.2 ghz snapdragon dual core processor a gig of RAM and 8GB internal storage. It is a great experience and feels great in your hand.
The Operating System
So what is the difference between a more wide spread operating system like Android and Firefox OS a pretty new OS? Android for example is running a Java runtime environment on top of the underlying Linux kernel. This means that with Linux running the phone also needs to run a full Java instance for each application. This is totally fine on high end devices like the Nexus 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S4. This does however mean that lower end phones run sluggish and don’t have the horse power to run some of the more intense applications.
Firefox OS is the opposite. Firefox is running as an HTML5 operating system. This means that all the apps are actually HTML5 apps as well and they run really nicely.
The Apps
As a consumer you are likely going to want to know about some apps. The good news for you is that some people (like me) are already hard at work bringing the apps to Firefox OS. I personally just released my second app for approval but my first app is sitting happily on the market. The Firefox Market is the equivalent to the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
You will find the apps you would expect like Facebook and Twitter, but the ecosystem has a ways to come. The nice thing is with Firefox OS being an HTML5 OS it is easy for developers to port their existing apps and make great new apps and games for you to enjoy.
Try Firefox OS
Traditionally if you wanted to try an operating system you needed to go to the store and find the display, know somebody who owns it or if you are really dedicated download the SDK and see if there is an emulator. With Firefox OS you can run the simulator directly from the browser, including everything you can expect on the phone. If you are running Firefox browser version 29 or 30 you can open your app manager from the web developer tab and take it for a spin. Of course if you really want to try out a physical device you could always come visit me at Bold HQ or find me at the next Winnipeg Android event (I hear there will be quadrocopters involved!)
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