There’s been a bit of a stir recently over the launch of the new Firefox mobile phone platform, which uses a completely new open source operating system developed by Mozilla and based around the Firefox web browser technology. The first handset, called the Keon, has already gone on sale at just €69, so this is definitely not a vaporware project and could definitely change the whole mobile landscape.
The new phone is aimed at developers to encourage them to create apps, and features a 1GHz processor, a 3.4 inch screen and a 3 megapixel camera, so the specs are pretty ho-hum, but all attention is definitely fixed on the web based operating system, because it’s that and the number of apps for it, which will determine whether the platform succeeds in the long run.
If you want to get a direct feel for what all the fuss is about, head on over to the Firefox OS Simulator page, and you will be able to install a browser plugin which will let you play around with the interface on your computer and get hands on experience of how it works. First impressions are that it’s a really nice clean interface, which usually suggests snappy operation, and we look forward to seeing where this goes in the near future.
Anything which increases competition and adds to consumer choice is a good thing, especially if it’s open source as this is, so we’re going to be tracking developments with interest. The simulator works on Windows, Mac and Linux.