This is where the Mozilla Foundation comes in. Firefox OS, after a couple of years in the making,
is now here in full force. The company made a splash at this year's Mobile World Congress by
announcing a 1800/- smartphone is partnership with a little-known Chinese firm named
Spreadtrum. This device has become the basis of both the two Firefox OS devices launched in
India this week: the Intex Cloud FX.
The one thing that sets Mozilla apart from everyone else who has tried and failed at this game
is that it is a non-profit organisation. That means it doesn't have the same concerns and
motivations as everyone else, which not only reduces costs and attracts partners, but also
allows the organisation to push for open standards.
With its ultra-low-cost strategy in India, Mozilla clearly isn't competing with the heavyweights.
It has its sights locked on the crucial first-time smartphone buyer who is either upgrading from
a simple candybar phone or has never owned a mobile phone at all.
This is pretty much as simple as a touchscreen phone can get. There's a lot of plastic
surrounding the screen, including a very thick "chin" which is broken up by the lone capacitive
navigation button. Mozilla has chosen a simple circle for its Home button icon and all other
interaction is carried out using on-screen controls - more in line with iOS than Android.
The Intex Cloud FX's specifications are so meagre that we have to admire the fact a full-fledged
mobile OS can actually run on such a device. For starters, the processor is a poky 1GHz single-
core ARM Cortex-A5 derivative designed by Spreadtrum. At least there's an integrated Mali-400
GPU for graphics. There's a paltry 128MB of RAM, which is a quarter of what we would consider
the barest of bare minimums for a respectable budget Android device. The 2-megapixel camera
is about all we can expect at this price level, and there's no flash. There is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Don't expect 3G data - you're limited to EDGE speeds when not in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Of course the main attraction here is Firefox OS, and we're counting on it to be optimised
enough to make run well on the feeble hardware. In terms of its look and feel, Firefox OS isn't
too far removed from Android or iOS. A few things are unique though - not all the icons
represent apps which are installed on the phone. That's probably a good thing considering the
severe lack of available storage space, but it also means you're dependent on an Internet
connection.
Our Cloud FX unit came with an instant messaging app called ConnectA2 preloaded, which
claimed to offer "experimental" interoperability with Whatsapp but failed to let us even create
an account when we tried it.
Most of the time, the Intex Cloud FX is easy to use and in fact, the menus are surprisingly
responsive. There is definitely lag when flipping through the menu and launching apps, but not
more so than on budget Android phones.
Firefox OS is a well-built, well-designed platform, but then we can say the same about so many
others as well. The one thing it has going for it right now is that devices based on it can
undercut even the cheapest Android phones, thus creating a whole new market for itself and
avoiding direct competition.
is now here in full force. The company made a splash at this year's Mobile World Congress by
announcing a 1800/- smartphone is partnership with a little-known Chinese firm named
Spreadtrum. This device has become the basis of both the two Firefox OS devices launched in
India this week: the Intex Cloud FX.
The one thing that sets Mozilla apart from everyone else who has tried and failed at this game
is that it is a non-profit organisation. That means it doesn't have the same concerns and
motivations as everyone else, which not only reduces costs and attracts partners, but also
allows the organisation to push for open standards.
With its ultra-low-cost strategy in India, Mozilla clearly isn't competing with the heavyweights.
It has its sights locked on the crucial first-time smartphone buyer who is either upgrading from
a simple candybar phone or has never owned a mobile phone at all.
This is pretty much as simple as a touchscreen phone can get. There's a lot of plastic
surrounding the screen, including a very thick "chin" which is broken up by the lone capacitive
navigation button. Mozilla has chosen a simple circle for its Home button icon and all other
interaction is carried out using on-screen controls - more in line with iOS than Android.
The Intex Cloud FX's specifications are so meagre that we have to admire the fact a full-fledged
mobile OS can actually run on such a device. For starters, the processor is a poky 1GHz single-
core ARM Cortex-A5 derivative designed by Spreadtrum. At least there's an integrated Mali-400
GPU for graphics. There's a paltry 128MB of RAM, which is a quarter of what we would consider
the barest of bare minimums for a respectable budget Android device. The 2-megapixel camera
is about all we can expect at this price level, and there's no flash. There is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Don't expect 3G data - you're limited to EDGE speeds when not in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Of course the main attraction here is Firefox OS, and we're counting on it to be optimised
enough to make run well on the feeble hardware. In terms of its look and feel, Firefox OS isn't
too far removed from Android or iOS. A few things are unique though - not all the icons
represent apps which are installed on the phone. That's probably a good thing considering the
severe lack of available storage space, but it also means you're dependent on an Internet
connection.
Our Cloud FX unit came with an instant messaging app called ConnectA2 preloaded, which
claimed to offer "experimental" interoperability with Whatsapp but failed to let us even create
an account when we tried it.
Most of the time, the Intex Cloud FX is easy to use and in fact, the menus are surprisingly
responsive. There is definitely lag when flipping through the menu and launching apps, but not
more so than on budget Android phones.
Firefox OS is a well-built, well-designed platform, but then we can say the same about so many
others as well. The one thing it has going for it right now is that devices based on it can
undercut even the cheapest Android phones, thus creating a whole new market for itself and
avoiding direct competition.
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