10.08.13

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Mozilla and Firefox Are Becoming Linux-oriented, Need to Compete With Tizen, Jolla and Sailfish

Posted in GNU/Linux at 4:41 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

FirefoxOS
Image from the Mozilla Foundation

Summary: Linux-powered mobile contenders that can challenge Android are still numerous and Firefox remains just one of many

MOZILLA and Firefox have good brand recognition, even if some people aren’t quite paying attention [1]. It’s possible that more people know Firefox, compared to GNU and Linux for instance. It makes Firefox easier to ‘sell’ to the public; it’s just like putting the “Google” brand on stuff. Firefox 25 is coming quite soon [2] and Mozilla is now focusing on mobile [3], where there is focus on Linux-based operating systems like Android and Mozilla’s own FirefoxOS. Firefox already integrates well with GNU/Linux [4], but at what stage will Mozilla focus mostly on GNU/Linux rather than the platform which makes it involuntarily spy on users (Windows [1, 2])?

Mozilla is holding some events [5,6] which can shed light on its future plans, but Mozilla still has some strong competition from Android and from Sailfish, which already enjoys Android compatibility, unlike FirefoxOS [7,8]. Either way, Linux gains massively [9] because all the aforementioned operating systems have Linux in them [10]. Android, which is Linux-powered, has gotten huge. █

Related/contextual items from the news:

No One Knows What the Firefox Logo is, and Last Night’s Jeopardy! Proved It

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Mozilla working on a second-screen solution for Firefox

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The Firefox Flicks Global Film Competition Winners are In!

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Sailfish gains two-way Android compatibility

Jolla announced that its Sailfish OS is now fully compatible with Android, letting the Linux-based mobile OS run Android apps, as well as operate on hardware configured for Android. Jolla also announced that a second batch of pre-orders for its Sailfish-based Jolla phones will open later this week, after having sold out its first shipment in August.
Jolla Phone specs and android compatibilty officially annnouced

Finland based Jolla Mobile has officially announced android app compatibility and technical specifications for their first smartphone.
Linux gets a boost from mobile

Although not originally designed for telephones or tablets, the Linux kernel is now getting more contributions than ever from mobile and portable device vendors, whose input is driving a heretofore unseen rate of development for the open source project.
Samsung Tizen and LG Firefox OS phones coming soon?

Following the appearance of leaked photos showing Tizen 3.0 running on Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 phone, new rumors say the upcoming Galaxy S 5 smartphone will be available in both Android and Tizen versions. Meanwhile, an LG D300g phone uncovered in the FCC database suggest the first LG Firefox OS phone is nearing release.