Linux Video of the Week: Hands-On with the $25 Firefox Phone

Mozilla has designed a phone that's even more affordable for emerging markets and thus redefines the entry level for smartphones. Mozilla engineers were able to accomplish this by adjusting the hardware requirements of the operating system to run on a 1 GHz CPU, single core Spreadtrum chipset with only 128 MB of RAM. That's only 25 to 50 percent of the RAM found in existing entry-level devices on the market, said Joe Cheng, product manager at Mozilla in this video demonstration of the prototype phone, below.

Nokia Delivers Android Phones, Mozilla Talks Up $25 Phones

New $25 Firefox OS Phones Make Waves in Barcelona

At the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona this week, there was much news on the open source phone front. As we repoorted, Nokia announced the Nokia X and X+, four-inch phones running Android that will become part of Microsoft's mobile portfolio when its acquisition of Nokia closes soon. The other interesting aspect of the Nokia phones is that they are inexpensive, but Mozilla also made headlines at Mobile World Congress for its take on low cost phones. The company is talking up $25 smartphones based on Firefox OS, and the first ones have already been shown.

To avoid Android pitfalls, Mozilla shoulders Firefox OS update burden

Mozilla will take over some responsibility for issuing Firefox OS updates that carriers today have, a move that could help users avoid the fate of Android phone owners saddled with older operating system versions.

"We are pushing that envelope," Chief Technology Officer Brendan Eich told CNET. "We think we can get people on Wi-Fi upgrading through Mozilla."

Is a US$25 smartphone possible?

Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicked off with a bang, with Mozilla announcing a US$25 smartphone built around a turnkey solution that features silicon from China-based Spreadtrum and software from Firefox.

Firefox OS Unleashes the Future of Mobile

Mozilla plans '$25 smartphone' for emerging markets

Firefox OS gains reference devices, $25 phone

MWC 2014: Finland Is Rooting For Jolla ‘Big Time’

Jolla co-founder Stefano Mosconi is confident about the future of Sailfish OS and believes his company can carve out a niche in the smartphone market, with Finland desperate for it to succeed.

Jolla announces Sailfish OS 1.0, says Android love-fest soon to come

Just a few months after the launch of its first handsets, Finnish smartphone startup Jolla has announced that Sailfish OS, the Linux-derived operating system that powers its devices, has reached version 1.0.

Putting Tizen in Context

From the very start, Tizen has had the concept of device profiles, where there's a common set of core software components (kernel, coreutils, networking stack, etc.) that are applicable to every type of device, and there are specializations specific to whatever it is you're using. Take your hand and open it flat. Ok? Good. Your palm is the core software stack, and your fingers are the device-specific profiles - handset, IVI, TV, etc. Chances are good that many elements of the core stack will be the same, and in all cases you want to optimize for lower power consumption and better performance, but what a smartphone presents to the user is generally quite different from an IVI system, or a wearable device, or a camera, or a TV, or a refrigerator, or... I'm sure you get the point. One size doesn't fit all, but you certainly can be smart about not reinventing the wheel for each product class.

Pluses and minuses in Android, iOS rivals Ubuntu, Sailfish, Firefox (now titled "A case for Android, iOS rivals")

When it comes to smartphones, consumers have an array of choices from Apple to... well, Android.

The impression you get stepping into most phone carriers' showrooms is that the programmers behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android are driving most of the innovation in smartphones. You'll find few phones on display that run other software systems.

Review: Firefox OS, Sailfish OS, Ubuntu for phones (as above)

Mobile Linux OSes Innovate, Cut Costs as Smartphone Market Slows

Even Microsoft's Nokia went lower end with new X and X+ phones running a modified Android build and selling for just 89 and 99 euros, respectively. The irony works on many levels here, including the fact that before Nokia went high-end with Windows Phone, it dominated feature phone sales. Nokia phones are still the most commonly seen phones in developing nations.