Firefox OS-powered Smartphones, Anyone?

Firefox OS

(Image Credit: http://www.cnet.com)

Move over Android and iOS, the Firefox OS-powered Keon and Peak are in town. The two budget models designed to allow developers to create Web applications for the open-source operating system of Mozilla are currently being offered by Geeksphone.

Developers interested in creating applications, web-based or otherwise, can use the two smartphones to test their creations. The Keon has a price tag of around $143 while the Peak can be acquired at around $234.

The price for the smartphones is way cheaper compared to unlocked models of high-end smartphones in the market. The low price for these Firefox OS-powered smartphones is made possible due to the browser-based strategy of the company. The low price point of the smartphones allows the company to offer them to developing markets like Brazil.

By 2014, a number of mainstream smartphones using the Firefox OS of Mozilla may be offered by Alcatel, Huawei, LG Electronics, Sony, and ZTE.

The Keon features a 3.5-inch multi-touchscreen, 1GHz Cortex A5 processor from Qualcomm,512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, 3MP camera, proximity sensor, GPS receiver, and an accelerometer. On the other hand, the Peak will come with a 4.3-inch multi-touch qHD IPS display screen, dual-core 1.2GHz 8225 processor from Qualcomm, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, 8MP camera at the back, 2MP camera in front, proximity sensor, GPS receiver, and an accelerometer.

The introduction of the Keon and the Peak is a major step for Mozilla since the devices provide them with a foothold in the competitive mobile device market. The non-profit organization currently has a Firefox for the Android OS although it is not quite popular. It also faces a number of obstacles in bringing the browser into Windows and iOS-powered devices.

In order for the organization to make its OS popular among consumers, it is essential to have some major mobile service providers to give it a boost.

Although the consumer-friendly versions of the Firefox OS-powered smartphones will not be available for some time, the developer devices will allow programmers to create applications for the OS prior to its introduction into the market. Emulators can be used for smartphones but these are not devices using the actual OS.

The Firefox OS appears to have an advantage over other mobile OS since it will have some applications ready before the actual devices will be released into the market. In comparison, the iOS and Android devices were released even before applications were designed for them.

However, a number of developers were eager in developing applications for the iOS and the Android. Mozilla aims to simulate this enthusiasm through the release of the Keon and the Peak through Geeksphone. The first Firefox OS-powered devices are expected to be released into the US market by 2014.