Hasta La Gadget!

Mozilla has been seeding Firefox OS to eager developers for some time. However, we’ve largely been denied a peek at how the developer’s own take on a mobile app store will play out on an actual device. Some of that picture just filled out thanks to some images of the mobile Firefox Marketplace that have landed in Engadget’s hands. From what we’ve seen of the current store, it’s a significant break from the top-level storefront we saw back in the Boot to Gecko days, not to mention Mozilla Marketplace on the desktop. The deeper exploration shows a minimalist store that’s focused on quickly delving into individual categories rather than an abundance of highlighted apps. We’re not seeing any startling revelations — there’s only free apps visible in these early images, for example — but the gallery is proof that Mozilla is well on its way to fleshing out the core of its OS for a launch next year. Let’s just hope that the rest of the software moves at a similarly quick pace.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Firefox OS Marketplace leaks in current form, shows shopping Gecko-style originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, you can’t get Firefox OS on a phone yet, but you can fire it up on your computer and give the HTML5 and JavaScript mobile platform a try for yourself — right now! Mozilla has begun uploading nightly builds of the project formerly known as Boot to Gecko to its FTP servers. You can pull down a nicely wrapped package for Windows, Linux or OS X, or you download the source and build your own. It’s not as simple as installing an app, there is some configuring you’ll have to do, but the process is relatively simple and you’ll find complete instructions at the more coverage link. Obviously the OS is still in the very early stages and is can’t be considered representative of what the final product will be like. Still, its a nice glimpse at the progress Mozilla has made in just a single year of development. So, go get your own hands-on time with the next player on the mobile scene.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Download nightlies of Firefox OS, get your own hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla’s Thunderbird mail client just hasn’t enjoyed the same level of stardom as its Firefox cousin. Their developer must be feeling this discrepancy more than most, as the company has confirmed plans to take the organization out of active Thunderbird development. The shift is officially being spun as an adaptation that lets the Foundation center its energy on Firefox OS and the usual browser plans, but when Mozilla proper will only be handling bug fixes and security updates for a client that’s “not a priority,” we’d say it’s putting Thunderbird on ice. Accordingly, leaked details from TechCrunch show Mozilla moving some of the team out of the project at some point; any new features will have to come from the community, which suggests the future upgrade schedule will be more than a bit unpredictable. The writing is on the wall soon enough that existing owners could have food for thought well before a final strategy is due in early September.

Mozilla giving Thunderbird the (effective) axe, leaving its fate to the community originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla has officially named its “Boot to Gecko” mobile platform, which will now be known as Firefox OS, and has signed up a clutch of carriers who have promised to back the new smartphone competitor. Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Telenor have all jumped on board with the HTML5-based OS, while ZTE and Alcatel One Touch will both be creating devices expected to launch in early 2013.

Inside those phones, Firefox OS will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors, though it’s not been confirmed which generation of chips will be used. Still, there should be plenty of power to keep HTML5 apps running swiftly; one of the things Qualcomm has long been pushing with Snapdragon is browser-engine performance.

Brazil will be the first country to get Firefox OS devices next year, with Telefonica signed up to offer them through its Vivo brand. Mozilla is heavily promoting the new platform’s customization options, helped by the fact that there’s none of the pesky middleware that’s usually present on smartphones.

Fully open-source, Firefox OS is based on the underlying Linux kernel modified for Android, with a ‘Gonk’ hardware abstraction layer and then the multi-platform Gecko Web browser engine to actually run all the “local” apps. There’ll also be a ‘Gaia’ UI and app suite that’s hardware-independent.

What remains to be seen is whether Firefox OS can hold its own against Android, which has already made significant inroads into the entry-level smartphone market. More on the platform in our hands-on.

Firefox OS smartphones due 2013 as Mozilla reveals partners is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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