Currently we are familiar with names such as iOS, Windows Phone, Android, and Symbian. It is the operating system available on most smartphones and tablets are on the market, across all segments from budget to luxury. By early this year, we have added a new member to join this field, it is Firefox OS. This is an open source OS, Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox browser built specifically for smartphones and tablet computers. A special feature of Firefox OS that it works based on open web standards such as HTML5, JavaScript and hardware they run on the Qualcomm chip production. In this article I will share with you some information about the history as well as the characteristics and potential of the Firefox mobile OS in the world today.
1. Life history and the first device running Firefox OS
On 07/25/2011, Dr. Andreas Gal, director of the research division of Mozilla introduced to a number of developers on the project “Boot to Gecko” (B2G) that the company is developing & Drafts of this project is that in order to “pursue the goal of building complete operating system independence to the world and open web”. This operating system to help programmers can build web-based applications as well as the native application (native app which is the software that you normally use on BlackBerry 10, iOS, Android or Windows Phone) Of course as Boot to Gecko targeting mobile devices, it must support the features that users desire in a modern product such as the ability to listen to calls, texting, photographing, filming, 3G/Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS.
Since then, Mozilla aims to build Boot to Gecko with focus include:
Web API: the programming function help web-based applications to access the functionality of devices and operating systems such as camera, chipset, the wireless transceiver the resource management…
A decentralized model allows API library can be safely used by web-based applications.
The line of code at the lowest level are responsible for setting up a basic foundation and help Boot to Gecko can start operating on the Android device’s hardware.
By Date 02/07/2012, decided to rename the Mozilla Boot to Gecko as Firefox OS. At this point perhaps you have felt familiar because Firefox is also popular browsers developed by Mozilla. Right from the time of infancy, the Firefox OS has received good support from the network side of the world such as Deutsche Telekom, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Telenor. Private study rooms Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom’s Innovation Labs have announced support for the project since a long time ago. Also during 2/7, Mozilla said the first devices using Firefox OS will be manufactured by TCL Communication Technology / Alcatel One Touch and ZTE all running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
Eighteen days later 07.20.2012, Mozilla Loading nightly version (very early test version “of Firefox on the internet, the church provides a software emulator that allows developers to trial This operating system on Windows, OS X and Linux. Immediately images of the interface of Firefox OS are transmitted over the Internet and it impressed by the simplicity of the design but still vivid and eye-catching and of course all the apps for Firefox OS will be designed and programmed in HTML5, JavaScript and many other open web standards which are being used on a lot of websites worldwide.
By September 2012, a series of leaked news about Firefox OS leaked online. First picture Marketplace Firefox, Firefox OS app store, then turn the Firefox OS image leaked on the actual device. Even major media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal also lead to reliable sources revealed the release date of Firefox OS devices with Qualcomm chips.
By the end of September, Mozilla voiced share the design philosophy of the company has applied for his son. On its blog, the designer Patryk Adamczyk gave details of how the development team to create the interface for the operating system, using icons, a coordinated approach with other characters as well as the audio component has been used to make Firefox OS becomes more modern and beautiful. Mozilla has also referred to the background color, dark colors which are mainly used for entertainment applications to bring the experience “like watching cine” and the light for the utility to “make sense feeling like you are in the office. The chosen color for icons like this in which the application icon for the device associated with green, entertainment software, then blue, engine work, orange, and installation and other utilities are gray.
By Date 12/12/2012, Mozilla officially launched version 1.0 of Firefox OS emulator. To this point, we have a very detailed look of the operating system that Mozilla so long cherished. In comparison with the nightlines, the interface is much improved mainly in the direction of more visible and simpler but still retain the inherent dynamic looks. Since the installation of the emulator is easy, so normal users could also try viewing experience Firefox look like, how it works how.
On 22/01/2013, Peak and Keon Mozilla announced two smartphones running Firefox OS is designed primarily aimed at developers and programmers. Indeed, the handset simply Mozilla hardware device is used to set the operating system inside – similar to what RIM has done with its BlackBerry Dev Alpha. Unlike Dev Alpha, the two smartphones are integrated 2G/3G chip, so it can make phone features, such as conventional message.
In the hardware configuration, the first Keon, the machine is equipped with 3.5 “screen, HVGA resolution (480 x 320) S1 Snapdragon CPU clocked at 1GHz, 512MB RAM, 3MP camera. Meanwhile, Peak as noted above is somewhat higher when the screen 4.3 “qHD, Snapdragon S4 dual-core CPU, clocked at 1.2 GHz. In addition, Peak battery has higher capacity Keon (1800 mAh compared to 1580 mAh).
On 03.25.2013, the moment has finally arrived. At the MWC 2013 exhibition, Mozilla has the same two partners ZTE and Alcatel introduces two commercial products first run Firefox OS: ZTE and Alcatel One Touch Open Fire. Both are designed based on a reference design Keon. Open ZTE uses 3.5 “screen resolution of 320 x 480, the Cortex-A5 CPU 1GHz, 256MB RAM, 512MB of internal memory, supports microSD card expansion. Owned Open rear camera 3, 2 megapixel cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 1200mAh battery’s Fire The Alcatel One Touch has the same configuration as above, except that 1400 mAh battery is raised and One Touch Open Fire will aim at low range segment and there are many different color options.
With the emergence of these two devices, Mozilla has once again emphasized that Firefox OS will not direct confrontation with the existing high-end platforms such as iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Instead, Mozilla’s operating system will hit the cheap phone segment in order to use the smartphone experience to users in the emerging markets of the world. That is why we see the low profile of both the Open and One Touch Fire.
2. Hardware Partners
As we all know, Mozilla is responsible for developing the software and platform and they want to bring to the consumer devices not to mention the hardware vendors at MWC 2013 Mozilla announced that ZTE and Alcatel addition, it will also shake hands with LG and Huawei. Sony also has a move that surprised the technology world claims jump to Firefox OS array. Bob Ishida, right CEO and chief product of Sony Mobile, said the company’s engineers are working with Firefox OS and HTML5, the technology is evolving and has great potential. Sony expects the first devices to be launched in 2014. Ishida added that Firefox OS will provide an opportunity for Sony to access new segments and gives customers more choices than with the device “senior” Sony.
It is known that the first devices running Firefox OS will be released in the middle of this year, probably in June or July depending on region where was the first computer to distribute Firefox OS will be South America, followed by Asia and Europe respectively. America will also air Firefox OS but not until 2014 the new firm of its products to the place.
3. Qualcomm Processor and role for Firefox OS
In addition to the direct production equipment, Mozilla also own collaboration with Qualcomm to optimize its operating system for the Snapdragon processor. Qualcomm said that with Firefox OS, programmers can leverage the power of Snapdragon using HTML5 to access every feature of the device. We can take two examples ZTE and Alcatel One Touch Open Fire both of which use Qualcomm’s MSM7225A a Cortex-A5 with 1GHz which is accompanied by the Adreno 200 graphics processor. This chip belongs to the Snapdragon S1 only but it has enough power to operate an open platform is mainly based on the common web standards and above all do not require powerful hardware too. Qualcomm MSM7225A has the ability to provide the resources needed for a decent system while ensuring the efficient use of energy. In other words, the combination of Firefox OS with Qualcomm chip promises to bring long battery life for users.
At the present time, we can hardly expect the advanced SoC Qualcomm as Snapdragon S4 Pro, 600 Snapdragon, Snapdragon 800 will appear on the computer Firefox OS by relatively high cost while the goals of Firefox OS is the emerging markets, where people need a cheap machine and all features. Qualcomm said it will continue to work with Mozilla to help Firefox OS runs smoothly on some new Snapdragon processors. Hopefully in the future we will see Snapdragon S2, S3, S4 Play, even the Snapdragon 200/400 appeared with Firefox OS.
Mozilla does not exclude the possibility that they will…….. The mid-range segment and low range in the near future. Maybe then we can see the SoC “peak” Qualcomm is integrated into the Firefox OS devices. For now Mozilla and Qualcomm will focus on exploiting the popular segment.
4. The technology used in the Firefox web OS operating system and architecture
As stated above, Firefox OS is built on many open web standards to provide interoperability between applications with the operating system and allows performance of the web app is comparable to native app. To cater for this Firefox OS software has three main layers all of which are built on top of Linux.
Gonk (the infrastructure layer)
This class includes the Linux kernel, drivers, firmware and modem inside a small component called a hardware emulator class (Hardware Abstraction Layer – HAL, tasked as a “motherboard driver” to hide differences hardware to the OS kernel, Due HAL that people will not have to rewrite the kernel when converted to use the new hardware.
Gonk library also includes many of the popular open source projects such as bluez (Bluetooth protocol suite for use with Linux) libusb (library to control the exchange of data via USB) the control script LEDs and hard buttons, touchscreen, sound, photographs, energy control, … Particularly, the HAL shares many components with the Android HAL, mainly to hide the differences between the transceiver GPS, camera and more. We can see Gonk as a Linux distro is extremely simple and it allows direct access to hardware something not many other mobile OS can do.
Gecko Runtime
Gecko is an application runtime environment for Boot to Gecko, and now is for Firefox. Gecko integrated open standards such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, which is the best tool familiar to most building sites in the world. For example, such Subtle, it is written in HTML5 (the frame construction and the main component), CSS3 (for Layout, web decoration) and JavaScript (programmed events, tasks, Gecko also in her sets on network protocols, graphics, web page layout, the virtual machine (for JavaScript) as well as the communication port.
Gaia
Gaia is the name of the user interface in Firefox OS; it can control everything drawn on the screen. Gaia lock screen, home screen, the phone calls, messaging, apps camera, watches and all the applications you would expect from a modern smartphone. Also Gaia also contains an online application store called Firefox Marketplace, where users can go to download and install software on their devices, similar as BlackBerry App World, Apple App Store, Google Play…. Gaia is written entirely in open web standards that I mentioned above. This class is known to communicate with the operating system through the Open Web API functions which are integrated in Gecko. Mozilla says that the third-party applications that can be installed in parallel with Gaia.
The Competitor with Firefox OS
Currently, Google’s Android operating system holds a dominant position in the smartphone village with approximately 70% market share according to data from research firm IDC. Compared to just a year ago Android was the extremely impressive growth up to 101%, which is nearly double the number of devices on the market. Followed by Apple’s iOS with 18.8% market share Both Android and iOS are backed by two major companies in the technology sector, they have many years of experience in developing mobile OS and has built long-term relationships with the phone companies do , the famous hardware & Therefore, in the near future, Firefox OS very difficult position for the Android and iOS.
What about the position then, why? Currently in third place is the BlackBerry followed by the Windows Phone and Symbian. Again the three OSs are supported by giant corporations are BlackBerry, Nokia, Microsoft, however trends and consumer preferences are not many studies on the three OS compared to Android and this iOS. If you want to break into one of these three places, Firefox OS will need to do more than just cheap target market. We are aware that Firefox OS will eventually…….. Medium and high-end segments, however this is a long term plan of Mozilla only.
Not to mention a series of mobile operating systems and is forthcoming in the near future. For example, this year we will have more Tizen, a mobile OS developed by Samsung and Intel. There is also Ubuntu, a Linux distro on a PC too famous building by Canonical. Bada, Jolla, Aliyun or even the Nokia Asha devices can also be seen as the enemy of Firefox OS in the low range segment.
6. The advantage of Firefox OS
First, as noted above consumer demand for other mobile operating system Android / iOS is not a large number, there are some even tend to decrease. This is an advantage that if good advantage, Firefox OS can be quickly confirmed his place in the smartphone sector. Not exclude the possibility that it could rise if Mozilla third set was the right strategy, both in the short and long term.
The cheap target segment of the first step is a correct decision of Firefox OS. According to Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs, the operating system that his company is developing the ability to attract an estimated 2 billion smartphones which mostly have nots purse more than enough for the first into the phone “Does a farmer in rural India have the same needs and conditions with a lawyer sitting in New York?”.
The above is the issue of the market in addition to the technical features of Firefox OS itself should also contribute to its competitive advantage. Firefox OS is an open source operating system, so in theory the hardware manufacturers will not have to spend money (or spending too much money) to integrate Firefox OS onto the device, so that the cost also be reduced. The objective of the ordinary men approached Mozilla strengthened.
Not to mention the open web platforms such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, which is widely used worldwide, the popularity and open this will attract developers to Firefox, thereby building up an ecosystem rich applications. Mozilla Firefox also promised that “will not be limited by the rules and policies as the current proprietary platforms.” Programmers, especially those who are used to working with Mozilla and Firefox, can take advantage of the “power trio” HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to quickly turn their website into a web application and bring division work on Firefox Marketplace. Mozilla many years of experience on the World Wide Web will also help a lot in the process of growing up Firefox OS. There have been a large number of partners committed to app for Firefox OS, such as Twitter, Facebook, Box, EA Games, Disney, eBay…
As expected, this summer will be the time the Firefox OS devices sold on the market. Until then, we will know the user’s response to how the operating system, its potential can be extended to any level With the advantages from within their architecture plus the change in the world of modern smartphones, Firefox OS is fully capable of becoming an alternative operating system for those who are not eligible machine shop iOS / Android. Hopefully Firefox OS will succeed.
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