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The Daily Roundup for 02.27.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Huawei, LG pitch tents in growing Firefox OS camp
While we doubt Huawei or LG were singing "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date..." at MWC this year, in hindsight they likely would have enjoyed sharing what arguably became the biggest deal of this show. Unfortunately the two handsets we caught up with at Telefonica's booth were behind glass and no amount of reason was going to see them sprung. Obviously the Huawei offering isn't close to ready as it is running on an Android set, though, the LG while powered off certainly looked like a complete housing featuring the requisite home button. So it would seem Firefox OS has become a waiting game as we sit and tally what other manufacturers feel it's safe to jump on board. Short gallery of the two devices under glass are just below.%Gallery-180026%
Geeksphone Keon hands-on: a small Firefox OS phone that has big dreams (video)
Geeksphone may be an online phone seller based in Spain, but the name of its lower-end Firefox OS reference phone, Keon, appears to be Dutch. Regardless of the title's origin, the part of the phone that's most intriguing is the fact that it's one of the first to bear Mozilla's mobile platform. It isn't much in the way of specs, and that's easy enough to tell from just glancing at it, thanks to a 3.5-inch HVGA display. Still, the Keon's set of specs is actually on par with the Firefox protocol. This means that for roughly around 100 euros, we can expect to see a device with a 3MP camera, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, a 1,580mAh battery and a 1GHz single-core Snapdragon S17225A CPU. Don't expect an earth-shattering experience on this kind of phone, as it's meant to reside strictly on the low end. The Keon will be making its way onto the official company store in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we've made a lovely video and photo gallery below, so check them out.
Geeksphone Peak hands-on: a midrange Firefox OS phone from Spain (video)
Never heard of Geeksphone before? We can't quite blame you, but it's getting a fair share of attention at Mobile World Congress. While the company has cranked out an Android handset or two over the past few years, it's now dipping a second hand into the Firefox OS pot. Of the two models unveiled at this week's show, the Peak is the higher-end: it boasts a 4.3-inch qHD display, 8MP rear camera and 2MP front-facing cam, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Play chipset (MSM8225), 512MB RAM, 4GB storage with microSD expansion and a 1,800mAh battery. As you can see, the specs on the Peak aren't anything to email home about, but for a Firefox OS device, it's certainly above-average. The materials are rather on the plasticky side and don't necessarily exude a large sense of elegance, but we're not going to say that the build quality isn't out of the norm for a device in this price range. We didn't have any problem holding it in our hand, and while we weren't given exact dimensions, it appeared to be roughly 10mm thick. The back of the Peak sports the camera, LED flash and the branding of a Firefox OS developer device. In terms of radio frequencies, the Peak is compatible with HSPA 900/1900/2100 and quad-band GSM / EDGE. It's expected to arrive in Geeksphone's retail store in the coming weeks and the estimated price will be around 200 euros. Check out our full gallery and video of the device and OS below.
Mozilla CEO: looking at a 2014 time frame for a US Firefox OS release
With a number of other countries already in line to get their hands on Mozilla's Firefox OS, it's pretty clear that the company doesn't have the States at the top of its list of priorities. While attending its press conference at MWC today, however, we just had to ask: when will we be getting a turn at the mobile operating system? CEO Gary Kovacs assured us that the US is indeed on the list (albeit a bit further down), and his company has both plans and partners lined up for what looks to be a 2014 release time frame for the low cost operating system.
Firefox OS heading to Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Spain and more; Huawei device coming soon
Not content with a simple Deutsche Telecom announcement, Mozilla's using Mobile World Congress as a platform to launch its mobile operating system in a slew of markets. Rolling out in waves, the first round of devices featuring Firefox OS include the likes of Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela, with more markets soon, according to the company. The first round of handsets include devices by Alcatel, LG and ZTE. Mozilla also let slip news of a forthcoming handset from Huawei, who just capped up their own MWC press conference. As you'd expect, there's a whole slew of carriers on board. You can find the list in the release after the break.
ZTE Open, the company's first Firefox OS phone, gets a spec sheet at MWC
Remember that ZTE teased the MWC debut of its upcoming Firefox OS phone? Well, according to this spec sheet spotted by a tipster at ZTE's MWC booth, said device will be appropriately named ZTE Open, and it'll come with a moderate set of components: a Cortex-A5-based Qualcomm MSM7225A (which is known to clock at either 600MHz or 800MHz), a 3.5-inch HVGA TFT display with capacitive touchscreen, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 512MB NAND storage and the usual set of radios like WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR3), GPS and FM radio. Interestingly, there will be a 3.2-megapixel front-facing camera, but it appears that there'll be none on the back. The Open will be available in three SKUs with different UMTS bands: 850/1900, 850/2100 and 900/2100. As always, we'll be sharing the full announcement and hands-on once we see the phone at MWC, though we have a feeling that we've already played with it before. Update: As some of you have pointed out, yes, the "FF" may actually mean "fixed focus" instead of "front-facing," and the former seems more likely. [Thanks, anonymous]
The Weekly Roundup for 01.21.2013
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 7 days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Daily Roundup for 01.22.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The Daily Roundup for 01.08.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Mozilla launches Firefox OS Simulator 1.0 into the wild, alongside per-window private browsing for nightlies
We knew it was en route, and now developers anxious to try out potential apps for Firefox OS can finally get to cracking without the need to source any additional hardware. The 1.0 build of the Firefox OS Simulator enables devs to test their programs for the outfit's new mobile OS without having to find a compatible phone. Mozilla's calling this a "preview" for now -- given that Firefox OS itself is still in development -- but it's still an exciting launch for those who've been waiting patiently to get their code dirty. Moreover, the company is bringing per-window private browsing to Firefox, though it's being reserved for the experimental Nightly versions of Firefox until it's stable enough to hit the release channels. Head on over to the source links for more, or pop past the break for a video demonstration.
Huawei's building its own mobile operating system 'just in case' there's trouble ahead
Huawei's boss must have been a Boy Scout, since he's taken its "be prepared' motto deeply to his heart. CEO Wan Biao has told Reuters that his company is working on its own mobile OS just in case its partners "won't let us use their system[s] one day." We don't expect to ever see the software, but given the fractious nature of the business, it's more likely to be a barbed hint at Google and Microsoft to keep sending flowers and chocolates to Shenzhen. That said, given that local rival ZTE is building phones with Firefox's OS, we'd politely suggest that it rescues another beloved OS from the clutches of HP's indifference.
ZTE to launch Mozilla-based smartphones early next year
ZTE just can't get enough mobile OS's. The manufacturer is all over Android, it's got Windows Phone 8 coming out of leaky pores, and now it's revealed plans to launch phones based on the Firefox OS (formerly "Boot to Gecko") as early as the first quarter of next year. That's not so surprising, perhaps, given that Mozilla already told us it was working with ZTE to bring its HTML-5 powered platform to life, but it further emphasizes the fact that Chinese smartphone giants are casting about for a viable alternative to Google.
Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Refresh Roundup: week of September 3rd, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Firefox OS Marketplace leaks in current form, shows shopping Gecko-style
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. [Thanks, Anonymous] %Gallery-164192%
Download nightlies of Firefox OS, get your own hands-on
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.
Mozilla giving Thunderbird the (effective) axe, leaving its fate to the community
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.
