Firefox OS
iOS and Android are great, but they each have their own rules and policies that
certainly inhibit the creative efforts of developers. Mozilla has since decided to build a new mobile operating system from scratch, one that will focus on true openness, freedom and user choice. It’s Firefox OS.
Firefox OS is built on Gonk, Gecko and Gaia software layers – for the rest of us, it means it is built on open source, and it carries web technologies such as HTML5and CSS3. Firefox OS is designed to provide a complete, community-based alternative operating system, for running web applications directly or those installed from an application marketplace.
The applications use open standards and approaches such as JavaScript and HTML5, a robust privilege model, open web APIs that can communicate directly with hardware, e.g. cellphone hardware. As such, it competes with commercially developed operating systems such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone, BlackBerry's BlackBerry 10 and Jolla's Sailfish OS.
Firefox OS for phones is dead
Today, in an email sent to developers, Mozilla said that “we will end development on Firefox OS for smartphones after the version 2.6 release” as well as ceasing to accept app submissions for Android, desktop or tablet to the marketplace from March 29.
According to that email, the devices team has “has been testing out a new product innovation process” which indicates a replacement platform may be on the way — but we’ll have to wait until sometime in the “first half of the year” to find out more.
The company says it will continue the “foxfooding” program that tests handsets, but it won’t be using a “Firefox OS build as we know it today.”
Firefox OS, which only got its first official device in 2013, will reach end of support in May with the company removing all staff and supporting team members from the project at that point.
Farewell Firefox OS smartphones. Mozilla today announced an end to its smartphone experiment, and said that it would stop developing and selling Firefox OS smartphones. It will continue to experiment on how it might work on other connected devices and Internet of Things networks.
The announcement was made earlier today at Mozilla’s developer event in Orlando, “Mozlando“, and several people were tweeting the basics of the news. Now Mozilla has provided us with a full statement from Ari Jaaksi, Mozilla’s SVP of Connected Devices.
“We are proud of the benefits Firefox OS added to the Web platform and will continue to experiment with the user experience across connected devices. We will build everything we do as a genuine open source project, focused on user experience first and build tools to enable the ecosystem to grow.
Firefox OS proved the flexibility of the Web, scaling from low-end smartphones all the way up to HD TVs. However, we weren’t able to offer the best user experience possible and so we will stop offering Firefox OS smartphones through carrier channels.We’ll share more on our work and new experiments across connected devices soon.”
To differentiate from Android and iOS, Mozilla and its carrier partners focused on a web-first platform, with no native and only web apps. Sales, however, were always poor and the devices themselves failed to ignite a lot of consumer interest, and a number of OEMs cornered the market with a flood of cheap handsets. In a business that depends on economies of scale, it was a failure.
Mozilla has been on a streamlining track lately. Last week it announced that it would be looking for alternative homes for its Thunderbird email and chat client. The aim is for the company to focus more on its strongest and core products and reputation. Today the company also unveiled a new ad blocker, playing on its existing approach to privacy and stance on user tracking and cookies.
certainly inhibit the creative efforts of developers. Mozilla has since decided to build a new mobile operating system from scratch, one that will focus on true openness, freedom and user choice. It’s Firefox OS.
Firefox OS is built on Gonk, Gecko and Gaia software layers – for the rest of us, it means it is built on open source, and it carries web technologies such as HTML5and CSS3. Firefox OS is designed to provide a complete, community-based alternative operating system, for running web applications directly or those installed from an application marketplace.
The applications use open standards and approaches such as JavaScript and HTML5, a robust privilege model, open web APIs that can communicate directly with hardware, e.g. cellphone hardware. As such, it competes with commercially developed operating systems such as Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Phone, BlackBerry's BlackBerry 10 and Jolla's Sailfish OS.
Firefox OS for phones is dead
Today, in an email sent to developers, Mozilla said that “we will end development on Firefox OS for smartphones after the version 2.6 release” as well as ceasing to accept app submissions for Android, desktop or tablet to the marketplace from March 29.
According to that email, the devices team has “has been testing out a new product innovation process” which indicates a replacement platform may be on the way — but we’ll have to wait until sometime in the “first half of the year” to find out more.
The company says it will continue the “foxfooding” program that tests handsets, but it won’t be using a “Firefox OS build as we know it today.”
Firefox OS, which only got its first official device in 2013, will reach end of support in May with the company removing all staff and supporting team members from the project at that point.
Farewell Firefox OS smartphones. Mozilla today announced an end to its smartphone experiment, and said that it would stop developing and selling Firefox OS smartphones. It will continue to experiment on how it might work on other connected devices and Internet of Things networks.
The announcement was made earlier today at Mozilla’s developer event in Orlando, “Mozlando“, and several people were tweeting the basics of the news. Now Mozilla has provided us with a full statement from Ari Jaaksi, Mozilla’s SVP of Connected Devices.
“We are proud of the benefits Firefox OS added to the Web platform and will continue to experiment with the user experience across connected devices. We will build everything we do as a genuine open source project, focused on user experience first and build tools to enable the ecosystem to grow.
Firefox OS proved the flexibility of the Web, scaling from low-end smartphones all the way up to HD TVs. However, we weren’t able to offer the best user experience possible and so we will stop offering Firefox OS smartphones through carrier channels.We’ll share more on our work and new experiments across connected devices soon.”
To differentiate from Android and iOS, Mozilla and its carrier partners focused on a web-first platform, with no native and only web apps. Sales, however, were always poor and the devices themselves failed to ignite a lot of consumer interest, and a number of OEMs cornered the market with a flood of cheap handsets. In a business that depends on economies of scale, it was a failure.
Mozilla has been on a streamlining track lately. Last week it announced that it would be looking for alternative homes for its Thunderbird email and chat client. The aim is for the company to focus more on its strongest and core products and reputation. Today the company also unveiled a new ad blocker, playing on its existing approach to privacy and stance on user tracking and cookies.
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