“This
week we are announcing our new Firefox OS developer preview phones because we
believe that developers will help bring the power of the Web to mobile”
Director of Web sites
and Developer Engagement at Mozilla, Stormy Peters in a blog post on Tuesday
January 22nd 2013
Now
if my blog
article entitled “Samsung's
Tizen, Firefox OS and Ubuntu OS to unseat Google Android by 2015 - How Linux
and HTML 5 are Oz the Great and Powerful for Open Source”
on why Samsung is gung-ho about its latest smartphone OS aptly named Tizen is
not convincing or compelling enough a proposition to get into the after sales
market of Apps with their own OS, I’m not sure what to tell you.
Perhaps
Samsung Manager David Eun announcing in an interview on Monday February 11th
2013 with All
Things Digital Reporter Kara Swisher that it’s their
intention to completely replace Google Android with Tizen OS by the Fourth
Quarter of 2013 on ALL its smartphones should convince you as noted in “Samsung
ditching Android this year with new Tizen phone”,
published 15 February 2013, 9:30am By Rich Trenholm, CNET News
And
Samsung’s not alone in their vainglorious attempts to get rid of Google
Android, albeit for other OS contenders, it’s mainly about survival in the so
called “Post-PC era” as opposed to making money. This in a world going slowly
towards Mobile Computing as opined in How
the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World
Rediscovers Tablets.
Already the smartphone OS field is already crowded,
leading many to speculate that we may have too many smartphone OS as argued by CNET Editor Jessica Dolcourt
in “No, we
don't really need another smartphone OS”, published January 2, 2013 3:11
PM PST by Jessica Dolcourt, CNET News, despite this being good for smartphone Bio-Diversity, as can be seen
from the list of Smartphone OS below:
1.
Android
2.
iOS
3.
Windows Phone 8
4.
Blackberry 10
5. Firefox OS
6. Ubuntu OS
7. Tizen
8. Web OS
The
Mozilla Foundation also has plans for their own smartphone and Tablet OS called
Firefox OS, named after their very popular browser as mentioned at the end of
my Geezam blog
article “How
to reset the default Search Engine in Mozilla Firefox”. The
Mozilla Foundation is now getting serious, having now outed two (2) smartphones
for Developers to play with, named the low-end Keon and the high-end Peak as
announced in “GeeksPhone
reveals Firefox OS phones for Developers”, published January 22, 2013
3:48 AM PST by Stephen Shankland, CNET News.
Made
by 2009 start-up phone maker Geeksphone, based in Spain of all places, the two
smartphones were designed by a ten (10) man team, they’ll also Debut in the
Fourth Quarter of 2013. Already the Mozilla Foundation is off to a bad start,
sorts, as the smartphones should have been given to Developers for free if they
want them to port their Apps to the new OS.
The
specs tell the tale of the tape:
Keon smartphone specs:
1. 1GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor
2. 3.5-inch
screen
3. 1,580mAh
battery
4. 3MP
camera
5. 4GB
of ROM
6. 512MB
of RAM
7. MicroSD
slot
8. 802.11n
wireless networking
9. Light
and proximity sensors
10. GPS
11. Accelerometer
12. Camera
flash
Peak smartphone specs:
1. 1.2GHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
2. 4.3-inch
screen
3. 1,800mAh
battery
4. 8MP
camera
5. 4GB
of ROM
6. 512MB
of RAM
7. MicroSD
slot
8. 802.11n
wireless networking
9. Light
and proximity sensors
10. GPS
11. Accelerometer
12. Camera
flash
Also,
their development cycles are a bit too long, compared to Apple and Google
Android, who update their OS every few months or so with major updates done
yearly. Still Telecom Providers Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart, Sprint,
Telecom Italia, and Telenor have all committed support to this venture.
Intel,
also a support of Samsung’s Tizen OS as Samsung’s new smartphones will be using
their Chipsets, also supporting the new OS as noted in “Mozilla
Unveils Firefox OS Developer Phones”, published January 22, 2013
11:12am EST By Chloe Albanesius, PCWorld.
Like Samsung’s efforts, this is also the Mozilla
Foundation’s bid to be relevant and develop a Mobile Strategy as the whole world
goes crazy over the cannibalistic trend towards Mobile Computing as predicted
in my Geezam
blog
article “How
the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World
Rediscovers Tablets”.
Meanwhile Canonical, the developers behind the popular
Linux based Desktop Operating System, Ubuntu, have also decided to toss their
hat into the ring. Canonical’s bid to bring the power of Desktop and Laptop
oriented Linux to smartphones is called – what else? - Ubuntu OS as per the article “Ubuntu OS
smartphones tapped for late 2013”, published January 2, 2013 10:57
AM PST by Jessica Dolcourt, CNET News.
They’re slated to make their debut in the Third Quarter of 2013, specifically October of 2013 as stated in “Ubuntu
OS smartphones to hit stores in October”, published
February 6, 2013 6:15 PM PST by Dara Kerr, CNET News.
Coincidence?
I think not, as Samsung’s Tizen OS, Mozilla Foundation’s
Firefox OS and Canonical’s Ubuntu OS have one thing in common: a disdain for
Java and support for more LiMo (Linux Mobile) which is true Open Source and
porting web-friendly HTML5 based programs to run on their OS’s.
Canonical’s idea, according to Ubuntu’s founder, Mark
Shuttleworth, is akin to the same
philosophy used in the PC World; get persons to install the OS on the
smartphone to try out the new OS as noted in “Ubuntu operating system comes to
Android smartphones”, published 2 January 2013 Last updated at 18:17 GMT
By Leo Kelion Technology reporter, BBC News.
Both
of these noble attempts have shortcomings, as they may be hampered by recent
regulations now in effect since Saturday January 26th 2013 put in
place by the Librarian of Congress as noted in “Unauthorized
unlocking of smartphones becomes illegal Saturday”,
published January 25, 2013 4:57 AM PST by Eric Mack, CNET News and “Unlocking
your new smartphone is now illegal: What you need to know” published
January 26, 2013 By Andrew Couts, DigitalTrends.
This is
to
prevent people modifying the phones in any way that may result in the phone’s
firmware being tampered with and ending up being unlocked, a violation of DMCA
(Digital Millennium Copyright Act). In addition, changing one’s OS is really
the preserve of Geeks and Tech enthusiasts, rendering this strategy ineffective
being proffered by Canonical as argued in
“Ubuntu's
Phone OS Is Nothing Without Hardware”, published January 2, 2013
05:30pm EST By Sascha Segan, PCWorld.
So
they’re already off to a bad start behind the Korean heavyweight Samsung, who’s
Tizen OS is looking more like a contender, albeit it’s yet early days and no
clear winners can really be chosen. Samsung’s got the hardware, the Telecom
Provider partnerships and the Developer partnerships with Intel. With Android
having carried them thus Tizen OS will set them free of Google Android by 2015.
But
one thing is for sure; the developments by Samsung, Mozilla Foundation and
Canonical broadens the OS pool and sets the stage for Mobile Computing devices
getting even smaller, if Intel can get their PC strength Chipsets into Mobile
Computing market in which they’ve had no influence. These three (3) smartphone
OS are basically David
Guetta’s Titanium Robotic giants controlled by humans fighting a battle
against the Google Android invader Pacific RIM (2013)
Style.
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