Guest hecatae Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Telefonica’s Movistar network in Spain has started selling the ZTE Open for €69 (£59), including a €30 prepaid credit. Just to jog your memory - the ZTE Open has a 3.5 inch 320x480 HVGA display, a MSM7225a Snapdragon CPU, 512MB ROM, a pitiful 256MB RAM and a 1,200mAh battery. Which also happens to describe the ZTE Kis specifications exactly... Movistar are also including a 4GB Micro SD, which goes some way to making up for the tiny onboard storage. The full press release: Telefónica, Mozilla and ZTE to launch Firefox OS in Spain on July 2 • Movistar to offer the ZTE Open for €69, including €30 of balance for prepaid customers and a 4GB microSD card • The ZTE Open is the first of a number of Firefox OS devices that will be launched by Telefónica this year • Firefox OS devices will also be launched by Telefónica in other markets, including Colombia and Venezuela, in the coming weeks Madrid, 1 July 2013 - Telefónica, Mozilla and ZTE today announced the world’s first commercial launch of Firefox OS with the ZTE Open available at Movistar stores from 2nd July priced at €69 (inc. VAT), including €30 for prepaid customers and the option of zero interest financing for post pay customers*. The launch marks a significant moment for the mobile phone industry with consumers able for the first time to buy a smartphone based entirely on open web standards. Firefox OS frees consumers and developers from the constraints of existing closed ecosystems by using the web as the platform for all functionality and applications. Commenting on the launch, Luis Miguel Gilpérez, CEO of Telefónica España, said, “We believe that smartphones need to be more open and that the web is the platform for making this possible. Consumers should not be locked to any one system but have the choice to consume the content they want and the flexibility to be able to take it with them when they change devices. This first open web device marks a significant milestone in making this possible. This is just the beginning as we plan to bring a wide range of Firefox OS devices to our customers.” The ZTE Open offers customers a smartphone experience at an incredible price point, making it ideal for cost conscious consumers or those looking to upgrade to a smartphone for the first time. The experience will be further enhanced as new features and capabilities are added via over the air updates. Firefox OS features a revolutionary new search capability that allows the device to adapt to the user’s changing needs and is only built into Firefox OS. Swipe to the right from the home screen and enter a search term and the phone will customize itself to that search. For example, search for an artist and get results to buy songs, watch music videos, buy concert tickets and even listen to them instantly without having to download and install any apps. “The launch of Firefox OS marks an incredibly exciting time for the mobile industry. Firefox OS powers the first smartphones built entirely on Web technologies and will stimulate an inspiring new wave of innovation for the Web,” says Jay Sullivan, Mozilla Chief Operating Officer. "We are proud to work with partners like Telefonica which see the potential to deliver an experience for first time smartphone users that will delight them and really put the power of the Web in people’s hands.” The ZTE Open features a 3.5-inch, HVGA TFT touchscreen display and has 256MB RAM and 512MB ROM combined with a 3.2MP camera. A 4GB microSD card is also included. The ZTE Open offers all of the capabilities of a smartphone including messaging, email, calendar, FM radio, camera with built-in style filters, location-based services from Nokia HERE maps and browsing via the Firefox Web browser. "We are honored to partner with Telefónica and Mozilla to launch our first Firefox OS phone, ZTE Open. It is packed with everything you would expect from a smartphone, delivering a great experience for those upgrading to one for the first time. As one of the top five smartphone manufacturers in the world, ZTE is devoted to providing more options for customers globally and enabling them to live better lives via advanced technology," said Mr. Dai Wenhong, VP of ZTE Corporation. In addition to discoverability of content via the dynamic search capability, customers will also benefit from easy access to familiar global and local apps through the Firefox Marketplace. Content partners supporting Firefox OS include EL PAÍS, La Caixa, AS, eBay, Badoo, Terra, Telepizza, Pisos.com, KAYAK, The Weather Channel, TMZ, AOL, Wikipedia, CNNMoney, Huffington Post, TIME and Tuenti. This growing list joins existing apps including Facebook, MTV Brasil, Airbnb, Time Out, Twitter and SoundCloud and demonstrates the continuing evolution of the content ecosystem. The ZTE Open is the first of a number of Firefox OS devices that will be launched by Telefónica this year, offering the benefits of this new open operating system across a range of different price points. Other device manufacturers supporting Firefox OS include Alcatel OneTouch, LG, Huawei and Sony. Firefox OS devices will also be launched by Telefónica in other markets, including Colombia and Venezuela, in the coming weeks. Typos in the press release courtesy of Telefonica. ;) Are you interested in a Firefox OS Smartphone? Let us know (and tell us why!) in the comments. [Via: Telefonica] Click here to view the item Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest glossywhite Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Another failed open source project which will fall by the wayside... wow... Next please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vermat17 Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 You never know... Android was like that at one stage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulMilbank Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Why do you say that glossywhite? The goal of Firefox OS is to provide a simple but smart interface to unify feature phones and make use of the availability of mobile data. I think it does it amazingly and could really take off. It is not meant to be an Android or IOS or Windows Phone clone. It is meant to be a replacement for feature phones and thus has low hardware requirements so it will be fast on all hardware. It should carve out a niche at the top end of the feature phone market and the bottom end of the Android market where manufacturers are using Android because it is free, but not optimized for low end hardware. I can't wait to see them down here in NZ and would love to get my hands on a geeksphone peak, but they seem to be listed as permanently sold out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Soup Thief Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Really interested to see how Firefox mobile os pans out. That the mobile companies support it so much makes me suspect it may end up being horrible and what is (I think) the necessity for always on Internet access may hamstring it (and raise costs for low end users) but the claimed aims sound good. Fwiw, I'd have thought nz would be a rotten place to use these (until the Google Loon trial rolls out) due to the poor coverage outside the cities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rangeoshun Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Why would it need constant internet?! A HTML page can be downloaded, and looked at in a browser from the file system. To download something you do need a connection, but hey! Show me an OS where you don't :D Plus Mozilla ported the Unreal engine into webGL and javascript, so these advances can be built in the OS! Take a look: http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/154994-epic-mozilla-release-unreal-engine-3-html5-demo-to-the-public-and-its-awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulMilbank Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Fwiw, I'd have thought nz would be a rotten place to use these (until the Google Loon trial rolls out) due to the poor coverage outside the cities Its not that bad :) I have traveled a lot within NZ and very seldom struggle with coverage. Even so, I am thinking there will be some caching and other tricks to keep it going with no signal, I believe there are also local as well as connected apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Beyongthewall Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 Anyone has hands on experience with the model? Looks pretty well and definitely a fresh blood into mobile os . The price is also amazing, i guess it is will be hot product in Africa and Sourth America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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