Posts Tagged Mozilla

Mozilla offering free phones in hopes of bolstering Firefox OS app development

Posted by admin in News on May 9, 2013

Attention HTML5 virtuosos: Mozilla is thirsty for your talents. So much, in fact, that the outfit is baiting developers with a free smartphone in the hopes they’ll return the favor with fresh Firefox OS apps. In order to qualify for a device, you’ll need to submit a proposal to Mozilla outlining the app you wish to build or port to its new mobile platform. If your pitch is accepted, the company will hook you up with a free Geeksphone Keon to thank you for your labor. Sure, the device’s 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 512MB of RAM and 3-megapixel rear-facing camera are entry-level at best, but remember you’re getting this handset gratis. The program is set to close at the end of the month or when supplies run out, whichever comes first. So, if you’re interested in adding “Firefox OS developer” to your resume, hit up the source link to apply.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Mozilla

Firefox, Mozilla

Mozilla offering free phones in hopes of bolstering Firefox OS app development

Posted by admin in News on May 9, 2013

Attention HTML5 virtuosos: Mozilla is thirsty for your talents. So much, in fact, that the outfit is baiting developers with a free smartphone in the hopes they’ll return the favor with fresh Firefox OS apps. In order to qualify for a device, you’ll need to submit a proposal to Mozilla outlining the app you wish to build or port to its new mobile platform. If your pitch is accepted, the company will hook you up with a free Geeksphone Keon to thank you for your labor. Sure, the device’s 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 512MB of RAM and 3-megapixel rear-facing camera are entry-level at best, but remember you’re getting this handset gratis. The program is set to close at the end of the month or when supplies run out, whichever comes first. So, if you’re interested in adding “Firefox OS developer” to your resume, hit up the source link to apply.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Mozilla

app development, Firefox, free phones, Geeksphone Keon, Mozilla

Mozilla offering free phones in hopes of bolstering Firefox OS app development

Posted by admin in News on May 9, 2013

Attention HTML5 virtuosos: Mozilla is thirsty for your talents. So much, in fact, that the outfit is baiting developers with a free smartphone in the hopes they’ll return the favor with fresh Firefox OS apps. In order to qualify for a device, you’ll need to submit a proposal to Mozilla outlining the app you wish to build or port to its new mobile platform. If your pitch is accepted, the company will hook you up with a free Geeksphone Keon to thank you for your labor. Sure, the device’s 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 512MB of RAM and 3-megapixel rear-facing camera are entry-level at best, but remember you’re getting this handset gratis. The program is set to close at the end of the month or when supplies run out, whichever comes first. So, if you’re interested in adding “Firefox OS developer” to your resume, hit up the source link to apply.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Mozilla

app development, Firefox, free phones, Geeksphone Keon, Mozilla

Mozilla intros experimental web payment API for Firefox OS

Posted by admin in News on April 4, 2013

Mozilla’s fledgling Firefox OS has yet to seed out to actual consumers, but when it does an “easy and secure” payment platform should be in place. Announced via the company’s developer-focused Hacks blog, navigator.mozPay() is a Javascript API crafted in the vein of Google Wallet, but with a key difference: it’ll allow direct carrier billing and support for various payment providers. So when users trigger the ‘Buy’ button from within a web app, they’ll be presented with a window from which to complete the purchase, with the entirety of the transaction taking place “in-app.” Despite the desire to open this payment API up to all comers and deliver flexibility to consumers and merchants, the first batch of Firefox OS handsets will actually feature a whitelist of approved payment providers — something Mozilla hopes will eventually change as this API evolves and becomes more secure. But Firefox OS isn’t the last stop for the payment platform, as it’ll be headed to the desktop browser and Firefox for Android soon.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Mozilla

Firefox, Mozilla, payment platform

Mozilla intros experimental web payment API for Firefox OS

Posted by admin in News on April 4, 2013

Mozilla’s fledgling Firefox OS has yet to seed out to actual consumers, but when it does an “easy and secure” payment platform should be in place. Announced via the company’s developer-focused Hacks blog, navigator.mozPay() is a Javascript API crafted in the vein of Google Wallet, but with a key difference: it’ll allow direct carrier billing and support for various payment providers. So when users trigger the ‘Buy’ button from within a web app, they’ll be presented with a window from which to complete the purchase, with the entirety of the transaction taking place “in-app.” Despite the desire to open this payment API up to all comers and deliver flexibility to consumers and merchants, the first batch of Firefox OS handsets will actually feature a whitelist of approved payment providers — something Mozilla hopes will eventually change as this API evolves and becomes more secure. But Firefox OS isn’t the last stop for the payment platform, as it’ll be headed to the desktop browser and Firefox for Android soon.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Mozilla

Firefox, Mozilla, payment platform

Mozilla intros experimental web payment API for Firefox OS

Posted by admin in News on April 4, 2013

Mozilla’s fledgling Firefox OS has yet to seed out to actual consumers, but when it does an “easy and secure” payment platform should be in place. Announced via the company’s developer-focused Hacks blog, navigator.mozPay() is a Javascript API crafted in the vein of Google Wallet, but with a key difference: it’ll allow direct carrier billing and support for various payment providers. So when users trigger the ‘Buy’ button from within a web app, they’ll be presented with a window from which to complete the purchase, with the entirety of the transaction taking place “in-app.” Despite the desire to open this payment API up to all comers and deliver flexibility to consumers and merchants, the first batch of Firefox OS handsets will actually feature a whitelist of approved payment providers — something Mozilla hopes will eventually change as this API evolves and becomes more secure. But Firefox OS isn’t the last stop for the payment platform, as it’ll be headed to the desktop browser and Firefox for Android soon.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Mozilla

Firefox, Mozilla, payment platform

Samsung and Mozilla Partner up for a Next Generation Browser

Posted by admin in News on April 4, 2013

You must admit, the partnership of Mozilla and Samsung is kind of odd, but it is happening. Today, Mozilla announced that it is collaborating with Samsung to make a next-generation browser engine Servo. Mozilla says that its researchers have been working on the Servo projects since 2012 but it is still very far from becoming a commercial project. The browser is written in Rust, a new programming language the company is developing as well. Samsung and Mozilla intend to bring both Rust and the browser dubbed Servo to Android and to the ARM architecture in general.

Samsung has interest in this project because according to the company spokesperson, they are ‘investigating new technologies’ that will bring ‘new and innovative legacy products’ to the people. This partnership is a big opportunity for Samsung to ‘open a whole new era of future mobile web experience’.

Brendan Eich, Mozilla’s CTO, says that he believes that the future of mobile computing lies in parallel computing, hence the reason why Mozilla’s research group is putting a lot of effort in working to create web browsers that will take advantage of mobile devices’ high computing power. Current browsers do not make use of the power of smartphone processors – not even the most basic of the power that multicore processors offer in tablets and smartphones. WebGL and HTML5 are the only exceptions because WebGL makes use of graphics processors and HTML5 Web Workers brings multi-threading to JavaScript.

Samsung, of course, is working hard to be the market leader to bring a revolutionary powerful browser that makes use of the multi-core processors in smartphones and tablets. This partnership, however, is most likely to raise questions on the future of Samsung’s relationship with Google and their Google Chrome browser which is the leading and most popular browser on the Android platform today.

Mozilla is going to launch version 0.6 of the Rust compiler and related tools today, or already have. Rust is a lot like common languages such as Lisp, C++ and Erlang and focuses on safety, especially when in memory management errors, one area where C++ has an issue with. Mozilla plans to launch Rust 1.0 later this year, but we do not know when the Servo browser will be ready for public trial.

Source: PC Mag and Android Headlines

Mozilla, samsung

Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Samsung and Mozilla announced a new partnership today that involves the development of a next generation browser engine. Called Servo, this browser engine will take advantage of multiple cores, allowing it to work even faster than today’s mobile browsers. To start, Servo will run on ARM-powered Android devices. Servo is written on a new language called Rust which was developed by Mozilla and will help to beef up security. There is no official release date as Rust is not considered stable yet and if you are a developer, you can access the source code from Github.

Here is how Mozilla explains the programming language:

“It is intended to fill many of the same niches that C++ has over the past decades, with efficient high-level, multi-paradigm abstractions, and offers precise control over hardware resources. But beyond that, it is *safe by default*, preventing entire classes of memory management errors that lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. Rust also features lightweight concurrency primitives that make it easy for programmers to leverage the power of the many CPU cores available on current and future computing platforms.”

Source: The Mozilla Blog

Come comment on this article: Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

browser engine, Mozilla

Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Samsung and Mozilla announced a new partnership today that involves the development of a next generation browser engine. Called Servo, this browser engine will take advantage of multiple cores, allowing it to work even faster than today’s mobile browsers. To start, Servo will run on ARM-powered Android devices. Servo is written on a new language called Rust which was developed by Mozilla and will help to beef up security. There is no official release date as Rust is not considered stable yet and if you are a developer, you can access the source code from Github.

Here is how Mozilla explains the programming language:

“It is intended to fill many of the same niches that C++ has over the past decades, with efficient high-level, multi-paradigm abstractions, and offers precise control over hardware resources. But beyond that, it is *safe by default*, preventing entire classes of memory management errors that lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. Rust also features lightweight concurrency primitives that make it easy for programmers to leverage the power of the many CPU cores available on current and future computing platforms.”

Source: The Mozilla Blog

Come comment on this article: Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

browser engine, Mozilla

Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Samsung and Mozilla announced a new partnership today that involves the development of a next generation browser engine. Called Servo, this browser engine will take advantage of multiple cores, allowing it to work even faster than today’s mobile browsers. To start, Servo will run on ARM-powered Android devices. Servo is written on a new language called Rust which was developed by Mozilla and will help to beef up security. There is no official release date as Rust is not considered stable yet and if you are a developer, you can access the source code from Github.

Here is how Mozilla explains the programming language:

“It is intended to fill many of the same niches that C++ has over the past decades, with efficient high-level, multi-paradigm abstractions, and offers precise control over hardware resources. But beyond that, it is *safe by default*, preventing entire classes of memory management errors that lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. Rust also features lightweight concurrency primitives that make it easy for programmers to leverage the power of the many CPU cores available on current and future computing platforms.”

Source: The Mozilla Blog

Come comment on this article: Samsung And Mozilla Working On Browser Engine With Multi-Core Support

Visit TalkAndroid for Android news, Android guides, and much more!

browser engine, Mozilla

Samsung and Mozilla want to Bring Us ‘Next Generation Browser’

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Samsung and Mozilla have partnered up to bring us the next generation mobile browser. Android, Servo, and Mozilla say that this browser will take full advantage of ”tomorrow’s faster, multi-core” computing architectures. If that has not gotten you excited, I do not know what will.

Basically what they want to do, is throw out the old way web browsing was done. Servo is being built with Mozilla’s Rant language, which Samsung hand a helping hand in. Mozilla has made the Rust programming language available to Android developers, but we have no word on when this new browser will make presence known. Mozilla is telling the developers to get involved in the Rust language, so they can help improve upon it. The collaboration with Samsung, is just their way of seeking ”opportunities on mobile platforms.” Let us know what you guys think.

Source: The Verge

Mozilla, samsung

Mozilla And Samsung Teaming Up To Make A New Mobile Browser Engine: Meet ‘Servo’

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Mozilla announced on its official blog this morning that it’s teaming up with Samsung to create a brand-new mobile browser engine, dubbed Servo. Its aim is to power browsers for “tomorrow’s faster, multi-core, heterogeneous computing architectures” – so the sell is that Servo will be built from the ground up to take advantage of increasingly capable mobile hardware.

Servo will be written in Rust, Mozilla’s own programming language, which – surprise of surprises – has been designed to more readily take advantage of parallel computing. Rust also boasts more built-in security and memory stability compared to C++, according to Mozilla.

Servo’s primary competitor, obviously, will be WebKit, the current mobile browser engine of choice for both Google and Apple.

Done With This Post? You Might Also Like These:

Mozilla And Samsung Teaming Up To Make A New Mobile Browser Engine: Meet ‘Servo’ was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

mobile browser engine, Mozilla, samsung, Servo

Mozilla And Samsung Teaming Up To Make A New Mobile Browser Engine: Meet ‘Servo’

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Mozilla announced on its official blog this morning that it’s teaming up with Samsung to create a brand-new mobile browser engine, dubbed Servo. Its aim is to power browsers for “tomorrow’s faster, multi-core, heterogeneous computing architectures” – so the sell is that Servo will be built from the ground up to take advantage of increasingly capable mobile hardware.

Servo will be written in Rust, Mozilla’s own programming language, which – surprise of surprises – has been designed to more readily take advantage of parallel computing. Rust also boasts more built-in security and memory stability compared to C++, according to Mozilla.

Servo’s primary competitor, obviously, will be WebKit, the current mobile browser engine of choice for both Google and Apple.

Done With This Post? You Might Also Like These:

Mozilla And Samsung Teaming Up To Make A New Mobile Browser Engine: Meet ‘Servo’ was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

mobile browser engine, Mozilla, samsung, Servo

Mozilla And Samsung Teaming Up To Make A New Mobile Browser Engine: Meet ‘Servo’

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Mozilla announced on its official blog this morning that it’s teaming up with Samsung to create a brand-new mobile browser engine, dubbed Servo. Its aim is to power browsers for “tomorrow’s faster, multi-core, heterogeneous computing architectures” – so the sell is that Servo will be built from the ground up to take advantage of increasingly capable mobile hardware.

Servo will be written in Rust, Mozilla’s own programming language, which – surprise of surprises – has been designed to more readily take advantage of parallel computing. Rust also boasts more built-in security and memory stability compared to C++, according to Mozilla.

Servo’s primary competitor, obviously, will be WebKit, the current mobile browser engine of choice for both Google and Apple.

Done With This Post? You Might Also Like These:

Mozilla And Samsung Teaming Up To Make A New Mobile Browser Engine: Meet ‘Servo’ was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

mobile browser engine, Mozilla, samsung, Servo

Can Samsung and Mozilla Revolutionize the Mobile Browser?

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Anyone who has owned a BlackBerry smartphone knows the pain of mobile browser evolution. Before 2007 we merely accepted it as reality. There were no good mobile browsers, so users didn’t think much of it. But then came the iPhone with Safari, and with it a much smoother and easier mobile browsing experience. We can credit Apple with showing us what mobile browsers can do.

Safari for iOS has taken several steps forward since then. Google has its own answer, not with the default Android browser but with a mobile version of Chrome. There are some decent third-party browsers such as Skyfire, which allows Flash on iOS, and Opera Mini, but they’re mostly for niche audiences. The masses will get along just fine with Safari and Chrome.

(I suppose it’s not shocking that more people use the Android browser than Chrome, but it’s still a head scratcher. Chrome is a far better browser, and it’s free.)

In the above link you’ll see market share information for mobile browsers. What you might not notice is the absence of a very familiar browser: Firefox. There is indeed a Firefox for Android, but it doesn’t get much traction. On the iOS side, Firefox doesn’t have any interest under current conditions. That leaves Firefox developer Mozilla in a tight spot. Mobile browser usage is increasing, and all it can boast now is a fledging mobile OS.

It comes as little surprise, then, that Mozilla has had a mobile browser project in the works. What might surprise a bit is that they’ve teamed with Samsung to develop it. In a blog post today they describe the browser, Servo, which is built with the Rust programming language. Mozilla hits the major points in the second paragraph:

Servo is an attempt to rebuild the Web browser from the ground up on modern hardware, rethinking old assumptions along the way. This means addressing the causes of security vulnerabilities while designing a platform that can fully utilize the performance of tomorrow’s massively parallel hardware to enable new and richer experiences on the Web. To those ends, Servo is written in Rust, a new, safe systems language developed by Mozilla along with a growing community of enthusiasts.

The idea is certainly noble. Mobile has change the way we interact with the internet, and so current browsers might not best fit our needs. Selling a new browser can be tough, but it appears that Mozilla and Samsung have a novel idea.

Security appears to be the main focus of the browser. That’s certainly going to play well with consumers who are concerned about the recent rash of hackings. Mobile is a uniquely personal platform and people are rightly concerned about security vulnerabilities. Explicitly addressing them with a new solution could win Servo major points with consumers.

It will be a while before we see the fruits of this project. In most cases it would be easy to dismiss yet another mobile browser. But in the case of Servo there’s too much going in its favor to ignore.

Via Phoen Scoop.

The post Can Samsung and Mozilla Revolutionize the Mobile Browser? appeared first on MobileMoo.

Mobile, mobile browser, Mobile browsers, Mozilla

Mozilla, Samsung team up on ‘Servo’ next-gen browser engine

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Samsung browser

Android code for 'Servo' and 'Rust' language available to download and build

Browser-maker Mozilla has announced that it's teamed up with Samsung in the creation of a new web browser engine, 'Servo,' built upon a new, modern programming language, 'Rust.'

Both projects are focused on fully exploiting modern, multi-core hardware in a way that maximizes performance, while avoiding the kinds of bugs and glitches that can lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. The source code for the latest version of Rust, v. 0.6, and the Servo browser engine, is available to download for Android today. The first major release of Rust — let alone the Servo browser based upon it — isn't expected anytime soon. Today's Mozilla post outlines development work continuing "in the coming year" as it approaches its first major revision.

browser engine, Mozilla, programming language, Servo, web browser engine

Mozilla, Samsung team up on ‘Servo’ next-gen browser engine

Posted by admin in News on April 3, 2013

Samsung browser

Android code for 'Servo' and 'Rust' language available to download and build

Browser-maker Mozilla has announced that it's teamed up with Samsung in the creation of a new web browser engine, 'Servo,' built upon a new, modern programming language, 'Rust.'

Both projects are focused on fully exploiting modern, multi-core hardware in a way that maximizes performance, while avoiding the kinds of bugs and glitches that can lead to crashes and security vulnerabilities. The source code for the latest version of Rust, v. 0.6, and the Servo browser engine, is available to download for Android today. The first major release of Rust — let alone the Servo browser based upon it — isn't expected anytime soon. Today's Mozilla post outlines development work continuing "in the coming year" as it approaches its first major revision.

browser engine, Mozilla, programming language, Servo, web browser engine

Famous Web Browsers Works To Improve User Privacy

Posted by admin in News on March 19, 2013

There is finally a way to stop companies from tracking the Internet users’ movements through web browsers as Mozilla is currently testing its new cookie restrictions on about 10,000 Firefox users.

For so long, there have been debates on the real priority of the browsers. It seems that a lot of the browsers in existence today continually partner with commercial enterprises and they apparently “sell” the rights to use the identity of their users for market research. As you well know, cookies allow companies to track and monitor the users as they move from one website to another.

The information obtained from this so-called monitoring can be used to market products and online services to the users. That is why you probably noticed that the websites you are surfing regularly seems to offer you the exact kinds of products and services you might be thinking of buying. This is because the cookies have already sent this kind of information to the companies.

Thankfully, Firefox is moving towards a different direction. To the horror of industry groups and companies, the company has officially embraced a web browser that gives more importance to the privacy of a user. With the cookie restrictions set by Mozilla, Firefox’s maker, advertisers would have a limited access to users.

Profit Versus Privacy

The war would, of course, fall between these two antagonizing factors. What is really more important? The profit gained from the market research done on unsuspecting web users? Or the privacy of these web users who had no idea that their personal information is being used in marketing products and services?

There is also the question of whether the restrictions put on cookies will affect the overall flow of the web browsers.

When it comes to consumers, maintaining their privacies above income and profit will always be their obvious choice. A survey done by Ovum in February showed, in fact, that 68 percent of people using the Internet in 11 countries said that they would limit the tracking of their web usage if they easily could. This was reported by Harvey Anderson, vice president and general counsel for Mozilla.

He said that Mozilla’s move to protect the privacy of its users is closer to what the consumers want rather than the advertisers.

Sophisticated Tracking Devices, Big Loss to Free Internet Sites

The issues didn’t stop on the battle between profit and privacy, however. Because of these new restrictions, there is a theory that advertisers will find a more sophisticated way of monitoring a user’s web traffic. This means that there might be more problems in limiting what the companies can get from the user once a more sophisticated and advanced way of doing it is developed.

Then, of course, there is also the matter of losing funding for several free websites. Not many people know that a lot of the free websites that offer information on various topics are being funded by private companies and advertisers. If these companies will lose profit because of the new restrictions on web browsers, then there is also a big chance that free websites will gradually cease to exist.

Source: Washington Post

market research, Mozilla, restrictions, web browsers

Mozilla unveils Firefox OS Simulator 3.0 with Push to Device, rotation simulation

Posted by admin in News on March 14, 2013

Mozilla launched its first Firefox OS Simulator late last year, letting developers test out apps on the new platform even though the software was still very much in development. It only makes sense, then, that a new version would surface following the mobile operating system’s official unveiling at Mobile World Congress 2013. Like versions 1.0 and 2.0, Firefox OS Simulator 3.0 runs as an extension in Mozilla’s browser and is available on Linux, Windows and OS X. The new preview adds several features, including Push to Device, which brings over apps installed on the OS Simulator to a Firefox OS device provided it’s connected via USB. Rotation simulation and an updated version of the software’s Gaia interface are also on board. To give the Simulator a go, head to Mozilla’s FTP server, where you’ll find it under the working name r2d2b2g. Click through to source links for the full installation directions.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Via: CNET

Source: Hacks.Mozilla.org, Mozilla FTP Server

Firefox, Mozilla, simulator

Mozilla ditches the Apple Store, threatens not to develop Firefox for iOS

Posted by admin in News on March 12, 2013

In a furious battle with Apple, Mozilla is refusing to build Firefox for the iOS because of Apple’s continued antagonistic attitude against third party browsers. There will be no open source Firefox browser versions for Apple as long as the company continues to cold shoulder third party browsers.

firefox2 The bone of contention between Apple and Mozilla is the latter’s JavaScript engines and rendering capabilities being barred from iOS. Not willing to isolate its most powerful features, Mozilla has issued a statement in which the company confirms it cannot build a browser for the iOS platform that does not allow it to perform at the browser’s full potential. Apple does not allow any other browser except Safari to enjoy status as the default browser on the iPhone, iPad or iPod. Safari has full monopoly over iDevices making it extremely hard for other browsers to break into in the iOS store. Other browsers like Opera and Dolphin suffer the same treatment on Apple stores. The android market however is open to all browsers and leaves it to the user’s to take their pick, an attitude many wish Apple would take. With the domination Safari enjoys, there is no scope for any other browser in the Apple market.

Mozilla has denounced Apple’s policy and claimed that it in the future, ‘it will not be offering any browser version, feature, or plug-in to Apple’. Apple has declined to comment on the issue and the makers of Opera and Dolphin have revealed no plans, for or against the Cupertino Company. Android meanwhile enjoys a rich market full of enhancements and updates with its more tolerant third party policy.

SOURCE: http://tech2.in.com/news/ios/no-plans-to-bring-firefox-to-ios-says-mozilla-vp/814062

Apple, Firefox, firefox browser, Mozilla

Firefox OS is repeating the mistakes of others and hoping for a different outcome

Posted by admin in News on March 1, 2013

I feel bad for Mozilla, I really do. Competitors and the march of time are closing in quicker than it can raise its defenses. Her crown jewel, Firefox, is feeling the squeeze as Chrome encroaches on its hard-won territory and mobile offensives have proven largely fruitless. This leaves Mozilla in an awkward position: that of out-of-touch industry stalwart. Being late to the mobile game and Apple’s reluctance to open up iOS to third-party browsers has left the company boxed in. (Developers can create browsers for iOS so long as they use the same rendering engine as Safari — a deal breaker for the Gecko-based Firefox.)

Mozilla has responded by borrowing a page from the Google (Chrome)book: build an operating system that is essentially nothing more than a browser. Firefox OS is yet another mobile platform built entirely on HTML5 that treats websites as apps. In fact, websites are the “apps” — there is no such thing as native code. And while there are legitimate arguments for such a model, I’ve yet to see it convincingly executed. We’ve caught glimpses of Mozilla’s smartphone offspring before, but Mobile World Congress 2013 was really the proper coming out party. Finally we’ve been given a chance to touch it, see it action and peek at the hardware it’ll be running on. Unfortunately, at this cotillion, Mozilla failed to make a good case for anyone to court its debutante.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile

Apple, Firefox, mobile game, Mozilla

Sony to run new OS from Mozilla in its future releases

Posted by admin in News on February 28, 2013

Sony is inching away from an already full Android market to collaborate with Mozilla and Telephonica to come up with new cost effective smart phones that run on an operating system that is not Windows or Android based yet still offers all the functionality of these popular operating systems. Mozilla’s new Firefox OS for touch phones and tablets has so far very few takers mostly in startup brands, with no large company throwing its weight behind the OS. Sony’s decision to back the new operating system from Mozilla will lend the software company credibility in the cell phone sector and spur a new range of phones and tablets running on Firefox OS.

sony2 The popular browser software company is venturing into the hottest market in technology today- that of phones and tablets. However without the backing of a well established hardware company, it is difficult for new software, especially an operating system to make inroads into a highly competitive market. So far, LG, ZTE, Alcatel, Huawei and Geeksphone have committed to incorporating the new operating system into their phones. Samsung has flatly refused to move from popular Android and windows devices, which is unfortunate because the Korean giant could provide the new OS with a huge impetus given its popularity in the market today.

Although Firefox will have a hard time competing with Android and iOS, what works for it is that it is browser based and will attract web based developers to create a plethora of apps for the operating system.

Sony will soon release mobile phones running Firefox OS and partnering with mobile operator Telephonica.

SOURCE : http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57571257-94/sony-hopes-for-firefox-os-phone-in-2014/

Firefox, Mozilla, sony

Twitter announces support for Firefox OS, app to be in Firefox Marketplace when devices ship

Posted by admin in News on February 27, 2013

Twitter has announced that they will be among the first marquee applications to support Firefox OS. Mozilla announced yesterday that Firefox has committed mobile operators in 18 markets, and that Alcatel, ZTE, and Huawei are partnered to build devices for the new OS.

The interface they are showing looks very much like the Android app, and Twitter says the application offers a rich experience, and is easy to use. In addition to the standard functions, Twitter plans to take advantage of Firefox OS' unique Web Activity feature, and users will be able to tweet out from any app that supports them.

For more information about Firefox OS, visit Mozilla's blog, and for information about Twitter for Firefox visit the source link.

Source: Twitter

Firefox, mobile operators, Mozilla

Likely ZTE Open spotted at Mozilla press conference: it’s blue, it’s open, like the ocean

Posted by admin in News on February 24, 2013

Remember that orphaned spec list we saw for the Mozilla-powered ZTE Open? Well, we think we’ve just spotted the device that it describes. It only came out for a second, clasped in the hand of someone from Mozilla, but we were just about able to grab a shot. Check it out in the dark sea of shapes above and then remind yourself of the likely specs after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Mozilla, spec, zte

Mozilla to bring first phone to Europe this Summer: the Alcatel One Touch Fire on Deutsche Telecom

Posted by admin in News on February 24, 2013

How long will Europe have to wait for its first taste of the Mozilla smartphone OS? Not long at all, it seems. The Alcatel One Touch will arrive first in Poland before venturing forth across the mainland at dates that Mozilla isn’t quite ready to reveal. We don’t have a ton of detail at this point, beyond what’s in the press release after the break, but Mozilla’s press conference is just getting going so more is surely still to come.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

alcatel one touch, deutsche telecom, europe, Mozilla, press conference

Live from Mozilla’s MWC 2013 press event!

Posted by admin in News on February 24, 2013

Live from Mozilla'sMWC 2013 press event!

Mozilla has gone from having zero mobile presence to being a big name waiting in the wings pretty quickly. The powerful open-source browser only landed on Android in 2010 (and in a “pre-alpha stage“), while Firefox OS (formerly Boot to Gecko) made its debut roughly a year ago this week. So, twelve months after the big reveal, whats does Mozilla have in store for us at this Mobile World Congress? You’ll just have to check back in at the time below to find out!

February 24, 2013 11:00 AM EST

Filed under: Software, Mobile

2013 11:00 AM EST, Android, February 24, Firefox, Mobile World Congress, Mozilla, mwc, presence, twelve months

From the Editor’s Desk: Welcome to Barcelona

Posted by admin in News on February 24, 2013

Phil Nickinson

We're back, once again, for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. This is my fourth year here. And like previous years, this one appears poised to present its own challenges as well as opportunities to showcase new tech.

On one had it's easy to look at the schedule, what we know is coming — and what we think we know is coming — and shrug it off. HTC, usually the highlight (or at least one of them) at MWC, has already announced its flagship for 2013 in the HTC One. Samsung's not expected to do the Galaxy S4 for a few more weeks, though it did already drop the Galaxy Note 8.0 on us. (And it did so on a day usually reserved for travel and/or accidentally leaking devices on the sides of buildings.)

So what's left to look forward to? LG's going to roll out a slew of new devices. ASUS always brings something interesting. And I'm curious to see where things stand with Mozilla and its Firefox OS, which we've played with before. Ubuntu may get the nerd credit, but it's Mozilla that's set to have the first dedicated hardware. It's not Android, specifically, but it's set to take on Android in emerging markets. So my interest is piqued.

Plus, Mobile World Congress moved to a new venue this year. I'll sorely miss the view of the Fira de Barcelona, with the towers at the entrance and the castle looking down from the hill. But the Gran Fira (just a train change and another stop down the road) promises better logistics, we're told, and is a much newer, more modern venue. So we'll see if that makes up for whatever majesty is lost.

And the food. Oh, the food and wine in Barcelona. If you can ever get the chance to come here and gorge on tapas for a few nights, I highly recommend it.

barcelona, Fira de Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, Mozilla, mwc, samsung, spain, the Galaxy

Mozilla Dives into Smartphone OS Fray with Firefox OS

Posted by admin in News on February 23, 2013

Earlier this year Mozilla announced that they are on the verge on setting foot in the smartphone race against Apple and Google. The free software company is looking to develop two phones that will make headway in the fight against a tyrannical Apple OS and the not so openly open source Android. Imagine that? A smartphone that can actually be used on an open source platform. Isn’t the world changing?

The news was made public to the world especially early on in the year due to other corporate giants that are looking to make a dive deeper into the market. These include Samsung, Jolla, and Canonical. The news was taken with such verve in the blogospheres where the concept has been trolling around like a bad joke. As things currently stand Apple and Google do not have much competition but with something as revolutionary as this the world is bound to be tipped over.

What Mozilla is trying to do however, is not to jump into the American and Western European markets that have been overflowing with the smartphone splurge ever since 2009 but they are looking to start with South America. Brazil to be precise. This tactic will look to give them greater popularity with that region just like Samsung has been doing in Africa. Soon enough the Mozilla smartphone will be the only one used in the country.

By heading for emerging markets they are giving the people of those countries the opportunity to experience the new revolutionary platform that the software giant is trying to peddle. In those countries the OS and Android are yet to be a major deal but once they have been offered something cheaper but just as good they will all want a piece of the action. This will promote the company’s overall success in those markets.

But why would the Mozilla smartphone be cheap? That’s because those at the top of the design and programming decided that the phone will run on HTML5 apps. This is a bit of a let down for the avid smartphone user because it’s basically your typical browsing capabilities on a typical smartphone screen with apps that work less smoothly than those of Android. But let’s give them props because this is just their first try as opposed to Google’s years of experience.

The versions of the phone being shipped out to developers also show the world that these are phones for nations that are less than. Their processors are not fast enough and the megapixels on the cameras range between four and eight. Yes, this isn’t much to look at, especially the fact that the 1.2-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU. Yeah, these guys could do a lot better. However, this is perfect for emerging markets because it keeps the price on the down low.

The Mozilla platform also offers greater freedom due to the fact that you are allowed to distribute your apps as widely as possible. This is what I meant when I said making open source a bit more open. These guys are going to make it possible to sale your apps to the world without having to go through some enhanced procedures reminiscent of Google and Android. But how useful is this if it’s intended for an emerging market. Not so much. These nations are only starting to use smartphones as opposed to feature phones. Working out the kinks may not be as easy for them.

All I can say is give Mozilla a couple of years and we will have something to compete with Google and Android. These developments will lead to a world where smartphone is just a memory and genius-phone is a reality.

Apple, google, Mozilla

Firefox 19 now official with a built-in PDF viewer, themes on Android

Posted by admin in News on February 19, 2013

Web denizens who regularly run Chrome or Safari are used to seeing PDFs in-browser, but their Firefox-using counterparts have had to settle for either a download or a third-party plugin. With the just-launched Firefox 19, they’re on an even playing field: Mozilla’s browser now has a built-in PDF viewer to save the hassle. Other updates on the desktop involve more incremental CSS and startup speed tweaks, although Android users do receive theme support, Chinese localizations and lowered minimum hardware requirements. Both Firefox versions and their release notes await at the download links.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile

Source: Mozilla, Google Play

Android, Android Web denizens, counterparts, Firefox, Mozilla, PDF viewer

Android’s Competition: This is the first “Firefox Phone”

Posted by admin in News on January 22, 2013

Another competitor has just stepped into the arena, folks. Mozilla has long been working on its mobile web-based operating system, and it’s because of the nature of Mozilla as a whole — an open-source minded company with a software culture not unlike Google’s — that our eyes are peeled. Welp, the folks have finally officially revealed the first device the operating system will run on.

It’s a very orange developer device that won’t be targeted toward consumers just yet. Spec junkies will feel a bit underwhelmed as it’s sporting a modest 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, a 3 megapixel camera, 4GB of internal storage and more.

Of course, specs alone only tell half the story. The first Windows Phone devices didn’t launch with the most vaunted set of specs in the world but the operating system was optimized to be as smooth as butter. Most application developers won’t mind these archaic specs, but we imagine those looking to develop games for it will be looking for something a bit more (though I have a feeling games isn’t a huge focus of Mozilla’s right now).

Personally, I’m just left wondering who’s going to get this device for the sole purpose of trying to shoehorn Android onto it. Mozilla hasn’t really convinced many folks that its operating system will be the one that can knock Android off its pedestal. Canonical is trying in a very convincing fashion early on with Ubuntu, and despite a solid first showing there are still early doubts about its ability to compete.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for yet another mobile operating system, of course — developing markets are sure to welcome choice and variety. We could see a few OEMs in the likes of China and South America adopt these new operating systems with open arms, but for now Android is still going to dominate the hearts of the big name players such as Samsung, Motorola, Sony, HTC and more.

[via Geeksphone]

Android, Mozilla

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