Keon and Peak: Two Firefox OS smartphones tested
Foxy Phones
© Lead Image © pictureguy66, 123RF.com
JavaScript, HTML5, and a liberal helping of Linux and Android inheritances: This is Firefox OS, the smartphone operating system Mozilla created to push into the low-end smartphone market. We tested the Keon and Peak models by Geeksphone.
Mozilla Firefox OS wants to be open, free, and modern. Also known as "Boot to Gecko" or B2G for short [1], this open source alternative to major smartphone operating systems uses known technologies to enable fast and easy distribution. At the same time, it aims to keep resource consumption low to help manufacturers equip their devices with cheaper hardware.
Emerging Markets
Mozilla is clearly aiming in the direction of the emerging markets – that is, threshold countries where smartphones are still rare and low prices offer a big advantage in the marketplace. Mozilla is not interested in offering an app store or payment services itself but points to the fact that mobile network operators or other stakeholders can build these services themselves.
The Mozilla Foundation sees itself as a developer and supplier of software, not a service provider. This opportunity for more control over the services that are provided with the phone creates a revenue model for the phone vendor that isn't available through Android or iOS.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• How the Fediverse Found Parts for Its Platforms
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 45 Now Available
The latest iteration of Fedora has arrived with Gnome 51 and KDE Plasma 6.8.
-
Linux 7.4 is "Much Healthier" Thanks to AI
At nearly 42 million lines, Linux 7.4 is the largest merge in the kernel’s history.
-
Working Exploit for a Linux Kernel Flaw Made Public
Even before a bug received its CVE identifier or an upstream fix, the local privilege escalation vulnerability exploit found its way into the wild.
-
r/opensource Bans AI-Assisted and AI-Related Projects
The de facto subreddit for all things open source has not only banned AI-related projects but also users who "don't speak English."
-
Bottlenecks Discovered by Meta Engineers Lead to Scalability Improvements
Thanks to a small group of engineers at Meta, the Linux kernel module kernfs has been improved, which has led to some serious gains.
-
PwnEscape Poses VM Vulnerability
A guest-to-host escape flaw in Linux KVM, named PwnEscape, might be yet another means of attacking Linux.
-
Linux Mint 27 Set for a Christmas Release
The developers behind Linux Mint have announced a Christmas release, and it looks like Santa's sack will be brimming with features.
-
Is Linus Torvalds Vibe Coding?
The creator of Linux has added AI into his process for Linux kernel development, and it's more than just for debugging.
-
openKylin 3.0 Released with Expanded AI Integration
The latest release features a pre-installed AI agent to help perform tasks.
-
DigitalOcean Ends Open Source Credits Program
In a change that has surprised many open source developers, DigitalOcean has decided to sunset its Open Source Credits Program.