Firefox OS – New Kid On the Block

   Ever since Android has made it big, Linux based mobile OS (refer to our article on Linux based Mobile OS ) have become the flavour of season in the technology world. Here in this article, we will peel of the first layer to know more about Linux based mobile operating system – FireFox OS.

Image Courtesy – Flickr

Firefox OS is the latest open source mobile operating system based on Linux kernel and is developed by Mozilla. Mozilla amalgamates with Foxconn to barrage the new Firefox OS device in the market. Besides making devices for Apple, Foxconn is expanding its business by designing and manufacturing Firefox OS based devices for some major electronic brands. Mozilla believes that this OS will bring more diversity to the mobile market as Firefox browser brought to the web.
Apparently it will be easier to create apps for this platform as it is completely based on HTML5 which is used to build websites. This flexible Firefox OS also codenamed Boot to Gecko combines Mozilla’s Gecko technology with Linux to bring developers a powerful platform for creating distinguished products. User interface of this application is a web app which is integrally efficient in displaying and producing other web apps.
This powerful mobile operating system brings justice to multi-platform concept as it gives developer the full freedom to develop applications to their maximum efficiency and distribute them under no boundaries. In true sense, Mozilla brings open standards to the mobiles. All that a developer need is a developer preview device to start developing program for Firefox OS. One good thing about these devices is that, they are available in market at very reasonable prices e.g. Peak and Keon. As some star actors quote that they are director’s actor, we would like to quote that Firefox OS is a developer’s OS.
Want to know how to install Firefox OS on a mobile device? Refer to this youtube link
Here are some useful tips for using Firefox OS device:

1. Unlocking

For unlocking the device if Firefox OS asks for a passcode, the default code is 0000.

2. Screenshot Capturing

For capturing a screenshot, you just need to press the power and home buttons at the same time.
Then you can access the screenshot from the images.

3. USB Debugging

For enabling USB debugging, put a tick mark on Remote debugging from the settings.

4. Physical Hardware buttons

Like most of the modern smartphones, it has few number of hardware buttons which are Home button, Volume Control button and Power button which do their respective functions.

 

Top 3 Upcoming Linux Based Mobile OS That Can Challenge Android

    Not very long ago, it was Apple’s iOS that was ruling the world of smart-phones. At that point of time, not many could think that soon another mobile OS would penetrate and eat-up a significant amount of market from Apple’s iOS. But, it did happen with Google’s Android. This Linux based mobile OS came and quickly became more popular than iOS. The amazing part of the story is that all this happened within no time.
One could easily argue that the success of Android was obvious because it was backed none other than Google but still If you try to dig in a bit more, you’ll see that a major reason of such a huge impact of Android was it being Linux-based and open-source. Being Linux-based automatically helped Android with all the positives of Linux and being open-source helped it with all the positives of community contribution. And I personally feel that the killer combination Google+Linux+OpenSource is responsible for where Android is today.
But, just as most of us could not anticipate Android sweeping the market while iOS was the world leader in smart-phones, it’s difficult today to anticipate any other mobile OS coming out of nowhere and eating out the market from Android or iOS. But, this is the world of technology and here anything can happen.

So, in this article, we’ll present top 3 upcoming Linux-based mobile OS that can change the equations in smart-phone market in near future.

1. Tizen

Tizen is a Linux-based mobile OS. it was earlier known as LiMo (Linux on mobile) but was renamed to Tizen after Meego project was stopped and Intel joined LiMo project.  As the case with most of the OS’s these days, Tizen is also an OS for multiple category of devices like mobile phones, smart TVs, tablets etc. The USP of Tizen is the ease through which network carriers can provide Value Added Services (VAS) to their subscribers.

Linux foundation oversees Tizen project while Samsung and Intel that form the technical steering group (TGS) play an active role in governing this project. Network Carriers especially in Japan have shown a good interest in Tizen while Samsung is expected to roll out new Tizen based devices soon.
Despite of a steady growth that Tizen is experiencing, the only point of concern is the app store for this OS. Application store for any smart phone OS has become an important factor that can make or break the market. We have to wait and see how Tizen performs on this aspect.
For more information :

• Official website
• Tizen OS in action [Video]

2. Jolla Sailfish

Sailfish OS Another upcoming Linux-based OS for mobile platform. It is a product of Jolla Mobile that is currently in development stage but is being developed keeping in mind the tough competition it may face from Android. The UI is Qt based and the company claims that Sailfish OS would be a real alternative to the existing mobile OS.

Sailfish OS is clearly based on the Meego project. It is said to contain the revived core of Meego. The company Jolla Mobile is planning to compete with existing leaders like Android and iOS through the Sailfish UI.  The best part of this OS is that many Android application would run on Sailfish without any change and this could prove a game-changer feature for Sailfish OS.
For more information :

• Official website
• Sailfish OS in action [Video]

UPDATE
http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/20/4347524/jolla-the-movement-sailfish-os-smartphone-price-specs-release-date

3. Ubuntu OS

Here comes the most anticipated of all the upcoming Linux-based OS for mobile platform. Touted as a game changer from canonical, Ubuntu OS brings a seamless experience for users across the devices like mobile phones, Ubuntu TVs, Ubuntu Desktops etc.

The most talked about feature of this OS is the UI. The UI boasts of :

• Unity – Standard User interface for all devices
• Button less UI
• The ‘edge magic’ feature – a swipe through the edges of the screen brings in a lot of options for the user.
• Same code base as that of Ubuntu desktop – easy to develop application on desktop and port onto mobile.

Canonical has managed to create a buzz and excitement of this new OS in the recent CES where it demonstrated Ubuntu OS running successfully on Samsung Galaxy nexus but it is still to be seen how the market reacts to the final product which will be launched some where in 2014.
For more information :

• Official website
• Ubuntu OS in action [Video]