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Cellphones Firefox Handhelds Mozilla Hardware

LG Launches Its Firefox OS Phone Fireweb for $200 91

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the mozilla-prepares-to-eat-google dept.
SmartAboutThings writes "LG has launched the Fireweb Firefox OS smartphone in a joint event with the Telefonica Vivo carrier. The Fireweb Firefox OS smartphone will be available for around $200 and will join the Alcatel One Touch Fire which Telfonia is launching in Brazil, starting today. Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay are the next countries to get it. The Fireweb smartphone is LG's very first Firefox OS device and it increases the small number of OEMs that have released Firefox OS devices on the market. The smartphone has a 4-inch screen with a 480 x 320 display, a 1GHz Qualcomm processor and 4GB internal storage that can be expanded with the microSD card slot by up to 32GB. It has a 5-megapixel cameras that comes with both autofocusing and an LED flash, which is a first for Firefox OS phones." Hopefully an OEM releases a Firefox OS phone with beefier hardware, but you can't argue with the price.
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LG Launches Its Firefox OS Phone Fireweb for $200 More

LG Launches Its Firefox OS Phone Fireweb for $200

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  • I can argue with the price. (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Because I got a Moto X for $199 (no contract)

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Stormwatch ( 703920 )

      That's Brazil for you: everything electronics is insanely expensive down here. $200 is just slightly above the low-end class of Nokia Asha and Samsung Wave.

  • Expense for the Hardware (Score:3)

    by Luthair ( 847766 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2013 @01:02PM (#45213889)
    The hardware is significantly worse than that of the Nexus 4 from a year ago which was available for $299. Personally I'd expect either better components or a significantly better price.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mspohr ( 589790 )

      The ZTE Open has similar specs and Firefox OS and is only $75 (on eBay).
      The high price in Brazil is probably due to taxes and import duty (which are crazy high in Brazil).

    • Re:Expense for the Hardware (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Jane Q. Public ( 1010737 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2013 @01:27PM (#45214141)

      "Personally I'd expect either better components or a significantly better price."

      To a large degree, you're paying for both freedom and lack of subsidies.

      Android and iOS environments are full of apps that track you and your behaviors behind your back. Despite the lip service Apple and Google give to the practice, both of those OSes were fundamentally designed to allow that. (Otherwise, why isn't there finer-grained control over what information those applications can access? That would be pretty easy to do.)

      Firefox OS is different. The company is independent, it is non-profit, it is dedicated to freedom, choice, privacy and security.

      • Otherwise, why isn't there finer-grained control over what information those applications can access?

        What exactly did you have in mind? iOS already offers fine grained control over application access to things like contacts, your camera, location, etc. Also you are asked at the time the application wants to use each resource, not up front when you install the appâ¦

        So just what do you have in mind that it does not do already? In fact iOS is very much designed around fine-grained access to syste

        • "What exactly did you have in mind? iOS already offers fine grained control over application access to things like contacts, your camera, location, etc. Also you are asked at the time the application wants to use each resource, not up front when you install the app"

          Pardon me. You are correct, although it did not start out that way. Apple added that control later. So it was still originally designed in such a way as to allow intrusion.

          And Android still hasn't gotten it straight.

          • Pardon me. You are correct, although it did not start out that way.

            That is incorrect. It always asked you about access to GPS from third party apps. Over time they added more permissions (like contacts and photos) but right from the start the system was designed so that access to some resources was protected. It's only the scope that has changed.

            • "That is incorrect. It always asked you about access to GPS from third party apps. Over time they added more permissions (like contacts and photos) but right from the start the system was designed so that access to some resources was protected. It's only the scope that has changed."

              They ALL, ALWAYS have asked about gross GPS access. The discussion here was about "fine-grained control" over various kinds of location data.

              • They ALL, ALWAYS have asked about gross GPS access. The discussion here was about "fine-grained control" over various kinds of location data.

                The original post was not about location. It was about personal data, period, from a variety of sensors. Just what is finer grained than "your location"? How exactly would you break it out beyond that and ask the user in a way that made sense?

                I have, all along, asked for examples of what you or anyone else is thinking of when they use the term "fine grained access",

                • The original post was not about location. It was about personal data, period, from a variety of sensors. Just what is finer grained than "your location"? How exactly would you break it out beyond that and ask the user in a way that made sense?""

                  All right, if you want to nitpick:

                  It was about access to data, from sensors, in a fine-grained manner, AFTER the app was installed.

                  I might not have stated "after" specifically, but I felt it was pretty clear from the context. iOS and Android have always asked permission beforehand, so if that isn't what I meant, there would have been no point to my comment.

                • "I have, all along, asked for examples of what you or anyone else is thinking of when they use the term "fine grained access", so far I have seen zero examples."

                  The context should already have been clear to you. Do you see anybody else asking me to explain?

                  But, just for you, here are some examples:

                  Allowing GPS location access, but not cell-tower or wifi location access.

                  Allowing wifi access but not cellular data access (this one could be especially helpful to people on limited plans).

                  Allowing accelerometer or gyro (position) access without location access.

                  Allowing access to contacts, but no other access. Or vice versa.

                  Etc. There are many combinatio

      • Otherwise, why isn't there finer-grained control [in Android] over what information those applications can access?

        There's an experimental control panel called "App Ops" buried in vanilla Android 4.3 that allows turning individual permissions on and off for individual applications. It's not the folder- or file-level capability system that I'd prefer, but it is a step toward what various Android mods have been doing all along, and Android 4.3 users can download App Ops from Google Play Store [google.com].

        • "There's an experimental control panel called "App Ops" buried in vanilla Android 4.3 that allows turning individual permissions on and off for individual applications."

          Sure. But Google is only allowing that due to customer demand... it is contrary to their Android business model. And it still isn't in wide use... as of today, most phones won't run Android 4.3.

        • Yeah, but that doesn't help most Android owners (like me), as the carriers/providers can't be bothered to release updates, and Cyanogenmod/AOSP/etc. only cover a small percentage of the market. Google doubtless could come up with *some* way to upgrade older versions of Android, but has opted for the short-term profit of forcing users to buy new phones and increasingly converting Android to closed source so nobody else can offer them updates, either.

          FWIW I'm a fan of Android, just a very frustrated one.

          • Google doubtless could come up with *some* way to upgrade older versions of Android

            I thought that's what Google Play Services package was for: a way to offer new libraries even to users of devices whose manufacturers refuse to issue updates past FroYo. It takes bootloader access to upgrade the kernel, and a lot of manufacturers aren't very willing to give bootloader access to the public for implied-warranty or radio regulation reasons, or they're bound by agreements with major U.S. carriers.

            and increasingly converting Android to closed source

            In what way? Are you again referring to Google Play Services?

    • The hardware is significantly worse than that of the Nexus 4 from a year ago which was available for $299.

      ...and which is available now for $199

      https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_8gb [google.com]

      I think we're all in agreement that a moron wrote the "can't argue with the price" thing.

      A 320x480 Android 4.0 phone is under $50 at Deal Extreme - albeit with less memory.

      http://dx.com/p/mini-7100-android-4-1-gsm-smartphone-w-3-5-capacitive-screen-quad-band-and-wi-fi-black-226619 [dx.com]

  • (tumbleweed)

  • And our QA department was finally getting settled into a somewhat stable set of devices and OSes to test against - suckers.

  • A 480x320 resolution screen? Is it Braille?

  • If you are going to compare prices, do it right (Score:4, Informative)

    by no_go ( 96797 ) on Wednesday October 23, 2013 @01:25PM (#45214119)

    Phones in Brazil are more expensive than in the US.

    In Brazil the price for the nexus 4 would be between 300 and 600 USD , according to this:
    http://www.tudocelular.com/LG/precos/n2361/LG-Google-Nexus-4.html

    According to this http://tecnologia.ig.com.br/2013-10-22/sem-alarde-lg-traz-primeiro-smartphone-com-firefox-os-para-o-brasil-por-r-129.html
    The Fireweb phone costs about 205 USD. If acquired via contract , it goes down to 60 USD.

    Apples to apples, oranges to oranges, on the right market....

    • I assume Brazil has some sort of crazy border-inspection tax system that prevents just ordering from any other country on the planet?

      A genuine question.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by no_go ( 96797 )

        I don't know the specifics about the Brazilian Customs, but most countries' postal systems (and courier/distribution companies) go through customs, and you end-up paying the relevant local taxes.

        If on top of that you have to deal with the red-tape it generates, and paying the processing fees (which when you import in bulk are diluted across the final price of the goods imported), some times it is just not worth it to go that route, or just marginaly so.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by xvan ( 2935999 )
        It doesn't if you order by EMS, but if you get caught you need to pay your taxes + the trip and time lost at the customs office + the shipping (assuming its not free)+the risk buying online.

        It's a gamble that depends on lots of thing. It's easier to pass a phone without charger.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • http://shop.geeksphone.com/en/phones/8-peak.html [geeksphone.com]

    CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8225 1.2Ghz x2.
    UMTS 850/1900/2100 (3G HSPA).
    GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE).
    Screen 4.3" qHD IPS Multitouch.
    Camera 8 MP (back) + 2 MP (front).
    4 GB (ROM) and 1 GB (RAM).
    MicroSD, Wifi N, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, Radio FM, Light & Prox. Sen

  • $99 retail, or FREE with a 2 year contract with dataplan. Do that and you'll have an early adopter.

  • Why can't you just walk into a store and buy it?

  • It's a heck of a lot more phone than that thing and it was $250 (I got the one with the big storage, 8GB units were $200).

  • but you can't argue with the price.

    Maybe not me, but they can [aliexpress.com].

  • Any sign of a Firefox OS phone for a USA carrier yet?

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