First Firefox OS Smartphones in Africa

[ndesaulniers]

I maintain a map of official launch countries for Firefox OS, with launch dates. [0][1]

[0] http://nickdesaulniers.github.io/where-is-firefox-os/

[1] https://github.com/nickdesaulniers/where-is-firefox-os

[hiphopyo]

Could you possibly add an ETA to the countries where it's not at?

[digi_owl]

I find it odd that it has yet to reach the Nordics, given that one of their big partners are Telenor (the former national monopoly in Norway).

[eddyb]

Minor UI issue: the map size doesn't update when resizing the window.

[igravious]

Nice, where do you source the data? From Mozilla's publicity machine?

[vfclists]

The title of this post is confusing and misleading, as Firefox OS phones were launched earlier in South Africa. The post is obviously about the first phones launched by Orange as those in South Africa were launched by MTN. You could be forgiven for believing that Mozilla doesn't consider South Africa to be part of Africa.

[igravious]

Thanks for pointing that out. In fairness to Mozilla they do have the snippet "Earlier this spring, Firefox OS phones launched in South Africa[1]" tagged onto the end of their blog post.

I agree, the title of the post is a bit misleading and I have done further damage. Should definitely read ---> "Orange Launches [Their] First Firefox OS Smartphones in Africa" :)

[1] https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2015/04/02/firefox-os-arrives-...

[gexla]

They have been available in the Philippines for a while now. As others have mentioned, they are at the low end here. Low end smart phones are almost not even smart phones. You get Android and not much else because you don't get the resources to run much. Storage is a major constraint, but so is RAM.

Without being able to install much for apps, that largely constrains you to the browser. I don't know much about FirefoxOS, but I imagine that's largely what drives the "application" of the phone.

I don't have much desire to own a FirefoxOS phone. Many of the people here who are limited to entry level phones don't have the money for data or an internet connection at home. Phones here are largely just shiny toys which shows off what you can afford. A FirefoxOS is better than a feature phone in that regard, but you are still treating it like a feature phone.

[netcan]

Question: Is a mid range tablet not the easiest or more obvious testing ground for an emerging mobile OS? Even a small tablet/music player?

[andor]

Maybe it's easier technically, but nobody really needs tablets. Firefox OS targets the entry-level market, most people in this market will buy just one device.

[ape4]

Like the opposite of internet.org

[Raed667]

Unless they really work on the price (less than 70$) for decent phones, I can't see ffOS doing anything major in Africa

[_broody]

As a point of comparison, you can get a Lumia 520 for less. It's a really decent smartphone too from a good brand. It will be interesting to see if Mozilla can yield the combination of quality/value to succeed.

[fiatjaf]

In a matter of five years all african economies will surpass US due to the lack of WhatsApp on Firefox OS phones.

[SunboX]

Btw. there's no "lack of WhatsApp on Firefox OS phones". I'm using OpenWapp on Firefox OS day by day. And it's working. Another WhatsApp client is ConnectA2 (which I didn't use by now)

[mikehaggard]

Unless of course they invent their own WhatsApp, as many other regions have done. I mean, WeChat anyone? Chinese people refuse to use anything but that.

[SunboX]

If you ask me, in five years another messaging service will be up-to-date. But you may be right, the internet at all is getting multi cultural. That will be really interesting times.

[maelito]

haha