Firefox OS Smartphones Released to Developers

Mozilla has announced that its long-awaited Firefox OS smartphones are available as a preview to developers, ramping up the open source evangelist’s mobile push.

Mozilla outlines three reasons why developers should build apps on its nascent OS:

• Keeping the web open – particularly on mobile
• Simplicity – advocating the ‘write once, deploy anywhere’ philosophy on HTML5, CSS, JavaScript or new WebAPIs
• Freedom – being allowed to distribute apps through any store based on Mozilla’s open app store technology

Try out Firefox OS

If you’re a developer interested in web technologies and mobile, now is the time to try out Firefox OS. Come learn how easy it is to create an app based on HTML that has access to all of the APIs on your device. Using the same web technologies you are used to, you can make your app give alerts by vibrating the phone, take a picture with the camera or more. Play with it, experiment, try out your website, create an app.

You can create an app for Firefox OS by making some small changes to your existing website.

You can try out Firefox OS and your app (if you created one) in several different ways:

• Install Marketplace for Android on your Android phone. (Your friends and family can also do this – it’s as easy as installing an app, so they can try out your app too.)
• Use the browser-based Firefox OS Simulator to view and test your mobile app on the desktop.
• Install Firefox OS on your own hardware.
• Purchase a Firefox OS Developer Preview device! Working with Geeksphone and Telefonica we’ve created a Firefox OS Developer Preview phone especially for developers. Be the first to show off Firefox OS and your app! First phones will be available in February.

Why develop an app for Firefox OS?

• Keep the web open. Support the open web and help make sure the power of the web is available to everyone – even on mobile devices.
• Simplicity. Develop on a single technology stack (HTML5/CSS/JavaScript/new WebAPIs) and deliver across the web and devices.
• Freedom. You’re not locked in to a vendor-controlled ecosystem. You can distribute your app through the Firefox Marketplace, your own website, or any other store based on Mozilla’s open app store technology.

Asus's MeMO Android tablet for 149$

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas may be over, but it does not mean news and product announcements come to an end. Asus waited until today, perhaps to avoid the avalanche of other announcements, to unveil its new MeMO Pad — a seven inch Android 4.1 tablet that will be released soon.

The MeMO Pad will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, has a 1 MP front facing camera, 1 GB of RAM and comes with either 8 or 16 GB of storage. The company claims 7 hours of battery life. In addition, it claims to feature “a 10-point multi-touch LED-backlit display with 1024 x 600 resolution, 140-degree wide viewing angles, and its 350-nit brightness means images remain clear, even outdoors”.

The tablet “will be available starting this January in selected markets”. Prices begin at $149 — presumably for the 8 GB version. The MeMO Pad will come in three colors – Sugar White, Titanium Gray and Cherry Pink and will be in the U.S. market in April.