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
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
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
-
Red Hat Releases RHEL 10 Early
Red Hat quietly rolled out the official release of RHEL 10.0 a bit early.
-
openSUSE Joins End of 10
openSUSE has decided to not only join the End of 10 movement but it also will no longer support the Deepin Desktop Environment.
-
New Version of Flatpak Released
Flatpak 1.16.1 is now available as the latest, stable version with various improvements.
-
IBM Announces Powerhouse Linux Server
IBM has unleashed a seriously powerful Linux server with the LinuxONE Emperor 5.
-
Plasma Ends LTS Releases
The KDE Plasma development team is doing away with the LTS releases for a good reason.
-
Arch Linux Available for Windows Subsystem for Linux
If you've ever wanted to use a rolling release distribution with WSL, now's your chance.
-
System76 Releases COSMIC Alpha 7
With scores of bug fixes and a really cool workspaces feature, COSMIC is looking to soon migrate from alpha to beta.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.