Cherry-Mobile-Ace-Firefox-OS-Smartphone

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the Firefox OS, but the wait is over. Cherry Mobile, along with Mozilla Foundation, have announced the Cherry Mobile Ace, the first smartphone in the Philippines to use the platform.

First named Boot to Gecko, or B2G for short, the Firefox OS is a Linux kernel-based open-source operating system for mobile devices (and now expanding to other devices, such as smart TVs) being developed by Mozilla, well known for their Firefox browser. Unlike their competitors, such as iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, the OS is completely open source and they make sure that it and its apps would only use completely open standards (HTML5, JavaScript, open web APIs, etc).

The advantages may not be immediately apparent to mainstream consumers, but this will make the platform more robust, secure, highly flexible and scalable, and the customization options are endless. Using open standards also means that the platform will have a very high degree of support form the open source community (trust me, The Community is able to work out bugs faster than any in-house development firm).ACE_black_front

UPDATE: Read our hands-on review of Cherry Mobile Ace

The platform is also geared towards the budget-friendly market, and their aim is to provide a very robust, uncompromised platform at a very affordable price. As such, the platform will work exceptionally using very modest hardware. Just take a look at what we have in the Cherry Mobile Ace (or at least what we know so far):

Cherry Mobile Ace Specs

  • Firefox OS
  • 3.5 TFT Capacitive screen
  • Single-core 1GHz CPU
  • 2-megapixel main camera
  • 128MB RAM
  • 256MB internal
  • expandable via microSD up to 32GB
  • WiFi
  • Bluetooth
  • Dual-SIM
  • 1100mAh battery
  • Firefox OS; Platform Version v1.3T

The official price of the Cherry Mobile Ace is PHP1,499.00 and is already available on Cherry Mobile stores nationwide. It will come a variety of colors: black, light blue, light green, light red, yellow, white and orange. If you’re kind of turned off by what appears to be feature phone-like specs, remember that they’re not targeting power users and they promise that the overall usage will be smooth. Methinks folks like my mom and dad would have a blast with this, and I might give this a spin myself.

[Sources: Mozilla Blog]

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      1. Ok, but how can you attract buyers and software developers if your ram is less than 1gb?
        CM should come out with a better spec gadget as well. Never mind if the price is higher, buyers will understand that as well. Otherwise, the market will NEVER take off.

        1. If you’re really into more advanced specs for gadgets, like higher RAM or faster speeds or bigger storage or bigger screen sizes, then you should be ready to pay more. Never expect you’ll get high-end specs for just around P1k. This phone is designed for the low income bracket and can function as a second phone for the budget conscious. If you’re not any of these, then this phone is not intended for you.