Spice says the Fire One is targetted at those feature phone users waiting to switch to smartphones, and with its price tag is likely to sway a bunch of potential low-cost Android phone buyers to the Firefox camp.
In terms of specs, don’t expect the kind of hardware features that we have become used to seeing in Android devices. The 2G-only dual-SIM phone is powered by a single-core 1 GHz processor, which is considered the bare minimum needed to run Firefox OS, which has been designed using Web technologies and allows developers to repackage Websites and pages into apps easily. There’s a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, which is about the best one can expect at this price range. The phone also features two cameras – a 2MP shooter on the back, with a 1.3 MP front unit for selfies or video calling. The device also supports several Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil and Bengali, and will have Facebook, Twitter and Connect A2 preloaded.
Other apps can be bought from Firefox’s Marketplace, which serves as a repository for all add-ons and extensions as well. Commenting on the launch, Mr. Prashant Bindal, Chief Executive Officer, Spice Mobility, said, “With the ultra-low cost Spice Fire One, we at Spice, aim to convert the feature phone users into smartphone users, thereby, aiding them with the power of internet. This partnership with Mozilla showcases our commitment to providing the best technological innovations first hand to our customers.”
Dr. Li Gong, President of Mozilla Corporation, said, “Just one year after the first Firefox OS device launched, Firefox OS smartphone is now available in 17 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Our partnership with Spice will be an exciting Firefox OS launch in India. Having one more strong partner as Spice, we are confident that Firefox OS devices will realize a whole new category of smartphones with affordable price. Furthermore, we can ensure every user to enjoy the power of Web”.