
First Firefox OS Smartphones in Africa - igravious
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2015/05/08/orange-launches-first-firefox-os-smartphones-in-africa/
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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/](http://nickdesaulniers.github.io/where-is-firefox-os/)

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

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

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ndesaulniers
heh, yeah, if I _had_ that information.

When?! When?! One day, is that not enough for you?! One day he went dumb, one
day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we
shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? They
give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night
once more.

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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-...](https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2015/04/02/firefox-os-arrives-in-
south-africa/)

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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.

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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?

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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.

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woah
Tablets seem to sell pretty well

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_broody
It's what I've observed as well. Plenty of low-income people get cheap chinese
tablets, usually generic-brand entry-level models. No idea about the price but
I don't think they're a hair above $100, possibly less than half that.

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ape4
Like the opposite of internet.org

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Raed667
Unless they really work on the price (less than 70$) for decent phones, I
can't see ffOS doing anything major in Africa

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_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.

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SunboX
Are you sure that you can get the 520 for the same price in Senegal as you get
it in US or Europe?

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SunboX
Short googling - Lumia 520 costs R1,1549.00 and 1549 South African rands =
129.886748 U.S. dollars

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

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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)

