
LG launches Firefox phone in Brazil - daleharvey
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57608752-94/lg-launches-firefox-phone-in-brazil/
======
6ren
Niche marketing: a segment neglected/underserved by big players, with strong
communication ties within it, that can spread to related markets.

Portuguese is the main language of Brazil, and adapting to those speakers and
customs may lead to Portugal and the other seven Portuguese-speaking nations
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language)
I expect it might also lead to Spanish speaking countries better than does
English. BONUS: Brazil's developer community was strong enough to produce Lua
- other non-English speaking countries with a similar claim include Japan
(Ruby) and the Netherlands (Python). (Though to be fair, internet
collaboration overshadows local community.)

Counterpoint: the popularity of Google's Orkut in Brazil didn't lead to other
markets... so it might be a tricky strategy to pull off.

~~~
archivator
Interesting tidbit - Google started devrel for Android in Portuguese -
[https://www.youtube.com/user/androiddevelopers/search?query=...](https://www.youtube.com/user/androiddevelopers/search?query=portuguese)

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devx
I'm happy for Mozilla, but I hope OEM's start experimenting with another
_native_ open source OS like Ubuntu Touch, too.

~~~
oscargrouch
Agree. We need more phones that let people install whatever applications they
are building, without locking in centralized app stores, or by forcing to use
some technology that dont let people get into the phones internals..

A simple, open and hackable OS.. where you can create a simple main() in c and
go from there.. then you can embed Lua or webkit+JS if you like to...

Its too much to ask?

~~~
sandstrom
I think the Firefox OS actually allows multiple stores and is far less locked
down than, say iOS.

~~~
oscargrouch
> without locking in centralized app stores,

in that statement i was looking at iOS, for sure

> or by forcing to use some technology that dont let people get into the
> phones internals

That one was created especifically with FirefoxOS in mind..

and before anyone ask: NO, Emscripten doenst count.. its pure madness this is
being pushed like if it were some sort of solution to all of our problems; it
can be done, but doenst mean its a good idea..

They should have opened for AOT compiled languages from day 1. Its OK to
promote JS + HTML5 as primary target, but marginalizing native will only make
this platform a no-go for a lot of very good applications out there.. and even
if they can convince people to port to JS , or by going the Emscripten way
(something very unlikelly) even than.. the apps will behave like crap.. cause
JS, despite all the effort to make it fast, and despite being very fast, and
its not there yet.. also the Web itself its not there yet..

Its a cool and romantic vision, but the question is if this will stand against
iOS and Android in terms of quality and usability.. if they bet all their
chips in HTML and JS only.. i think that is unlikely to happen.. and being in
the low end of the phone industry chain; its a pretty harsh place to be

~~~
bad_user
> _marginalizing native will only make this platform a no-go for a lot of very
> good applications out there_

Not marginalizing native, not going with JS+HTML5 for the whole interface,
also makes it completely uninteresting.

You can't win market-share away from Android unless you target a different
market (which is quite difficult, as Android and iOS are everywhere) and/or
you're newsworthy. Notice the complete failure of Windows Phone, even with
Nokia and Microsoft's muscles behind it. And at least Firefox OS is newsworthy
in the sense that (1) it's building a whole OS interface around the web, which
makes us web developers happy and (2) the browser is the best sandbox, so in
regards to malware you can eliminate the need for "curated" marketplaces.

> _NO, Emscripten doenst count.. its pure madness this is being pushed like if
> it were some sort of solution to all of our problems_

Apps compiled with Emscripten run everywhere and they run fine in both Chrome
and Firefox. Emscripten is targeting asm.js. On Firefox, asm.js is AOT
compiled by the browser. Performance is pretty good too. Many Android
developers don't seem to mind writing games in Java, so where's the problem?

> _the Web itself its not there yet_

Well, that's one the goals of Firefox OS. To push the web forward. As part of
its mission statement, Firefox OS will introduce new APIs that will be then
pushed for standardization. It's a win-win for everybody.

> _stand against iOS and Android in terms of quality and usability_

Quality and usability aren't the only things that matter.

> _being in the low end of the phone industry chain; its a pretty harsh place
> to be_

That's also the only place where a new operating system has any chance of
winning any marketshare whatsoever. It's a seriously ignored market after
Nokia dropped the ball.

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GFischer
A Firefox phone is going to be on sale here in Uruguay soon too (sold by
Telefónica Movistar):

[http://firefox.movistar.com.uy/Content/Images/invitacion_Fir...](http://firefox.movistar.com.uy/Content/Images/invitacion_Firefox_01.jpg)

[http://firefox.movistar.com.uy/Register](http://firefox.movistar.com.uy/Register)

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micheljansen
Is the LG Fireweb available anywhere outside of Brazil? I was thinking of
getting a ZTE Open to play with Firefox OS, but am a bit deterred by reports
of how poor its build quality is.

~~~
mauricioc
Just in case you want to buy it anyway: Due to taxes and whatnot, the LG
Fireweb is selling for R$ 449 (US$ 200) in Brazil without a contract. As a
comparison, a contract-free Samsung Galaxy S4 sells for R$ 2000 (US$ 920) and
a 16GB iPhone 5 sells for R$ 2300 (US$ 1050).

Source: Click on "Pré" (prepaid, the only contract-free version) at
[http://www.vivo.com.br/portalweb/appmanager/env/web?_nfls=fa...](http://www.vivo.com.br/portalweb/appmanager/env/web?_nfls=false&_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=vecoVcDetalhesDeAparelhosPage&codSap=TGLG24962000&_nfls=false)

~~~
gcb1
find it ridiculous how the article mention 1/4 of the price and don't mention
the contract. not as ridiculous as how everyone is allowed to actually
advertise that way, but still bad.

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alphadevx
Can we have a webOS phone next please LG, given that you now own this?

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andrewcooke
come on telefonica, chile next!

oh, look what google turned up -
[http://www.emol.com/noticias/tecnologia/2013/10/09/623757/te...](http://www.emol.com/noticias/tecnologia/2013/10/09/623757/telefonos-
con-firefox-os-llegaran-a-chile-en-el-primer-trimestre-de-2014.html)

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drill_sarge
T-Mobile (Congstar=Telekom) also one rolling out here for 90€

[https://www.congstar.de/handy/alcatel-one-touch-fire-
weiss-o...](https://www.congstar.de/handy/alcatel-one-touch-fire-weiss-
orange/)

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linux_devil
Looking forward to it , scared of Google now ! Although Android is good, but
privacy is more of a concern.

~~~
linux_devil
Snap , just read somewhere the firefox browsers also got internal backing from
Google :/

~~~
rhelmer
It is not "internal backing", there's a search referral deal:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Corporation#Google](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Corporation#Google)

Mozilla Corporation is wholly owned by the Mozilla Foundation, which is driven
by its mission and is not controlled by any other entity:
[https://www.mozilla.org/mission/](https://www.mozilla.org/mission/)

~~~
oscargrouch
I believe in Mozilla independence and sincerity, its a good foundations and we
need many more like it in the world..

But because mozilla is so dependent of the Google money, they can use it to
"blackmail", to push some decisions down the mozilla throat, or even worse, to
cut the payment in a blink wherever they want and if fits their strategy.. so
mozilla are in a pretty dangerous position, given that theres a conflict of
interests, since Google have created Chrome..

i think maybe thats why they are trying to go with FirefoxOS? another source
of revenue and financial independence?

~~~
simplon
I believe Mozilla is not really dependent on Google money for that matter. MS
is trying to get in with their Bing search engine too.

