Posted on Monday, March 03 2014 @ 13:08 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
X-bit Labs
writes Mozilla teamed up with Chinese SoC designer Spreadtrum to announce the $25 Firefox OS-based smartphone initiative. These handsets will focus on the entry-level market, they will feature an ARM Cortex-A5 based core and will run web and HTML5 applications.
"Turnkey solutions benefit the vast majority of small handset makers by reducing the time and cost involved in bringing new devices to market. This joint effort between Spreadtrum and Mozilla will help make Firefox OS more readily available to handset makers that focus on the needs of entry level smartphone buyers in emerging markets," said Stuart Robinson, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.
Spreadtrum unveiled the SC6821, a system-on-chip allegedly features an ARM Cortex-A5 core as well as a basic graphics processor and is designed with a low memory configuration and high level of integration that lowers the total bill of materials required to develop low-end smartphones. With this system-on-chip, handset makers will be able to bring to market smartphones with 3.5" HVGA touchscreens, integrated 802.11 Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM and camera functions, the advanced phone and browser features of Firefox OS, and access to a rich ecosystem of web and HTML5 applications, at prices similar to much more minimally featured budget feature phones.
