Firefox browser add-on lets us try Firefox OS in an all-Mozilla universe

Firefox browser addon lets us try Firefox OS in a very recursive way

We've had the chance to experiment with early versions of Firefox OS for awhile -- just not in Firefox the browser, where you'd nearly expect it to have shown first. At least one person appreciates that seemingly natural fit. A new Firefox OS simulator add-on, r2d2b2g, lets us try Mozilla's upcoming mobile platform from within the company's own browser for everything that doesn't depend on native hardware, including the browser and Firefox Marketplace. The goal is ostensibly to let developers test truly optimized web apps, although the simulator is also a good excuse for the curious to try Firefox OS without the hassle of a dedicated client or a real smartphone. If you can get by the early state of the simulator and the Xzibit jokes that come with putting Firefox on your Firefox, the extension is already providing a glimpse of a web-focused mobile future to Linux, Mac and Windows users at the source below.

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Firefox browser add-on lets us try Firefox OS in an all-Mozilla universe originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZTE to launch Mozilla-based smartphones early next year

ZTE to launch Mozillabased smartphones early next year

ZTE just can't get enough mobile OS's. The manufacturer is all over Android, it's got Windows Phone 8 coming out of leaky pores, and now it's revealed plans to launch phones based on the Firefox OS (formerly "Boot to Gecko") as early as the the first quarter of next year. That's not so surprising, perhaps, given that Mozilla already told us it was working with ZTE to bring its HTML-5 powered platform to life, but it further emphasizes the fact that Chinese smartphone giants are casting about for a viable alternative to Google.

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ZTE to launch Mozilla-based smartphones early next year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of September 3rd, 2012

Refresh Roundup week of September 3rd, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of September 3rd, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of September 3rd, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 21:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Firefox OS Marketplace leaks in current form, shows shopping Gecko-style

Firefox OS Marketplace leaks in modern form, shows how we'll go shopping

Mozilla has been seeding Firefox OS to eager developers for some time. However, we've largely been denied a peek at how the developer's own take on a mobile app store will play out on an actual device. Some of that picture just filled out thanks to some images of the mobile Firefox Marketplace that have landed in Engadget's hands. From what we've seen of the current store, it's a significant break from the top-level storefront we saw back in the Boot to Gecko days, not to mention Mozilla Marketplace on the desktop. The deeper exploration shows a minimalist store that's focused on quickly delving into individual categories rather than an abundance of highlighted apps. We're not seeing any startling revelations -- there's only free apps visible in these early images, for example -- but the gallery is proof that Mozilla is well on its way to fleshing out the core of its OS for a launch next year. Let's just hope that the rest of the software moves at a similarly quick pace.

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Firefox OS Marketplace leaks in current form, shows shopping Gecko-style originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Download nightlies of Firefox OS, get your own hands-on

Download Nightlies of Firefox OS

Well, you can't get Firefox OS on a phone yet, but you can fire it up on your computer and give the HTML5 and JavaScript mobile platform a try for yourself -- right now! Mozilla has begun uploading nightly builds of the project formerly known as Boot to Gecko to its FTP servers. You can pull down a nicely wrapped package for Windows, Linux or OS X, or you download the source and build your own. It's not as simple as installing an app, there is some configuring you'll have to do, but the process is relatively simple and you'll find complete instructions at the more coverage link. Obviously the OS is still in the very early stages and is can't be considered representative of what the final product will be like. Still, its a nice glimpse at the progress Mozilla has made in just a single year of development. So, go get your own hands-on time with the next player on the mobile scene.

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Download nightlies of Firefox OS, get your own hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget interview: Mozilla Chief of Innovation Todd Simpson at CTIA 2012 (video)

The Engadget interview: Mozilla Chief of Innovation Todd Simpson at CTIA 2012 (video)

Today at CTIA Wireless in New Orleans we got the chance to spend a few minutes with Todd Simpson, Chief of Innovation at Mozilla. We talked about the company's "pivot into mobile" -- more specifically Firefox for Android and Boot to Gecko -- and what it means for Mozilla's future. Is there a Firefox for Windows Phone in the works? Will Boot to Gecko migrate to other platforms, like laptops? We're not going to spoil the fun for you -- just watch our video interview.

Brad Molen contributed to this report.

The Engadget interview: Mozilla Chief of Innovation Todd Simpson at CTIA 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 21:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla: Brazilians to get first phones running Boot to Gecko

Brazilians to get first phones running Boot to Gecko in late 2012, early 2013?

We got to fiddle with Mozilla's HTML5-based mobile OS, Boot to Gecko, for the first time a couple of months ago, and found it to be a promising platform, but one that wasn't ready for prime-time. However, it appears that Brazilians on Telefonica will get the first crack at buying BtG phones, and the handsets are set to go on sale by the end of this year or in early 2013. The good news -- for our South American readers, at least -- came from Gary Kovacs, Mozilla's CEO, who made the announcement in São Paulo today. Unfortunately, Kovacs failed to say what kind of hardware will run the web-based OS, but Pablo Larrieux, the chief innovation officer of Telefonica Vivo, indicated that the handsets will be unlocked and priced to move: they'll cost as much as a featurephone.

[Thanks, Henrique]

[Brazil flag photo via Shutterstock.]

Mozilla: Brazilians to get first phones running Boot to Gecko originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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