![\"Firefox](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Firefox-OS-screens.jpg\")
<\/a>Firefox OS screens<\/p><\/div>\n
It sees these cheap phones as targeted at two overlapping groups: for those who are new to the Internet or those who are transitioning from featurephones. It gives them apps, communications and integration features. And at this low end price, it\u2019s hard not to see how over a 2-5 year period (depending on the market) how at least 50-80% of users will be smartphone users.<\/p>\n
Orange announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that it would be rolling out the Orange Klif. The Orange Klif offers connectivity speeds of up to 21 Mbps, is dual SIM, and includes a two-megapixel camera and micro-SD slot. The Orange Klif is the first Firefox OS phone powered by a MediaTek processor.<\/p>\n
The 3G Firefox OS smartphone is exclusive to Orange and will be available from Q2 in 11 of Orange\u2019s Africa markets, including, but not limited to, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon, Botswana, Madagascar, Mali, Cote d\u2019Ivoire, Niger, Kenya, and Mauritius.<\/p>\n
MTN is also offering a Firefox OS phone. According to MTN, the Fire E features a 4.5-inch 960\u00d7540 display as well as a dual-core 1.2Ghz processor.<\/p>\n
The device also features 512MBs of RAM and 4GBs of expandable storage. To add to the features, the Fire E also packs in 5MP main camera and a VGA-quality front-facing camera.<\/p>\n
“It sees one of the advantages of the phone is that it can be easily set up for four of the 11 official languages, namely English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and Xhosa. More broadly, Mozilla is supporting as many languages \u201cas it humanly can and we have vibrant local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among 19 global operators signing up to the open web device initiative in Barcelona was Etisalat although to date they do appear to have made any Africa-specific, handset announcements.<\/p>\n
So why are mobile operators jumping at the Firefox OS?:\u201dThey\u2019ve realized it\u2019s not just about the device. It\u2019s about data access and data at a price. Orange has bundled 6 months of web access with its phone. That\u2019s critical to new users.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world\u2019s \u201czen slap\u201d now finds the former \u201cmasters of the universe\u201d fighting to be let back into the mobile OS space:\u201dMobile operators and OEMs now see Google\u2019s mobile services as an environment where they are being pushed out.”<\/p>\n
“They are being made into a dumb pipe. They\u2019re looking at an alternative with a rich ecosystem. They\u2019re looking for the ability to customize and stay in the value chain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a rush of Android clones and these have some options for customization. The issue is still what Google will do next. Google might make a left rather than a right turn.\u201d In other words, Google might the versions of its Android platforms used by clones unsupported.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is more than just Mozilla pushing economics and products. It\u2019s all about our mission \u2013 pushing the free and open web and the pivot to mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n
So the next big behavior change is how wider numbers of Africans will adopt the Internet on mobile and how literacy (ability to read, functional and tech) will become more important as this transition takes place. Maybe someone will actual lydevise something that\u2019s as popular as Facebook to provide people with simple steps, aspirational literacy on this new generation of phones?<\/p>\n
By Balancing Act<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The race to be Africa\u2019s mobile music champion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Africa\u2019s feature phones are all but forgotten<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Microsoft is making African mobile operators very nervous<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore by Balancing-Act<\/h3>\n