In our previous post, we saw the new OneTouch Hero 2+ and the two OneTouch Idol 3 smartphones from Alcatel which were showcased at this year’s MWC in Barcelona. Continuing with the announcements, we have six other devices, five of which run on Android while the last one runs on Firefox OS.

The first five devices run on Android and surprisingly were all named Pixies. First up, there are the Pixi 3 smartphones. There will be two models under this product group with similar specs and are differentiated by their connectivity radios.

The 3G version has a 5.5-inch display with a qHD display, a MediaTek MT6580 chipset, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage, an 8MP+2MP camera combo, Bluetooth v4.0, a 2910mAh battery and the usual bunch of sensors.

Meanwhile, the 4G version has the same screen size but with a better resolution at 720p. It also has a better camera setup with an 8MP+5MP camera combo in some markets and the chipset is also different as the 4G variant uses a QCT 8909 SoC.

Alcatel has also got people who need bigger screens covered with three Pixi tablets. All models have 7-inch displays with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. As with the Pixi smartphones, the tablets are categorized based on the connectivity radio they possess.

There’s a Wi-Fi only model as well as a 3G and 4G variants. The Wi-Fi and 3G models comes with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of on-board storage, a 2MP rear camera, a VGA selfie camera and a 2820mAh battery. Meanwhile, the 4G model sports better specs than its siblings, namely an extra half gig of RAM and Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.

Lastly, there’s the Alcatel Klif that runs on Firefox OS. As with other Firefox phones, the Klif gets specs meant for budget-conscious customers, to be specific it has a MediaTek chip with a dual-core processor, 256MB of RAM and 512MB of on-board storage.

Surprisingly, the Klif manages to squeeze in a 2MP camera with an LED flash as well as a 1300mAh battery. It also has 3G connectivity, an FM receiver, GPS and two SIM card slots. As with the rest of Alcatel’s announcement, pricing and availability for the Pixis and the Klif are yet to be disclosed.

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Mozilla might be working on a device that will make ordinary TVs more powerful just like Google’s Chromecast TV streamer.

In a report by GigaOm, a Chromecast-like device was showcased in a hands-on video. Based on the short clip, the device is capable of flinging content from a YouTube app of an Android software. It was also mentioned that support for iOS, Windows Phone and Amazon Fire platform might be provided in the future.

Apparently, the device is going after the same openness as Firefox OS. But other than that, details about the TV streaming dongle is still shrouded in mystery.

On top of that Mozilla has denied any involvement with the project and says that the device might be the work of third party developers who are using the Firefox OS open-source software. Whether or not this is true is something we have to wait and see.

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Last but certainly not the least in our coverage of Mobile World Congress is the Chinese manufacturer ZTE’s lineup.

For starters, ZTE is upgrading its flagship phablet with the new Grand Memo II with LTE. The device comes with a 6-inch 720p display, a 13MP rear camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 3200mAh battery. There’s also Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS and as the name implies LTE connectivity.

In terms of software, the phablet will run on Android 4.4 KitKat and sports a couple of features specifically designed for its size. For one, it has a miniview feature that shrinks the display into a more manageable size for one hand use; and then there’s the SmartShare button which functions a lot like the multi-window option we’ve seen in other devices from LG and Samsung.

Also on display at ZTE’s booth are its two Firefox-OS phones – the Open C and Open II. The Open C packs a 4.0-inch display, a Snapdragon 200 chip with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of expandable on-board storage and a 3.15MP camera.

The Open II on the other hand features a 3.5-inch display, the same Snapdragon 200 chipset with a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, an Adreno 302 GPU, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of internal storage (expandable) and a 2MP camera at the back.

Both phones run on Firefox OS 1.3 and features the same set of connectivity options including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and 3G connectivity. The Open C boasts a bigger battery pack rated at 1400mAh while the Open II gets a 1150mAh battery.

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Spanish smartphone maker Geeksphone has now given us more details about the dual-boot Geeksphone Revolution that was first announced a few weeks ago just around the time its Blackphone was announced.

The Revolution will have a 4.7-inch display with qHD resolution, a 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8MP camera at the back with flash. The smartphone will run an unspecified version of Android as its base OS and an “alternative OS” on the side.

According to Geeksphone, the “alternative” OS it’s referring to pertains to “any community supported OS” so Windows Phone and iOS are definitely out in the running. Which leaves us with either Firefox OS and maybe to a certain extent Ubuntu Mobile as the most logical choices for an alternative OS.

As always, there’s still no information on pricing and availability but we’ll probably get more info in the coming weeks, even as close as next month at MWC.

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LG is the latest manufacturer to jump aboard the Firefox OS ship when it announced its first smartphone for the platform – the Fireweb.

As Firefox OS is intended for emerging markets, the device’s specs sheet is relatively similar to other entry-level phones that run on Android.

For starters, the LG Fireweb is built around a 4.0-inch display with a resolution of 480x320 pixels with a pixel density of 144 pixels per inch. It also has a 5MP snapper at the back with LED flash and geo-tagging. To power the Fireweb, LG has put a 1GHz Qualcomm processor and 4GB worth of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card.

There’s also assisted GPS, Bluetooth, 3G data connectivity, support for microUSB v2.0 and an accelerometer. The LG Fireweb runs on Firefox OS version 1.1 and will ship initially to Brazil for around $207 for pay-as-you-go customers or $59 for regular subscribers.

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Hon Hai Precision Industry Co,. Ltd. otherwise known as Foxconn, the Taiwanese multinational contract manufacturing company that builds the Apple, Kindle and Sony products has closed the deal today with Mozilla to become the 19^th member of the Firefox OS Alliance.

The announcement was made at a press event in Taipei. Through the partnership, Foxconn will be extending its business from original design manufacturing to a combination of integrated software and hardware offerings which includes its interest to invest in Firefox OS.

See Also: Foxconn Joins the Firefox OS Initiative

“Currently, Foxconn is executing on a vision of eight screens, one network and one cloud with all our strength. Besides the native advantages of hardware manufacturing, Foxconn is also developing a brand new integrated approach to providing hardware, software, content and service. And because of our vision, we are excited to work with Mozilla. Firefox OS from Mozilla is based on HTML5 and open web technologies. The whole idea perfectly matches to the strategy promoted by Foxconn. We believe that the integration of software and hardware development will offer greater benefits to our customers and consumers”

 Young Liu (GM of Foxconn Innovation Digital System Business Group)

Also present in the event was a mystery Firefox OS tablet. Both companies didn’t provide any information about the device but since it appeared on Mozilla’s and Foxconn’s joint press event, it’s possible that the device may be Foxconn-made. Nevertheless, it’s still good to be open for other possibilities. 

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Recent reports claim that Chinese contract manufacturer Foxconn will soon join the other 18 partners Mozilla has to build its Firefox OS powered smartphones.

The official announcement of the partnership is scheduled to happen on a joint press event on June 3 at Taipei, Taiwan just days before Computex 2013. According to reports, Foxconn Technology Group and Mozilla have already sent invites announcing the press conference and hints of a possible release of one or two Firefox OS devices.

Related Story: Firefox OS Dev Phones to Ship This Week

The partnership is in line with reports that Foxconn is planning to expand beyond contract manufacturing. The company has long been in the business of manufacturing products for other companies including Sony and Apple. However, the recent decrease in iPhone sales due to fierce competition in the smartphone industry may have lead the Chinese company to look for additional opportunities where it can flex its muscles.

Foxconn is reportedly planning a number of business ventures including the selling of its own brand of accessories such as headphones, keyboards and cables. The company is also said to be considering producing its own line of iOS accessories and even its own software.

Source 1 | Source 2

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