> What I Would Do Differently Today ... Product — Not try to create the cheapest smartphone. But, then who will? Firefox OS allowed you to run a full HTML5 bro

> What I Would Do Differently Today ... Product — Not try to create the cheapest smartphone. But, then who will? Firefox OS allowed you to run a full HTML5 browser on a phone with half the specs of Android[1]. They sold a phone for $33 that was (and still is) the cheapest thing to run Youtube and Wikipedia! The only huge technological advantage Firefox OS had was the fact that Boot-to-Gecko didn't have the overhead of a middle layer virtual machine (like android). That's a HUGE deal if you are resource constrained, which means you can offer a ton more features for the same price on cheap smartphones. And who uses cheap phones? The developing world, who more than anyone need access to modern information. Firefox OS shouldn't have seen itself as competing with Android. It should have seen itself as competing with flip phones. The amount of societal good Mozilla could have done by focusing on being a cheap "next-step" flip phone alternative is astounding. Here's a comment I wrote several years back when the $33 phone came out: --------- I've been a huge fan of Firefox OS for a long time[1], but here's something I think many people here aren't realizing: Firefox OS considerably lowers the barriers to entry for app developers. Firefox OS apps are just html pages in a zip file, so all you need to create one is a text editor and a browser. In fact, Firefox will soon include an IDE[2], so you don't even need a text editor anymore. I think that will have a massive impact on how many developers will make apps for Firefox OS, especially local developing world apps. If you only have non-administrator access to a computer in an internet cafe or some other shared computer, you can probably still develop Firefox OS apps since it may already have Firefox installed. Additionally, there's millions of tutorials online about web development, many of which are very beginner friendly and in multiple languages. This extremely low barrier to entry will allow local communities to easily make apps that cater to just their local needs. Want to know where the best location to get water is? Want to know which farms in the area are hiring? Want to see the local mayor's latest scandalous photo? These all can be coded in a weekend at the local internet cafe. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3MU3jxEye8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3MU3jxEye8 [2] - https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/WebIDE https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/WebIDE