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This defensive it's-just-a-developer-phone angle seems to take it for granted that there are other FirefoxOS phones more suitable for "high-end" users who aren'

by cannam 12y ago

This defensive it's-just-a-developer-phone angle seems to take it for granted that there are other FirefoxOS phones more suitable for "high-end" users who aren't looking for a developer device. Are there? (For my part I think this spec looks good, except that like most current smartphones it's physically rather big. I have a Keon, and I would have loved a device in the same enclosure but with better quality components. I found the OS itself very comfortable to use, it's "just" the hardware I've found problematic.)

asadotzler 12y ago
It's not an angle. It's the explicit purpose of the phone. We designed it, every component, to be our reference phone. If you need something for some other purpose, if you've got some other angle, you could buy a Nexus 5 and put Firefox OS on there. That's a decent high end phone that I know several Firefox OS developers are using.
- cannam 12y ago
  Thanks for the reply and yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that there was some kind of marketing trick going on. I just think the response here (treating this device as if it were a high-end consumer device) is somewhat understandable as well. For instance there was a thread here recently, "Best Firefox phone to get?" in which the top comment suggests waiting for the Flame: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7655450 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7655450 So there seems to be an unfulfilled want, even though I totally understand that fulfilling it is not what this device is supposed to be for.
- wnissen 12y ago
  Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression that the Flame was going to be more along the lines of the Nexus series. Those phones, going all the way back the Nexus One (even though it looked like a Palm Pilot glued to a trackball platform), were all intended as legitimate competitors in the the consumer space. I don't think anyone is criticizing the specs from a developer perspective, there are just a lot of people on HN who like to try out new OSes and hardware. Good luck with the phone and the OS.
fabrice_d 12y ago
Look at the upcoming Alcatel Fire E (http://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_fire_e-6139.php http://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_fire_e-6139.php) Beautiful IPS screen, very slim design. I saw it next to an iphone 5, browsing the same web content and it was totally on par.
- fidotron 12y ago
  But isn't the whole "problem" that iOS users aren't browsing mobile websites so much as using native apps? You need to compare yourself with the native stuff on the other platforms, not the web content.
  - fabrice_d 12y ago
    Fair point, but it's hard to compare let's say the media player app from one OS to the other in terms of performance since the feature set plays a role there too. On the other hand, looking a the same website (I used a news site with non trivial content) is a level playing field.

by cannam 12y ago

asadotzler 12y ago

It's not an angle. It's the explicit purpose of the phone. We designed it, every component, to be our reference phone. If you need something for some other purpose, if you've got some other angle, you could buy a Nexus 5 and put Firefox OS on there. That's a decent high end phone that I know several Firefox OS developers are using.

cannam 12y ago
Thanks for the reply and yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that there was some kind of marketing trick going on. I just think the response here (treating this device as if it were a high-end consumer device) is somewhat understandable as well. For instance there was a thread here recently, "Best Firefox phone to get?" in which the top comment suggests waiting for the Flame: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7655450 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7655450 So there seems to be an unfulfilled want, even though I totally understand that fulfilling it is not what this device is supposed to be for.
wnissen 12y ago
Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression that the Flame was going to be more along the lines of the Nexus series. Those phones, going all the way back the Nexus One (even though it looked like a Palm Pilot glued to a trackball platform), were all intended as legitimate competitors in the the consumer space. I don't think anyone is criticizing the specs from a developer perspective, there are just a lot of people on HN who like to try out new OSes and hardware. Good luck with the phone and the OS.

fabrice_d 12y ago

Look at the upcoming Alcatel Fire E (http://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_fire_e-6139.php http://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_fire_e-6139.php) Beautiful IPS screen, very slim design. I saw it next to an iphone 5, browsing the same web content and it was totally on par.

fidotron 12y ago
But isn't the whole "problem" that iOS users aren't browsing mobile websites so much as using native apps? You need to compare yourself with the native stuff on the other platforms, not the web content.
- fabrice_d 12y ago
  Fair point, but it's hard to compare let's say the media player app from one OS to the other in terms of performance since the feature set plays a role there too. On the other hand, looking a the same website (I used a news site with non trivial content) is a level playing field.