The two companies have announced a new partnership that will see Spreadtrum building reference designs for Firefox OS phones with a target price of $25. (And no, we're not missing a zero there.) The heart of the effort is the SC6821, a Cortex A5-based chipset that supports WCDMA and EDGE networks, but not LTE. The platform includes WiFi, Bluetooth, cameras and FM radio, though touchscreen support appears to top out at 3.5-inch HVGA panels. The lack of 4G connectivity, older CPU design and low screen resolutions clearly mark this as a low-end initiative, but its one that will give it a major leg up in emerging markets like India where feature phones still rule supreme.
$25 is a great price for a smartphone. I'm surprise this $25 smartphone has Bluetooth, FM radio, and Camera which are features found on more expensive phones. It's great to see that there would be more cheaper alternative Smartphones for people who just need a basic smartphone for web browsing, taking pictures, making calls and text, and other tasks.
Since I don't get phones too often I wouldn't try one out until others took the plunge. I am excited to see what it looks like and how it functions, etc. I am all for getting more phone types on the market, competition is only good for the consumer.
I read there are now dual core 1.2GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM on Firefox Smartphones. The Firefox OS can run on single core CPU, 256MB of RAM, and 2GB of storage.
I don't really need a smartphone for doing intensive tasks like gaming, and watching HD video, so a $25 Firefox OS should be good enough for me as long as it is fast when making calls, text, e-mail, and visiting mobile sites.
I think Firefox OS Smartphones are better than those regular $25-50 non-smartphones since at least a Firefox phone come with a good web browser instead of those basic web browsers which come with non-smartphone cell phones.
I wonder if the monthly and prepaid cell phone subscription plans would be cheap as well since paying $30 or more a month for cell service on a $25 phone seems kind of expensive.
