Firefox OS is a new mobile operating system developed by Mozilla’s Boot to Gecko (B2G) project. It uses a Linux kernel and boots into a Gecko-based runtime engine, which lets users run applications developed entirely using HTML, JavaScript, and other open web application APIs.

The Keon model

• CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 1Ghz
• UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA)
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE)
• Screen 3.5″ HVGA Multitouch
• 3 MP Camera
• 4GB ROM, 512 MB RAM
• MicroSD, Wifi N, Light and proximity Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB
• 1580 mAh battery
• Over the air updates
• Unlocked, add your own SIM card

The Peak model (White)

• CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.2Ghz x2.
• UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA).
• GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE).
• Screen 4.3″ qHD IPS Multitouch.
• Camera 8 MP (back) + 2 MP (front).
• 4 GB (ROM) and 512 (RAM).
• MicroSD, Wifi N, Light and proximity Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB, Flash (camera).
• Battery 1800 mAh.

Market

• Firefox Marketplace.
• Android Marketplace

Firefox OS is currently under heavy development; we are constantly working on ways to make it easier for you to use and hack on Gaia (the default set of apps) and create your own. However, you need knowledge about systems in order to do things like build the entire Firefox OS stack, or flash a phone with a build of Firefox OS. Linked below are guides meant for Web developers interested in running and making changes to Gaia or developing apps to run on Firefox OS devices.

Firefox OS is a complete, standalone operating system developed for the open Web with a primary focus as an open source mobile OS for mobile and tablet devices.  Mozilla’s Firefox OS project started out under the name of Boot to Gecko and, like Google’s Chrome OS platform, is based on the Linux operating system at its core.
The Firefox OS emphasizes HTML 5 technology to go along with device capabilities like SMS and Bluetooth support.  It’s also optimized for low-end hardware and will be provided to manufacturers for free, helping these companies produce mobile devices that balance a high degree of functionality with low cost.  The first batch of mobile devices running Firefox OS is expected to debut in early 2013.

Price:$119-$194  geeksphone

According to Forbs, the Geekphone with Firefox OS sold out in hours

Geeksphone put the first Firefox OS mobile smartphones on sale today. Geeksphone promptly sold out of the first batch of handsets, and promise to get more in. I’m sure they will, and by creating that all important PR message of ‘sold out’ they are well on the way to bringing developers to the new mobile platform – which is the key to kickstarting the platform.

It should be clear to anyone watching the smartphone industry that having a good handset is no longer enough for success, you need a strong set of applications that work on the platform. And if you want applications, you are going to need developers.

That’s why the Geeksphone handsets are important. They’re not being bought by people who are looking for high specification handsets (the Keon handset sports a 1 Ghz CPU, 3.5 inch screen, 4 GB of storage and a measly 3 megapixel camera); they’re not being bought by the fashion conscious (I’m pretty sure orange is not one of the in-colours this year); and they’re not being bought because they spotted an advert for one during ‘Broadchurch’.

The Geeksphone handsets are going to be bought by the curious, the tinkerers, and the dreamers. As developer handsets, each device will come with the tools and documentation for people to start working on their own HTML5 based applications. Much like the Raspberry Pi computers, the first Firefox OS phones hark back to a time when computers where bought to be programmed, and people were intrigued as to what they can do.

That’s a time when creativity exploded, with computers such as the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum creating legions of bedroom coders, who went on to build start-ups, with many still in leading roles in the industry today.

That’s the spirit that Firefox OS is hoping to capture with these handsets – not the high street, but the high concept. Because if they can be won over and they start working with the OS and writing apps, then a consumer focused Firefox OS device is going to have a much wider foundation to attract customers to a new platform.