The smartphone space is dominated by Android and iOS at the moment, but organizations including Canonical, Mozilla, Samsung, and Jolla have been trying to build alternatives. So far none has even managed to get the same kind of meager market share that less popular operating platforms BlackBerry or Windows Phone are holding on to.

But the folks at Acadine Technologies are going to give things a try anyway.

Acadine is headed by former Mozilla employee Li Gong, and the company’s new H5OS software for smartphones, tablets, wearables, and internet of things devices is based on Firefox OS.

acadine

So what makes Acadine different? The company has received $100 million in funding so far, which gives the organization a bit of runway.

And while H5OS is based on the open source Firefox OS (and more than half of Acadine’s employees used to work at Mozilla), it’s possible that the new startup could take a different approach toward the software than Mozilla.

Like Firefox OS, H5OS is designed to run apps created with web technologies including HDML5, JavaScript and CSS. But Acadine hopes to adapt the software to run on new types of products including wearables and other internet-connected gadgets.

Mozilla, meanwhile, has been shifting its focus for Firefox OS devices. The organization has scrapped plans to develop a $25 phone, is considering adding support for Android apps, and generally wants to focus on making Firefox OS attractive because of its features, not because it’s used on dirt cheap phones.

Firefox OS 2.5 is scheduled to launch in November, when it will bring new features including a mobile “view source” option for web pages, improved security, and a new system that lets you add user interface and phone features through Firefox-style extensions or add-ons.

via CNET

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7 replies on “H5OS is a Firefox OS-spinoff for smartphones, tablets, and more”

  1. That video put me off rather a lot. Waaaaaayyyyy too much of a pain in the ass. I don’t want to invest so much effort into a phone.

  2. Firefox OS had so much promise. A capable OS, that doesn’t spy on you, to say the least. But it has taken Mozilla soooo long to deliver – nothing really. Close the coffin on this one.

  3. The biggest issue I see with Firefox OS and probably this thing too, is that you can’t just download something and click install to get it up and running on your current hardware the way you can with a browser.

    Instead you have to buy a phone that either has crappy hardware, or isn’t even available in your region. Well, there is another option of installing an amateur port to your current phone, but the size of the market that can/will do that is pretty limited.

  4. As Microsoft found out, with Windows Phone 7, the OS must support native apps for most (game) developers to even consider it. Most developers aren’t going to spend the extra time needed to port their apps from C++ to Javascript. Emscripten is an option, but it still requires a lot of effort to get set up properly.

  5. I wish there would be a universal app store that runs from the web and can be accessed with any device with a web browser

Comments are closed.