Mozilla’s Firefox OS is an operating system designed to run web apps. It’s been optimized for smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. The operating system is based on open source software that can run on a range of different types of hardware including wearables and TV sticks.

Now the folks at Imagination Technologies have ported Firefox OS to run on a tablet with a MIPS-based processor.

firefox os mips

The tablet features an Ingenic JZ4790 processor with PowerVR SGX540 graphics, WiFi, Bluetooth, and front and rear cameras. It has a 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel display, mini HDMI port, headphone, and micro USB ports as well as stereo speakers.

In addition to Firefox OS, the tablet can run Google Android.

Imagination says the tablet runs an experimental build of Firefox OS, but the tablet has the hardware to handle 1080p HD video playback and web-based video conferencing through apps that use the WebRTC protocol.

Interestingly, the company put out a video showing the tablet in action, and while it certainly can run Firefox OS, animations aren’t exactly smooth and the touchscreen isn’t very responsive. It handles YouTube videos pretty nicely though.

Imagination doesn’t plan to sell this particular tablet. But it’s described as a reference design, which means the company may be making the designs available to partners interesting in building their own Android or Firefox OS tablets with MIPS-based processors.

With a relatively low-res display and other modest specs, expect those tablets to be pretty inexpensive. In a blog post, Imagination suggests tablets based on this reference design could sell for under $100.

firefox os mips tablet

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6 replies on “Firefox OS ported to run on a MIPS-based tablet”

  1. There actually is a much more powerful single core MIPS soc based tablets(1.3ghz 15 stage out of order multiissue superscalar as opposed to the ingenic’s 9 stage in order single issue 4780) that can be bought for really low (30$) from alibaba etc… lookup ACTION ATM7013… quite odd that imagination is pushing the lower end ingenic chip…

  2. Translation: Hey, MIPS isn’t dead! Yet.

    No it isn’t dead but is beginning to smell funny. If they can’t create a reason to continue existing soon they won’t, just that simple. Even low end routers are going ARM. Reality is that even if they give the CPU away it doesn’t change the price tag of a low end device much and right now nobody would even think of putting one in a high end product. So where does that leave them? Darned if I know, but I’m glad it isn’t my job to answer that question.

  3. This is a development platform, not a consumer product. Reference designs are created mostly for software bring-up and app porting not spec battles.

Comments are closed.