UPDATED 07:52 EDT / JANUARY 22 2013

Firefox OS Phones for Developers Hit the Market, Three New iPhones Could Launch This Year

In today’s mobile news roundup: Geeksphone starts selling the Firefox OS developer phone, RIM extends developer-friendly Port-a-thon event; HTC M7 sighting; Apple to release 3 iPhones in 2013; and Samsung takes a jab at RIM.

Geeksphone starts selling Firefox OS developer phone

At CES 2013, a mysterious unnamed device made an appearance, turning plenty of heads.  It was running Firefox OS – Mozilla’s up and coming mobile operating system.  The device comes an unnamed manufacturer, leaving us with little more than a prototype and a dream.

But it seems Mozilla and its partners are revving things up, as Geeksphone is already selling Firefox OS developer preview phones.  The retailer is selling two Firefox OS developer preview phones, the Keon and Peak.   Keon features a 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor, UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA), GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE), 3.5″ HVGA multitouch screen, 3MP camera, 4 GB ROM, 512 RAM, MicroSD, Wifi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB, and a 1580 mAh battery.

Peak features a 1.2 Ghz x2 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA), GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE), 4.3″ qHD IPS multitouch screen, 8MP back camera, 2MP front camera, 4 GB ROM, 512 RAM, MicroSD, Wifi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB, Flash (camera), and a 1800 mAh battery.

“This week we are announcing our new Firefox OS developer preview phones because we believe that developers will help bring the power of the Web to mobile,” wrote Stormy Peters, director of Web sites and developer engagement at Mozilla, in a blog post today.

No pricing details have been revealed yet.

RIM port-a-thon extended

Research in Motion recently conducted two port-a-thons where developers could submit apps for the upcoming BlackBerry 10 and BB10 smartphones.  The first port-a-thon saw 15,000 apps submitted, while the second event brought 19,000 apps to BlackBerry World, the renamed BlackBerry app store.

RIM has now extended the deadline for their various programs directed at helping developers who want submit or port their apps for use in BB10 devices.  In a blog post, RIM VP of developer relations Alec Saunders stated that the interest in developing for BB10 has been remarkable, leading to the extension of the deadline to February 18, 2013.

For developers interested in submitting their apps for BlackBerry World, click here.

In other RIM news, the revamped BlackBerry World is now live and features Music and Video sections, making it a one-stop-shop for BlackBerry fans.  The music service is free for 30 days but consumers will be charged $4.99 per month thereafter.  As for the devices to be unveiled later this month, BGR has given a name to the devices: the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry X10.  As for the price of the devices, BGR is suggesting that they would cost around $199 without a contract and $149 with a two-year contract.

HTC M7 sighting

CES 2013 came and went but no HTC M7 made an appearance.  However, that doesn’t mean the device isn’t coming.  Proof of the device’s existence continues to surface, and the most recent leak comes from Android Police.

The tech blog shows photos of what an insider claims to be the M7, though it lacked certification marks such as those from the FCC, so this is probably a mockup or a prototype.  What can be seen in the photos is the front of the device with a front-facing camera, three touch buttons, while the backside showed a camera with a flash, the HTC and Beats logo.  The tipster also gave Android Police screenshots of Sense 5.0 the upcoming GUI from HTC.  HTC M7’s rumored features are: a 4.7-inch monitor, 1.7GHz CPU and 2GB of RAM.

Apple to release 3 iPhones in 2013

Reports claim that Apple has three iPhones slated to be released this year, and one of them will be called iPhone Math.  Though the name doesn’t seem to fit Apple’s nomenclature, the thought of three iPhones to be released this year could make anyone’s head spin.

According to BrightWire, two of the iPhones, the iPhone 5S with a 4” screen and the iPhone Math with a 4.8” screen, will have an 8MP camera and will be released in June.  As for the third iPhone, the only feature made known is a 12MP camera, and the device will allegedly be launched some time before the holidays this year.

Samsung takes a jab at RIM

Samsung is back to its old tricks: taking a stab at the competition with the magic of marketing.  This time, the receiver of their mocking ad is RIM and BlackBerry users.

The BlackBerry device is known for being a businessman’s best friend because it’s serious and safe for enterprise use.  In Samsung’s new add for the Galaxy SIII and the Galaxy Note II, the company showed how people can be serious with work while having fun, like closing a deal while watching a basketball game.  The ad makes fun of BlackBerry users who have two phones, a BlackBerry for work use, and another phone like the iPhone for home use.  The ad tells consumers that they do not need two phones especially with SAFE – a new feature that secures Samsung phones for enterprise use.

Click here to watch the new Samsung ad.

 


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU