Geeksphone's Firefox OS phones to be up for pre-order tomorrow

Pre-orders for Geeksphone’s Firefox OS offerings, namely the low-end Keon and the more powerful Peak, are going to start on the company’s website tomorrow, reports The Next Web. This would make Geeksphone’s devices the first Firefox OS handsets to hit the market.

The entry-level Keon is powered by a 1GHz processor from Snapdragon and 512MB of RAM. It is equipped with a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, a 3 megapixel camera and 4GB of internal memory. The handset is expected to cost 115 Euros counting VAT, which roughly translates to Rs 8,145. Without VAT, the phone will be priced at 91 Euros.

The Peak has a 1.2GHz processor by Snapdragon. It has a 4.3-inch qHD screen with an IPS panel and is equipped with two cameras – an 8 megapixel shooter and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera. It is expected to cost 180 Euros with VAT, which rouuhgly translates to Rs 12,748. Without VAT, it will cost 149 Euros.

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Geeksphone’s Firefox OS offerings: Peak on the left and Keon on the right

As of yet, the pricing for either devices isn’t set in stone. The company is aiming for a sub-100 Euro price for the Keon and a sub-150 Euro price for the Peak, not counting the VAT. We will get a better idea of the actual pricing once the pre-orders for the handsets have started.

Geeksphone is looking to get a headstart in selling its devices so as to promote early app development for Firefox OS.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Firefox OS would launch in eleven countries by the end of the year. CEO Gary Kovacs said at the time, “We plan to hit Venezuela, Poland, Brazil, Portugal and Spain. … We’ll hit the U.S. in 2014.”

For those wondering why the company is leaving out an important market like the US for its initial rollout, Kovacs explained, “In Silicon Valley we tend to see the world through high-end devices…But that’s not true in the rest of the world. So in the short term, we’re launching in emerging markets where Firefox is particularly strong. … It didn’t make sense for us to launch a version-one device around the world.”

It was early in July last year when Mozilla made its big announcement. The Firefox OS for mobile devices is built on Mozilla’s “Boot to Gecko” project, which unlocks many of the current limitations of web development on mobile, allowing HTML5 applications to access the underlying capabilities of a phone that were previously only available to native applications. Telefónica’s Digital unit had partnered with Mozilla early this year to take this work and showcase a new phone architecture where every phone feature, which includes calling, messaging, games, etc., is an HTML5 application.