Firefox OS能否借助25美元廉价机打开局面？

中国手机芯片设计业者展讯(Spreadtrum Communications)与 Firefox 操作系统(OS)开发商 Mozilla 连手，打算以25美元廉价智能手机席卷新兴市场；据了解其惊人的低成本是拜网络云端技术之赐。而两家公司表示，已经完成了 Firefox OS 与数款展讯 WCDMA / EDGE 智能手机芯片组的整合。 第一代 Firefox OS 智能手机在去年问世，供货商包括Alcatel、中兴(ZTE)与LG等，主要是透过电信营运商的通路销售；包括Telefonica等营运商已经开始供应Firefox OS智能手机，但大多数分析师并未看到该类产品在市场上发挥什么影响力；Strategy Analytics资深分析师Scott Bicheno即表示，Firefox OS机种在整体智能手机市场的占有率连1%都不到。 但展讯与Mozilla的25 美元廉价智能手机策略有可能改变此局面。展讯企业策略副总裁Diana Jovin表示，它们所开发的方案将在公开市场销售，锁定“首次使用智能手机的消费者”。在展讯的智能手机开发平台内整合对Firefox OS的支持，是其中的关键；这种所谓的“一站式解决方案”包含了一支手机所需的所有软硬件，包括芯片、电路板以及显示器，因此可以很快地打造出成品。

2013年全球智能手机操作系统销售量 (单位：千支)
Source：GartnerDhlesmc

有不少中国手机厂商──它们能提供比西方手机业者更佳的成本结构──预期将在今年开始针对新兴市场推出多款搭载Firefox OS的入门款智能手机；那号称仅25美元(约154元人民币)的标价吸引了众家分析师注意，不过IHS资深分析师Wayne Lam质疑，25美元是否为制造成本：“一支智能手机的成本结构通常包括30%的显示器、45%的核心电子组件，以及25%的电池、显示器、外壳…等等 其他零件。” 但根据EETimes 美国版编辑询问展讯的Jovin，确定25美元指的是零售价；他表示，Firefox OS手机所需的内存大概只要其他智能手机──通常为1Gb嵌入式DRAM以及2Gb扩展NAND闪存──的一半。显然其成本大幅降低的关键在于 低内存用量，因为Firefox OS利用了许多所谓的“云端”技术。 IHS的Lam同意了以上说法：“Firefox OS对处理器以及内存的需求较小，因为该种操作系统以及其服务，大部分是在云端；举例来说，为Firefox OS撰写的多数应用程序是采用HTML5格式，能在行动浏览器内执行。” 展讯在全球移动通信大会(MWC)前夕(2月23日)发布了WCDMA 智能手机芯片组SC6821，也就是25美元廉价智能手机芯片；该公司表示，此款芯片能让手机供货商推出配备3.5吋HVGA触控屏幕，整合Wi- Fi、蓝牙、FM与摄影机等功能，并拥有Firefox OS先进的电话与浏览器支持的产品，并能取得丰富的网络与HTML5应用程序资源。 本文下一页：锁定“智能手机首次使用者”

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• 少了WebOS，多了Firefox，手机界会不会不同？
• 新兴智能手机OS，谁最有望晋级前五？
• 太注重硬件性能，Android低端市场恐受伤Dhlesmc

{pagination} 锁定“智能手机首次使用者” 根 据IHS的Lam表示，第一代Firefox OS手机的价格约在60~100美元，与低阶的Android产品相当；而展讯与Mozilla连手打造的25美元廉价智能手机，则是以从来没用过智慧型手机的消费者为目标──该市场过去主要是以功能最小化的低价产品来供应。 Gartner的统计数据显示，虽然功能型手机市 占率已经逐渐衰退，去年整体手机市场仍有46.4%的出货量为功能型产品；这意味着全球仍有8.38亿功能型手机用户，而它们将会是超低价 Firefox OS智能手机的销售目标。展讯的Jovin表示，Firefox OS是非常适合该销售目标的操作系统：“智能手机的首次使用者会发现它的运作非常直观，从浏览器到各种应用程序，所有功能都在一个无缝的网络平台上。” 不需要由手机应用程序切换到网络。 此外，低内存容量的Firefox OS环境能让25美元手机获得Android KitKat等级的操作系统支持，这是入门款Android手机无法做到的。IHS的Lam表示，25美元零售价的智能手机产品，能把智能手机体验带 到过去是由低价功能型手机所服务的新兴市场：“试想，20美元的诺基亚(Nokia) 105功能型手机将直接受到威胁。”

Nokia 105是一款售价20美元的功能型手机，采用诺基亚的Symbian Series 30操作系统，支持简讯、闹铃、FM收音机、备忘录以及简单的游戏，无上网功能
Dhlesmc

本文下一页：众芯片业者支持Firefox

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• 少了WebOS，多了Firefox，手机界会不会不同？
• 新兴智能手机OS，谁最有望晋级前五？
• 太注重硬件性能，Android低端市场恐受伤Dhlesmc

{pagination} 众芯片业者支持Firefox Mozilla 获得了越来越多电信营运商、手机厂商以及芯片业者的支持；Strategy Analytics资深分析师Sravan Kundojjala表示，除了展讯，高通(Qualcomm)也支持Firefox OS：“最近我们还看到一款支持Android/Firefox双操作系统的手机产品GeeksPhone，内建英特尔(Intel) Z2560处理器；所以应该是有三家手机芯片业者支持Firefox OS。” 为 了将Firefox OS装置的使用体验维持在某一个程度，Mozilla在去年12月联合了多家电信业者以及芯片厂商成立“开放性网络装置互操作性审查委员会(Open Web Device Compliance Review Board，CRB)”，成员包括Deutsche Telekom、LG、Sony、Mozilla、高通、Alcatel、Telefonica、 Telenor、KDDI、中兴以及展讯。 在 CRB成立时，Mozilla在一篇新闻稿中表示，该组织目标为“推动API兼容性以及确保具竞争力的装置性能”，并“为使用者与开发商提供完整的开放性 网络体验”；透过验证一系列规格在硬件上的正常运作，CRB期望协助装置供货商与电信营运商缩短产品上市时间，并节省厂商在兼容性测试方面的成本。 预 期未来将会有更多芯片厂商投入对Firefox OS的支持。Strategy Analytics的Kundojjala表示，Firefox OS是建立在HTML 5格式上，因此能采用最小化的硬件架构，例如单核心应用处理器以及256MB的RAM。Firefox OS 的程序代码与Firefox网络浏览器的程序代码有许多共通点：“Firefox网络浏览器已经能在Android平台运作，取得许多芯片厂商的支持，因此我 认为在芯片方面对Firefox的支持并没有什么障碍。” 此外Kundojjala也指出，由于Firefox锁定低阶市 场，较适合拥有高成本效益、高整合度芯片的厂商投入，例如展讯、高通、联发科(MediaTek)等等。到目前为止，展讯与Mozilla已经完成 Firefox OS与展讯WCDMA智能手机芯片SC6821、SC7710 的整合，下个月预计完成单核心WCDMA芯片组SC7715参考设计；展讯Jovin表示，双方合作将扩展至全产品线。 本文下一页：仍有待克服的障碍？

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• 少了WebOS，多了Firefox，手机界会不会不同？
• 新兴智能手机OS，谁最有望晋级前五？
• 太注重硬件性能，Android低端市场恐受伤Dhlesmc

{pagination} 仍有待克服的障碍？ 不 过也并非所有人都看好Firefox OS能轻松打入智能手机市场。CCS Insight美国市场研究副总Geoff Blaber即表示：“Firefox OS需要定义一个甜蜜点(sweet spot)，能以Android产品无法达到的价格点，提供一定水平的使用体验。” Blaber指出，Android阵营的降价能力以及提升低阶产品使用体验的能力很强，这会对Firefox OS带来不少障碍；他还看到Firefox OS的另一个挑战：“Android生态系统已经如此多样化，电信营运商是否需要另一个新平台？” 而无论如何，Blaber仍认为展讯与Mozilla的联盟是一个重要之举：“这提供了透过新兴市场的开放通路所创造的商机动力；如果Firefox OS市场确实出现成长，开放性零售通路将会是其中最主要的催化剂。” 编译：Judith Cheng 参考英文原文：$25 Smartphones on Firefox OS to Rock MWC，by Junko Yoshida

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• 少了WebOS，多了Firefox，手机界会不会不同？
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{pagination} $25 Smartphones on Firefox OS to Rock MWC Junko Yoshida Spreadtrum and Mozilla target first-time smartphone users Spreadtrum Communications, China's leading mobile chip supplier, and Mozilla, Firefox's OS designer, have teamed up to storm the world's emerging markets with a $25 smartphone -- its startling low cost enabled by web technologies. The two companies said they have completed the integration of Firefox OS with several of Spreadtrum's WCDMA and EDGE smartphone chipsets. The first-generation Firefox OS smartphones, which were launched last year by companies such as Alcatel, ZTE, and LG, have been made available primarily through operator channels. Carriers like Telefonica have deployed Firefox OS smartphones, but many analysts see little impact so far on the smartphone market. Scott Bicheno, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, told us Firefox OS handsets make up "less than 1% of total global smartphone shipments." The Spreadtrum/Mozilla strategy for $25 smartphones is to change that narrative. Diana Jovin, vice president of corporate strategy at Spreadtrum, told us the devices will be "sold on the open market" and will target "first-time smartphone users." Worldwide smartphone sales (in thousands of units) to end users by operating system in 2013. (Source: Gartner) The integration of Firefox OS support into Spreadtrum's smartphone development platform is likely to play a key role. The Chinese vendor's so-called turnkey solution incorporates literally every piece of software and hardware necessary to build a finished handset very quickly, including all the chips, boards, and a display. A number of Chinese handset ODMs -- with a much better cost structure than Western mobile handset vendors -- are expected to start flooding emerging markets this year with Firefox OS-based entry-level smartphones. $25 price tag at retail? That $25 price tag, predictably, has raised a few eyebrows in the analyst community. Wayne Lam, senior analyst for consumer and communications at IHS, wonders if $25 is the manufacturing cost. "A smartphone has a cost budget that usually looks like 30% for display and 45% for core electronics and 25%" for things like the battery, camera, and enclosures," he told us When we asked about this, Spreadtrum's Jovin made it clear that $25 is the retail price. Obviously, a critical element of the price is the low memory configuration of the web-based nature of Firefox's OS. Jovin said a Firefox OS-based smartphone needs just half the memory of other smartphone, which typically require 1 Gbit of embedded DRAM and 2 Gbit of extended NAND. Lam agreed with that assessment. "FireFox OS has less processing and memory requirements, since the OS and the services live mostly in the cloud. For example, most of the apps written for Firefox OS are written in HTML5 and can be run within a mobile browser." Spreadtrum unveiled the SC6821 WCDMA smartphone chipset Sunday, Feb. 23, at the Mobile World Congress as the industry's first chipset for $25 smartphones. With this chipset, the company said, handset makers will be able to bring to market smartphones "with 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreens, integrated [with] WiFi, Bluetooth, FM and camera functions, the advanced phone and browser features of Firefox OS, and access to a rich ecosystem of web and HTML5 applications." First-time smartphone users The price points of first-generation Firefox devices are "at the $60-$100 level, on par with low-end Android devices," as Lam said. However, the $25 Firefox phone pitched by Spreadtrum and Mozilla is aimed at people who have never used smartphones before -- a market segment traditionally served by low-cost devices with minimal features. Though the marketshare is gradually decreasing, 46.4% of mobile phones sold to consumers last year were still feature phones, according to recent figures from Gartner. That translates into roughly 838 million feature phones for consumers, who could be persuaded to try a very low-cost, Firefox OS-based smartphone. Mozilla's Firefox OS is "an operating system well suited for this segment," Jovin said. "First-time smartphone users find it intuitive to have everything -- from a browser to apps -- on a seamless web platform." No switching from apps to the web is required. Moreover, the low-memory Firefox OS environment enables $25 Firefox OS phones access to Android KitKat-level of applications -- which are out of reach for entry-level Android phones. Lam also said a $25 smartphone (at retail) would bring the smartphone experience to developing markets traditionally served by the ultra-low-cost segment. "Think of it as direct competition to the $20 Nokia 105 feature phone." The Nokia 105, a voice-and-text feature phone, is priced at $20. It runs on Nokia's Symbian Series 30 OS and offers support for text message, an alarm clock, an FM radio, reminders, and a few simple games, like Sudoku. But it can't surf the web. Chip vendors supporting Firefox Mozilla is gaining support from a number of operators, handset companies, and silicon vendors. Sravan Kundojjala, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, told us both Qualcomm and Spreadtrum currently support the Firefox OS. "Recently, we have seen a dual OS (Android/Firefox) Geek Phone based on Intel's Z2560, so [there are] three vendors now supporting Firefox OS." To maintain a certain level of experience on Firefox OS-based devices, Mozilla banded together with a number of operators and chip companies to launch the Open Web Device Compliance Review Board (CRB) in December. Its members include Deutsche Telekom, LG, Sony, Mozilla, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., Alcatel, Telefónica, Telenor, KDDI, ZTE, and Spreadtrum. When the CRB was launched, Mozilla said in a press release that its goals were "encouraging API compliance as well as ensuring competitive performance" and providing "a full open Web experience to both users and developers." By validating that a set of specs works properly on hardware, the CRB is meant to help device OEMs and carriers decrease time to market and the OEM costs associated with compatibility testing. Challenges ahead More chip vendors are expected to get into the Firefox OS fray. Kundojjala said the Firefox OS is built on HTML 5 and likely to have minimum hardware specs such as a single-core apps processor and 256 MB of RAM. Firefox OS code shares many commonalities with the Firefox web browser code. "The Firefox web browser is already supported on Android by various chipset companies, so I wouldn't see any barrier in supporting Firefox from a chipset point of view." Firefox "is focusing on low-end, so it would suit chipset companies that have cost-effective, highly integrated chips," he said. "Companies such as Spreadtrum, Qualcomm, and MediaTek are well positioned to address this kind of price points." So far, Spreadtrum and Mozilla have completed the integration of Firefox OS with Spreadtrum's SC6821 and SC7710 WCDMA smartphone chipsets. Next month, they expect to complete a turnkey reference design for the SC7715, Spreadtrum's single-core WCDMA smartphone chipset with integrated connectivity. Jovin said her company's collaboration with Mozilla will extend across Spreadtrum's full chipset portfolio. Not everyone believes the Firefox OS plunge into the smartphone market will be easy. "Firefox OS needs to identify a sweet spot where it clearly offers an experience at a price point that Android can't address," Geoff Blaber, vice president of research for the Americas at CCS Insight, told us. Android's price erosion and an improving low-end experience have made it difficult for Firefox OS. "It's difficult to see those dynamics fundamentally changing." Blaber sees another big challenge for Firefox OS: "whether operators actually need another platform, given the diversity of the Android ecosystem." However, the partnership with Spreadtrum is "an important move." It provides an opportunity to build momentum through open channels in emerging markets. "If Firefox OS is to grow, then open distribution is likely to be a major catalyst."