Spice has announced the Fire One Mi-FX 1 at Rs. 2,299, calling it the country's first Firefox OS smartphone, and added that it will be launched on August 29. Notably, Intex on Thursday also sent invites for an August 25 event where it would launch "India's lowest priced smartphone," which in all probability is the Cloud FX Firefox OS smartphone announced in June at under Rs. 2,000.
The company has confirmed that its first Firefox smartphone will be initially available at Snapdeal; however it will later be made available via more e-commerce websites. Spice says the all new Firefox OS smartphone is targeted to tap the mass market consumers who want to switch to affordable smartphones.
The Spice Fire One Mi-FX 1 comes with a 3.5-inch HVGA (320x480 pixel) display; is powered by a 1GHz processor; sports a 2-megapixel rear camera, and there is a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. The smartphone supports dual-SIM (GSM+GSM); however, only 2G connectivity is available.
Some other features on the Fire One Mi-FX 1 include Wi-Fi, multiple language support (Hindi, Tamil, and Bangla), FM radio, and Bluetooth. The company has confirmed that the smartphone will come with a free silicon cover in the box.
Running Firefox OS, the Spice Fire One Mi-FX 1 comes preloaded with Marketplace, an app store. Unfortunately, the company has not detailed the version of the Firefox OS.
Commenting on the launch, Prashant Bindal, Chief Executive Officer, Spice Mobility Ltd, said, "With the ultra-low cost Spice Fire One, we at Spice, aim to convert the feature phone users into smartphone users, thereby, aiding them with the power of internet. Our intentions are clearly to synthesize technology and style in our products and make them available at affordable prices. This partnership with Mozilla showcases our commitment to providing the best technological innovations first hand to our customers. This joint undertaking with Mozilla is a breakthrough in product offering and a brand new concept for smartphones."
Dr. Li Gong, President of Mozilla Corporation, said on the announcement, "Just one year after the first Firefox OS device launched, Firefox OS smartphone is now available in 17 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Our partnership with Spice will be an exciting Firefox OS launch in India".
