To further its efforts to bring its own brand of web browsing experience to more mobile users, Mozilla has partnered with some device manufacturers to put its browser right on their devices by default. In particular, Firefox for Android will be riding on the new Kobo Arc tablets as well as the Gigabyte’s upcoming smartphone, the GSmart Simba SX1.
Yesterday, Gigabyte announced its GSmart Simba SX1, which not only sports a dual SIM configuration but also boasts of the distinction of being the world’s first smartphone with a built-in three-way talking feature. This will allow users to put an on-going conversation on hold and invite another incoming call into a conference, without a special app or carrier arrangement. The smartphone is powered by a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor and runs Android 4.2. It also possesses a rather peculiar Stand Capture feature that will automatically shoot images when the phone is kept standing.
Kobo, on the other hand, unveiled its new tablet lineup last August. The beginner-level Kobo Arc 7 runs on a 1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek chip and sports a 7-inch 1024×600 screen. The Kobo Arc 7HD has the same size but increases the resolution to 1920×1200 pixels as well as replacing the processor with a more powerful NVIDIA Tegra 3 chip. Last, but definitely not the least, the Kobo Arc 10HD tops the list with a 10-inch screen boasting of a 2560×1600 display resolution and 1.8 GHz quad-core NDIVIA Tegra 4 processor. All of these new Kobo Arc tablets run Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.
Firefox may have a strong foothold on the desktop space, but it faces a good amount of competition on Android, which has a natural affinity for the Chrome web browser that is also developed by Google. On Android, Firefox offers features such as Reader, which presents a clean and distraction-free way to read web content without ads, and Reading List for offline reading of saved pages. Firefox for Android will come preinstalled on the Kobo Arc Tablets, which is already available in the US and Canada, as well as the Gigabyte GSmart Simba SX1, which will see a global launch in December.
