Experimental Firefox OS software for Xperia™ E available for developers
[ROM]
Earlier this week, Sony and
Telefónica announced in a joint press release that they are evaluating the
Firefox operating system for mobile phones. To show their current
progress, are providing an experimental
version of the Firefox OS software for Xperia™ E, so that advanced developers
can try it out and so that they can get valuable community feedback. This
article gives you the background of Firefox OS, instructions how to flash
Firefox OS on Xperia™ E, as well as an introduction to how to start developing
applications for Firefox OS.
Firefox OS is a new mobile
operating system built entirely upon open web standards, and Sony is interested
in exploring this technology with Telefónica to help bring the power of the web
to mobile.
This software is not
intended for daily use, and several important limitations apply. You can read
more about this in the section “How to flash Firefox OS on Xperia™ E” below.
An introduction to Firefox
OS – the newest mobile platform
Firefox OS is based on the
idea of taking the web application model a step further and enabling support
for all types of applications. This includes applications that today are done
with native programming languages, such as the camera application or the
traditional dialer application. To facilitate these requirements, Firefox OS provides
a richer set of device APIs compared to traditional web browsers. In addition to traditional web browsers,
Firefox OS also have a privileged access model for applications. This ensures
that applications cannot access sensitive APIs without proper authorization.
One of the cornerstones of
the web application model is the openness, which is one of the reasons for the
popularity of web. Therefore, it is essential that this technology becomes standardized
to avoid creation of new proprietary technology. W3C has established a new
working group, Web System Application working group, which has support by a
broad range of players in the industries. Sony also supports this initiative,
and we committed to contribute to the work of defining a new standard for web
system applications in W3C.
The architecture of Firefox
OS
Now let’s take a brief look
on the Firefox OS software architecture. In simplest terms, Firefox OS consists
of three key components:
Illustration of the Firefox
OS architecture
Gonk, is the middleware that
consists of a Linux kernel together with several software libraries and a
hardware abstraction layer. Gonk runs on top of the mobile chipset that
includes hardware and device drivers.
Gecko, is the application runtime
that implements the HTML5, CSS and JavaScript execution environment.
Gaia, is the user interface in Firefox OS and
provides the home screen and application launcher user experience.
Since Firefox OS’s primary
application model is based on web technologies, there is no real concept of
native applications. All user experience are developed using HTML, CSS and
JavaScript technologies.
How to flash Firefox OS on
Xperia™ E
Now that you have a basic
understanding of Firefox OS, and if you’re ready to start tinkering with it on
an Xperia™ device (for now, Xperia™ E), the next step is to flash Firefox OS on
it. Before you flash this experimental ROM, please consider the following
carefully:
Before you unlock the boot
loader, make sure that you have read and understood that unlocking the boot
loader may void the warranty of your device.
·
You must be using an unlocked Xperia™ E. It will not work on a locked
Xperia™ E.
·
You should be an advanced developer with extensive knowledge in how to
flash and switch between different ROMs. If you are a consumer without these
developer skills, then we strongly recommend you not do try this as you may
damage your phone.
Some of the features are not
switched on or implemented:
·
No radio connectivity available, due to that this software has not passed
certification and type approval. This means that you cannot make any phone
calls or use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
·
The functionality of the SD card might be unstable.
·
The touch sensitivity is not fully calibrated.
This software can be flashed
on an Xperia™ E that has similar hardware specifications as the initial scope
of the first version of Firefox OS and is therefore a natural candidate.
Flash Firefox OS on your
Xperia™ E
·
Unlock the boot loader using our unlock boot loader service. Note that the
possibility to unlock a device can sometimes be restricted due to operator
restrictions. Also note that once you've unlocked your phone, you will not get
any official software updates from Sony.
·
Download and install the flash tool for Xperia.
·
Start the flash tool and connect your phone as described in the flash tool instructions. When you connect your unlocked Xperia™ E, the Firefox OS software
will be available to flash. There is also a standard Sony software version that
you can flash, if you want to go back to Android™ from the Firefox OS software.
If everything went well, your device is now ready to boot with Firefox OS. Turn on the power and after the initial boot sequence, you can start to explore Firefox OS.
How to build apps for
Firefox OS
One of the most exciting
aspects of web-based devices is that there is already a well established
ecosystem for application developers. If you have already developed web
applications, you can continue to use your favorite tools. However, before
starting to implement your first application, there are some resources that are
useful to consult. The Mozilla Developer Network has an extensive set of
documentation on how to get started with Firefox OS development. There you will
find information about how to write an application, the privileged access
model, emulators, debugging instructions and considerations to get good
performance.
If you are used to develop
web apps, you will immediately recognize the way of developing applications.
However, one key component that is added is the concept of manifest files. The
manifest file contains extra metadata about the web application, to make it unstable. For example, the following information could be declared in the
manifest:
·
path to the application
·
privileged API access
·
localization data
·
links to different icon resources
Once the app is developed
and the manifest is created, the application can be installed on your device.
If you would like to share your first applications, it is possible to self-host
the applications on your own server by adding some lines of code into your web
page.
More information
- Download the Firefox OS on Xperia E open source archive.
- Get a basic introduction to Firefox OS.
- Check out Mozilla’s technical intro to Firefox OS.
- Get started creating apps on Firefox OS.
- Read a more detailed description of the webApps concept.
Let http://developer.sonymobile.com
know what you think of Firefox OS on Xperia™ E
More information
·
Download the Firefox OS on Xperia E open source archive.
·
Get a basic introduction to Firefox OS.
·
Check out Mozilla’s technical intro to Firefox OS.
·
Get started creating apps on Firefox OS.
·
Read a more detailed description of the webApps concept.
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