Related Articles
Geeksphone on Thursday began taking preorders for its upcoming Peak+, a smartphone that marks the startup’s expansion from earlier developer-oriented Firefox OS models to ones geared for consumers.
The Peak+, with a promotional preorder price of 149 euros ($197) while stock lasts, is a tweak to the earlier Peak model for developers. It’s got 1GB of memory instead of 512MB, and its interior and internals have been updated for a polished finish and a better feel, the company said. The company will sell the model at an undisclosed but “slightly higher” price starting September 15, when the phone begins shipping.
Related stories
- iPad Pro 2020 reviews, YouTube to throttle video quality
- Mozilla helps modernize feature phones powered by Firefox tech
- Mozilla may start offering premium services this fall
- Sticker shock over Apple’s $1,000 stand, Firefox blocking cookies
- Mozilla three years later: Is Firefox in a better place?
The Peak+ will come with the new Firefox OS 1.1 installed. The updated version of Mozilla’s browser-based operating system has better power management for longer battery life and better graphics performance, Geeksphone said.
Other features match those of the earlier Peak: a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm 8225 processor, a 960×540 IPS screen, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera, a microSD flash card slot, tri-band UMTS and HSPA network support, and a 1,800 mAh battery.
Geeksphone was the first out of the Firefox OS gate with its developer-oriented Keon and Peak. As it moves to the consumer market, though, it faces competition from much larger manufacturers with major sales channels. The first two are low-budget models, the ZTE Open, which Deutsche Telekom is selling in Poland, and the Alcatel One Touch Fire, which Telefonica is selling in Spain. And, of course, it competes with the multitude of other Android, iOS, and other smartphones on the market.
Geeksphone, based in Spain, offered its first hint about the Peak+ 10 days ago.
The Peak+ replaces the Peak, Geeksphone said. Like its predecessors, the Peak+ includes 25GB of cloud storage. And if customers and supply-chain considerations warrant it, the company could sell a consumer version of its lower-end Keon, too, the company said.
Updated at 4:26 a.m. PT with pricing and shipping detail from Geeksphone.
