Alcatel One Touch Fire: Hands-on with the first Firefox phone

(Credit: Rich Trenholm)

BARCELONA, Spain--The Alcatel OneTouch Fire is the first phone to run Firefox OS, new software that aims to light a fire under Android.

The 3.5-inch Fire is a dinky little number wrapped in a cheerful, brightly colored plastic casing. The rounded corners and vibrant look -- including signature Firefox orange -- give it a chunky, playful appearance.

It's basically the Alcatel T Pop, a low-end feature phone, but the big difference is the software. Firefox OS is an open-source operating system created by Mozilla, the folks behind the Firefox Web browser. Apps are built using HTML5, which means that in theory they run on the Web and on your phone or tablet.

The downside of any new platform is that there won't be many apps yet -- certainly not many of the big name apps you find on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone or tablet. Ultimately, the number and quality of apps will depend on how many people buy Firefox phones.

At the time of writing, Firefox OS is still some months away from release, but there are some decent apps available already. For example, popular game Cut the Rope and Nokia's HERE maps app are available now.

And of course, Firefox is on every phone to browse the Web. You can connect to the Web and to other devices by the usual array of smartphone options: 3G, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

The Firefox OS interface is very simple, and cert... [Read more]