Mobile operating system fans who are anxious to try out Mozilla’s open source Firefox OS can now get a taste of what the platform will offer without having to purchase developer preview phones. Mozilla on Thursday released the final version of Firefox OS Simulator 3.0, which includes the complete feature set for the platform.
Additions from previous versions of the Simulator include the ability to push test apps directly to supported hardware, rotation simulation, geolocation simulation, manifest validation, the latest updates to the Firefox rendering engine and Gaia UI, and a host of stability fixes and app performance updates.
While aspiring Firefox OS developers will get the most out of it, interested consumers and Mozilla fans can also pick up the free Simulator. Simply visit the Firefox Add-On page while running a recent version of the Firefox browser and choose “add to Firefox” on the Firefox OS Simulator 3.0 page. Versions of the simulator are available for OS X, Windows, and Linux, along with a walkthrough guide for users and developers new to the OS.
The Firefox OS project began in July 2011 as a “Boot to Gecko” development challenge (Gecko is the rendering engine used by the Firefox browser). It was rebranded as “Firefox OS” in July 2012 and reached version 1.0 status in February 2013. Devices running the OS will be available later this year from smartphone manufacturers ZTE, LG, Huawei, and TCL.
