The Author's Nest

So, sitting next to my laptop is my new LG Fx0, a Firefox OS handset that can truly be called the flagship of the platform. Originally made for Japan's KDDI for their "au by KDDI" phone service, LG released the device worldwide online after Mozilla dropped the Firefox OS project for cell phones—a decision that came far too soon, in my opinion.

I bought it for $55 USD from Amazon.

With a translucent gold outer case ("au", the carrier's name, being the chemical symbol for gold), this device looks absolutely beautiful. It feels like cheap plastic at times, but once you get over the misconception of "it's a cheap phone", it doesn't matter at all. What matters is that it's lightweight, easy to keep a hold of, and can run well.

The screen is crystal clear, even with the stock International ROM (Firefox Os 2.1), but where it shines is with the original KDDI ROM (Firefox OS 2.0), which can be found on an Fx0 reddit at the moment. It takes some tweaking, and MMS doesn't work on AT&T (yet), but it works otherwise. I'm still tweaking the settings where I can, but this project may take a while.

The camera isn't the best, but it works quite well for what's considered a cheap phone. It's clear in proper lighting, and it can take 6 megapixel images at 3264x1836 (16:9 ratio), or 8 megapixels images at 3264x2448 (4:3 ratio), and records videos at 1080p (1920x1080). For a $60~ USD phone, I'd expect a lot less from it. It also has flash, which I rarely see in cheap phones here in the US.

Storage isn't really a big issue. It only has 16 GB of internal storage, but it also has a microSD card slot to add more storage when needed. Currently, I have a 32 GB card in my own handset, and I've barely used it. Larger microSD cards would likely give you more storage than even an iPhone, and of course, more than Google Photos since you can simply slot in a new card in place of a full one.

With 1.5 GB of memory,it doesn't really slow down at all with the KDDI ROM. The stock international ROM is a bit jerky, but I don't think LG optimized it at all. If you can, try to run your own build, or the KDDI ROM.

Now, I know you'll likely expect me to talk about the OS, but that's for another article, and another time. I've got a lot to say about that subject.

Overall, I highly recommend snagging an LG Fx0 if you can. They're cheap, and they work well. I'll likely try and get a second as a backup at some point, but for now, I'm happy with the one I have.