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Cherry Mobile Ace pushes Firefox phones down to $23 (pictures)

Mozilla's 2014 deal with Chinese chipmaker Spreadtrum has opened the door to super-cheap phones. The cheapest is the Ace from Cherry Mobile in the Philippines.

Stephen Shankland
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Stephen Shankland
Cherry Mobile Ace
1 of 8 Stephen Shankland/CNET

BARCELONA -- The Ace, available from the Filipino carrier Cherry Mobile, costs just $23 (that's around £15 or AU$30). It runs Firefox OS, Mozilla's browser-based operating system. It's powered by a 1GHz ARM processor made by Chinese chipmaker Spreadtrum.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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The Cherry Mobile Ace runs Firefox OS, which Mozilla hopes will spread its ethos of openness and help bring Net access to people who can't afford it today.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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The Cherry Mobile Ace's plastic housing has rounded corners and a stippled back. On the back is a 2-megapixel camera.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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The 3.5-inch 480x320-pixel screen is small and pixelated compared to today's high-end phones -- but remember that this phone costs as much as a lunch for two at a sandwich shop.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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The Cherry Mobile Ace has a USB charging port on one side. It's a dual-SIM design, which is popular in developing countries where customers often subscribe to different carriers' network service for better coverage.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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The Firefox OS browser-based app is most comfortable with Web apps like this one from Wikipedia. In principle, any mobile-optimized site will work fine as an app on Firefox OS.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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On the top of the Cherry Mobile Ace is a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Cherry Mobile Ace
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To switch between tasks, a long press on the home button calls up active apps.

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