On Tuesday, Mozilla (News – Alert) announced that it is partnering with Geeksphone, a Spanish smartphone producer, for preview hardware for its planned mobile operating system, Firefox OS. Both basic and deluxe models are planned for initial release, the former of which will consist of only the minimum specs required for app testing and the latter of which will boast more competitive hardware specs, according to arstechnica.com. Developers who rely on smartphone-specific APIs, especially, should make getting their hands on these devices a priority.

Although these devices are being implemented with Firefox OS testing partly in mind, Mozilla already offers a number of ways one can test against its operating system, including a browser simulation of the OS and a Firefox Marketplace Android app. The browser method is particularly viable, as app development for the OS rests entirely on HTML, CSS (News – Alert) and JavaScript, and abides by current web standards.

The basic model proposed by Mozilla and Geeksphone is called Keon, and sports a 1GHz Qualcomm (News – Alert) Snapdragon S1 processor, a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen, and a 3 megapixel rear-facing camera. The more competitive model, called Peak, boasts a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, a 4.3-inch qHD (960×540) IPS touchscreen, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and an LED flash-equipped, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera. Included in both devices are unlocked HSPA/GSM radios, 802.11n Wi-Fi, GPS, and MicroSD slots.

Although Mozilla maintain that shipping of the Keon will begin in February this year, pricing and availability for either model has not yet been set, nor have shipping dates for the Peak.

Detailed specifications for both models can be found below:

Keon

·         CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 1Ghz

·         UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA)

·         GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE)

·         Screen: 3.5" HVGA Multitouch

·         Camera: 3 megapixel

·         4GB (ROM) and 512 (RAM (News – Alert))

·         MicroSD, Wi-Fi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB

·         Battery 1580mAh

Peak

·         CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.2Ghz x2

·         UMTS 2100/1900/900 (3G HSPA)

·         GSM 850/900/1800/1900 (2G EDGE)

·         Screen: 4.3" qHD IPS Multitouch

·         Camera: 8 megepixel (back) + 2 megapixel (front)

·         4GB (ROM) and 512 (RAM)

·         MicroSD, Wi-Fi N, Light & Prox. Sensor, G-Sensor, GPS, MicroUSB, Flash (camera)

·         Battery 1800mAh