Web based anything has huge overhead compared to native code.
Yet they targeted ultra low-end hardware for emerging markets...
The benefits of web-based apps are the low barrier to entry and freedom from platform lock-in (openness).
They needed to target rich open source loving users with ultra high-end hardware that could cope with the overhead, and use Freedom as the USP.
Not sure that would've worked, but it would've fit their OS better.
One thing I can say - at least FirefoxOS was 1000x better than Ubuntu Phone.
Web based anything has huge overhead compared to native code.
Yet they targeted ultra low-end hardware for emerging markets...
The benefits of web-based apps are the low barrier to entry and freedom from platform lock-in (openness).
They needed to target rich open source loving users with ultra high-end hardware that could cope with the overhead, and use Freedom as the USP.
Not sure that would've worked, but it would've fit their OS better.
One thing I can say - at least FirefoxOS was 1000x better than Ubuntu Phone.