I'm skeptical about the prospects of Firefox OS and Ubuntu Mobile – Mariusz Lisiecki

With a week left until the Mobile Trends Conference, the "3 questions to the speaker" series is also slowly coming to an end, but there are still a few talks to come. Today we present the answers of Mariusz Lisiecki – Senior iOS Developer at Allegro Group.

Grzegorz Kozubowski: Do you think any of the mobile systems like Firefox OS or Ubuntu Mobile, have a chance in the clash with the "big three"?
Mariusz Lisiecki: First of all, I wouldn't use the phrase "the big three" only "the big two" and Windows Phone <laughter>. Microsoft and its mobile system is still a long way from iOS and Android… To return to the question of whether Firefox OS here or Ubuntu Mobile will have any chance in the clash with these systems – I do not think so. In October 2013, I had the opportunity to attend a presentation on the first of these systems, and I got the impression that Firefox OS is at a level where, for example, the. iOS was in 2009… Additionally, phones with Firefox OS on board are so far targeting fairly niche markets like. Mongolia. (In Poland, a phone with this system has reportedly appeared only because … there is quite a lot of so-called "fitness" in our country. geeks and early adopters who are interested in all kinds of novelties). This implies that the opportunities to make money from the sale of applications for this system will be rather small, and this will not attract too many developers interested in developing for this platform.

A small number of developers means few applications, which in turn reduces the attractiveness of a given platform, and the circle closes. The same problems apply to Ubuntu Mobile. To sum up, it seems to me that in order to appear on the market "seriously" and be able to compete with Apple, Google and Microsoft, you need a really large amount of money (just look how much the Redmond company is pumping into its mobile system – since it has finally understood that for it to appear on the mobile market sooner or later will become a kind of to be or not to be).

Community-based Firefox OS and Ubuntu Mobile do not have similar funding, hence my skepticism about their chances of breaking through.
What is your favorite app and why?
Eurosport app for iOS. I have my favorite teams defined in it, and if e.g. which at any given moment is playing a match, I am kept informed of changes in the result. In addition, the app informs you with push notifications about any important information from the world of sports. Another of its strengths are mostly professional texts accompanied by a sufficient number of photos or videos. Everything is complemented by the huge amount of data, tables and results available, as well as the ability to follow Live games (sometimes text broadcasts are available).

The app has some drawbacks, of course – I, for example. I am annoyed by the sometimes too pushy ads. The quality of some videos could also be better.

Nevertheless, it is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in sports. It fits perfectly into the smartphone use case – it allows you to quickly follow the most important news from the world of sports, while waiting for the streetcar or in line at the doctor's office.
Give a talk at the "Development day" during MTC 2022. Please tell us briefly what your speech will be about.
At the launch of the new iPhone’a 5S, Apple announced that the smartphone is equipped with an A7 processor, the world's first 64-bit processor installed in smartphones and tablets on a massive scale. This information for some users may have been overshadowed by other novelties in the iPhone 5S: Touch ID or Slo-Mo. Others saw it as the usual Apple-specific marketing hype made around a really insignificant change.

In my presentation I will try to show that the switch from 32-bit to 64-bit is not at all something to be indifferent to. In addition to discussing the changes in the processor itself and their impact on the future of smartphones and tablets, I will also present how it all looks from the perspective of a developer creating iOS apps – what needs to be done to make apps work and take advantage of the potential carried by the 64-bit architecture. In conclusion, in my lecture I will try to explain why Apple has christened its latest iPhone’a "the most forward thinking phone yet", and also show how to follow this trend of "forward thinking" – "forward thinking" – to follow.

Mariusz Lisiecki

Graduated from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with a degree in Computer Science, specialization in Software Engineering. I have been programming under iOS continuously since 2009. Worked m. in. For Roche Poland, eConsulting and SuperMemo World. He currently works as a Senior iOS Developer at Allegro Group.

Privately a soccer enthusiast.