Geeksphone Revolution MultiOS Handset Gets Price Drop & Wider Availability

Spanish smartphone startup Geeksphone has OS updates in the pipe for its Revolution handset — which differentiates itself from other Android handsets by offering the user the option to download and install Mozilla’s Firefox OS.

The Revolution does not support dual booting of both OSes simultaneously. Rather the phone comes with Android pre-installed, and gives the user the option of switching to Firefox OS. Doing so means overwriting the Android installation and losing any associated data — but you get the aftermarket choice of switching to a different OS simply by selecting an option in the system updates menu.

The Revolution handset went on sale back in February, direct from Geeksphone’s website — with a price tag of €222. The company has now dropped the price slightly, to €199, and expanded the retail availability of the phone to loop in some “major” European Amazon outlets.

It’s also lining up some OS updates for the handset — due in the “upcoming days”. Geeksphone said today that it will incorporate Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat and CyanogenMod 11 in the forthcoming update. The handset will also support the forthcoming Firefox OS 2.0 version, coming soon in beta form.

It’s unclear how many Revolution handsets Geeksphone has shipped thus far. It’s likely to remain a niche device but it’s great to see smartphone hardware that offers the user more freedom and choice out of the box.

It also seems likely that future editions of the Revolution might include even more operating system options for users to download themselves. “I am glad to announce that we are working with other open operating systems,” noted Geeksphone co-founder Rodrigo Silva-Ramos in a statement.

“Geeksphone’s philosophy has always consisted in giving maximum possible freedom to users, who ask for it every day,” he added.

There’s no word on which additional OSes might be supported, but Jolla’s Sailfish could be a potential candidate.