Geeksphone, the Spanish manufacturer behind Firefox OS phones like the Keon and Peak as well as the OS-changing Revolution, has announced that it’s exiting the phone business.
In an announcement made on its forums, Geeksphone explains that it will no longer work on new mobile phone projects. The company explains that it has “reached the end of a cycle” after creating six smartphones in its six years of existence. Geeksphone co-founder Rodrigo Silva-Ramos had this to say about the company’s decision:
"Mobile telephony has changed a lot in recent years. Our perception is that it is now a sector with great actors who have come to be where they are without much concern for innovation and without being concerned by the needs of its users."
Geeksphone will continue to offer technical support to its customers, and its engineering talent has moved to work on Silent Circle’s Blackphone. Geeksphone will offer all of the development tools that it can to its community of users.
Now that Geeksphone is exiting the mobile arena, Rodrigo Silva-Ramos and Angel Sánchez Díaz have partnered to form geeks!me, a new brand that’s focused on wearables. The new firm expects to release an “activity bracelet” in the coming months.
The mobile market is a tough one, with companies like Samsung and Apple dominating and other names like HTC, LG, and Motorola taking parts of the pie too. That leaves little room for smaller device makers, and it seems that Geeksphone has decided to throw in the smartphone towel after trying for six years.