Mozilla sees a growing industry support for its open
mobile ecosystem based on HTML5, with a new Firefox OS for
mobiles to power the launch of smartphones built entirely
to open Web standards.
Leading operators Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart,
Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and Telenor are backing
the open Firefox OS as a new entrant to the smartphone
marketplace. They have also identified the potential of the
technology to deliver compelling smartphone experiences at
attainable prices.
Device manufacturers TCL Communication Technology (under
the Alcatel One Touch brand) and ZTE today announced their
intentions to manufacture the first devices to feature the
new Firefox OS, using Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm.
The first Firefox OS powered devices are expected to launch
commercially in Brazil in early 2013 through Telefonica's
commercial brand, Vivo.
The Firefox OS for mobile devices is built on Mozilla's
"Boot to Gecko project" which unlocks many of the current
limitations of web development on mobile, allowing HTML5
applications to access the underlying capabilities of a
phone, previously only available to native applications.
Telefonica's Digital unit joined forces with Mozilla
earlier this year to take this work and showcase a new
phone architecture where every phone feature (calling,
messaging, games, etc.) is an HTML5 application.
Due to the optimization of the platform for entry-level
smartphones and the removal of unnecessary middleware
layers, mobile operators will have the ability to offer
richer experiences at a range of price points including at
the low end of the smartphone price range, helping to drive
adoption across developing markets.
The project is fully open and the reference implementation
of the required Web APIs has been submitted to W3C for
standardization.
"The introduction of the open mobile OS continues the
Mozilla mission to promote openness, innovation and
opportunity on the Web for users and developers. As
billions of users are expected to come online for the first
time in the coming years, it is important to deliver a
compelling smartphone experience that anyone can use," said
Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla. "The large number of operators
and manufacturers now supporting this effort will bring
additional resources and diversity to our global
offerings."