14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Mozilla officially announced the upcoming availability of its own mobile operating system for smartphones, the Firefox OS.
Built on top of the Boot to Gecko initiative, Firefox OS is a Web standards-based platform which takes advantage of HTML5 for the building of applications.
The first devices to run under the new platform will make their way to shelves sometime in early 2013, and will be developed by TCL Communication Technology (under the Alcatel One Touch brand) and ZTE.
Moreover, the new mobile operating system will benefit from support for a wide range of wireless carriers around the world, including Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, Telefónica and Telenor.
In fact, the first smartphones to be powered by this platform are meant to hit shelves in Brazil in early 2013 on the network of Vivo, Telefónica’s commercial brand there.
The new OS is expected to deliver compelling experiences, while being complemented by reduced price tags for the devices powered by it. These handsets will be powered by Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm Incorporated.
The platform comes with no unnecessary middleware layers, as well as with optimizations for use on low-level smartphones, which will enable carriers to deliver richer experiences to their users at a range of price points. Mozilla also reiterated its commitment to keep the OS open.
“The introduction of the open mobile OS continues the Mozilla mission to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web for users and developers,” Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla, stated.
“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.”
According to the web giant, the current web development for mobile features a variety of limitations, all of which should be overcome once Firefox OS lands on the market, especially given the industry-wide support it already sees.
“The large number of operators and manufacturers now supporting this effort will bring additional resources and diversity to our global offerings,” Gary Kovacs concluded.