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ZTE Open Brings Firefox OS to Spain Tomorrow at €69 ($90)

This is the first commercially available Firefox OS device

Jul 1, 2013 11:16 GMT  ·  By
ZTE Open
   ZTE Open

Today, Telefónica, Mozilla, and ZTE officially announced the availability of the first Firefox OS-based smartphone starting with tomorrow, July 2, namely the ZTE Open.

The new mobile phone will become available for purchase in Spain with a price tag of €69 ($90) – VAT included – attached to it.

The handset will also sport a €30 ($39) balance for prepaid customers, as well as the option of zero interest financing for post pay customers.

ZTE Open is the first handset in the world to be commercially launched with Mozilla’s Firefox OS loaded on top, providing users with the experience of a mobile device based entirely on open web standards.

According to Mozilla, the Firefox OS was designed to free both consumers and developers from the constraints of existing closed ecosystems, given that all of its functionality and applications are based on the web as a platform.

“We believe that smartphones need to be more open and that the web is the platform for making this possible,” Luis Miguel Gilpérez, CEO of Telefónica España, said.

“Consumers should not be locked to any one system but have the choice to consume the content they want and the flexibility to be able to take it with them when they change devices.

“This first open web device marks a significant milestone in making this possible. This is just the beginning as we plan to bring a wide range of Firefox OS devices to our customers,” he added.

The ZTE Open arrives on shelves with a 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of internal memory, microSD memory card slot (a 4GB card included), and a 3.2-megapixel photo snapper on the back.

The smartphone is only the first of a series of Firefox OS devices set to arrive on shelves at Telefónica in 2013.In a matter of weeks, the handset is set to be launched in other markets where the telecoms giant operates, including Colombia and Venezuela.

Upcoming smartphones powered by Mozilla’s mobile platform will be released at different price points. They should arrive from vendors such as Alcatel OneTouch, LG, Huawei, and Sony.