Mozilla Firefox OS Smartphones Launching This Summer

Mozilla has announced to launch Firefox OS optimized smartphones this summer in emerging markets such as Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. The announcement came on the eve of the Mobile World Congress which kicked off in Barcelona yesterday.

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All Mozilla OS devices will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processors. The Firefox Marketplace has formed early partnerships with a several prominent app and game developers, including Zeptolab, Disney Mobile Games, EA Mobile and more. The apps in the Firefox Marketplace will be based on HTML 5. Adding to Firefox OS’s appeal is its developer-friendly, open-source nature, which means that third party developers can design and sell apps for the HTML5 based platform without having to share a cut of their profits as they would with Apple and Google.

According to Sony’s Deputy CEO, Bob Ishida, we can expect a Firefox OS and HTML5 phone sometime in 2014. Sony in particular seems keen on expanding its user base with an affordable Firefox OS smartphone, which will be targeted at the mid-range market, potentially giving Android and iOS a run for their money by widening the pool of available operating systems and devices for consumers.

“Firefox OS brings the freedom and unbounded innovation of the open Web to mobile users everywhere,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla.“With the support of our vibrant community and dedicated partners, our goal is to level the playing field and usher in an explosion of content and services that will meet the diverse needs of the next two billion people online.”

Mozilla’s key selling point that Firefox OS is built on open Web standards, which will offer carriers and developers more freedom with their apps and services than iOS or Android. Research  from Strategy Analytics notes that one of these, Firefox OS, Mozilla’s mobile effort, will only sit on 1% of all global smartphone shipments in 2013, versus 67% for Android, and it could take up to two years for it to turn that around.

 

 

Adetunji Openiyi

Creative Tech Disciple. Studying Computer Engineering at Kharkov National University of Radioelectronics. Photographer, Graphic Designer, Producer, follow on Twitter @S_Hype.

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