Mozilla, best known for its popular open-source web browser Firefox, has a new mobile operating system called Firefox OS -- and it's set to run on new ZTE phones at the start of next year.
ZTE is the world's fourth largest phone maker and is making a bid to branch out from its well-regarded range of inexpensive Android smart phones by getting behind Mozilla's upcoming platform.
"It's all part of our wider plans to create a better balance of products using various operating systems. We won't just rely on Android or Windows," David Dai Shu, a spokesman for the Chinese manufacturer, told Reuters.
There is no word, however, on when the UK would be seeing any of these Foxy new phones -- if ever. Mozilla has said it's working with global phone giants such as Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Telefónica and Telenor, however. Two of those are in the UK under the EE, Orange, T-Mobile and O2 brands -- so here's hoping we see more phone manufacturers following in ZTE's footsteps and bringing Firefox OS over here soon.
Firefox OS is derived from Mozilla's initial mobile platform effort, Boot to Gecko. It will be powered by HTML5, and since this is an open standard, hopefully developers will find it simple to build applications for it. In comparison, Apple's App Store provides applications restricted by Apple's rules -- developers have to use specific tools and submit them for approval. On Firefox OS, anyone who can build an app on the web can build one for the platform, just like Android.
Not only will this new platform provide an alternative to the big guns of Android, iOS and Windows Phone, but hopefully it will also undercut at least the latter two on price. Although there has been no word on pricing from ZTE, when we spoke to Telefonica earlier this year it promised that its (then Boot to Gecko) phone would be very wallet friendly.
What are your hopes for the new Firefox OS? Are you hoping to get your mitts on it in the future? Or is another open-source OS unnecessary and confusing. Open up in the comments or in our Facebook wall.
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anonymous 20 September, 2012 21:17
Firefox OS will be on ZTE phones early next year, poor ZTE.
what have they done to deserve this? :-/
anonymous 20 September, 2012 21:38
This is cool because the apps you run on your phone will also sync to and run on your desktop browser as well.
anonymous 21 September, 2012 09:50
How did ZTE negotiate such a great deal ? The firefox OS is going to be a great entrant in the market, I have heard other manufacturers are already developing the OS to be on their handsets too, so I guess, 'well done ZTE'.
anonymous 21 September, 2012 12:52
The screenshots look good. very nokia symbian with the icons being very rounded :P will be interesting to see if the top apps take this up.
anonymous 21 September, 2012 20:36
Firefox OS = weOS 2 years later, and yet it may suceed with very little improvements (to those people that say webos apps don't work on the web and vice versa, they do, look up enyo, the app framework for webOS 3.0 and openwebOS 1.0)
amab 6 January, 2013 02:17
start screen is very ios, just circles...