Mozilla is demonstrating the latest advancements to its Firefox OS open mobile ecosystem at Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai.
These include a turnkey solution for Firefox OS smartphones in the ultra-low-cost category that will bring devices to India in the next few months; the addition of Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest operator, to the global roster of operators supporting the Firefox OS initiative; and new phones from ALCATEL and ZTE coming to market.
The turnkey solution for Firefox OS smartphones in the ultra-low-cost category is now available, and sample devices utilizing Spreadtrum chipsets will be demonstrated at Mobile Asia Expo. Mozilla has partnered with Intex and Spice, two of India’s mobile device brands, to bring the first Firefox OS devices to India in the next few months.
Chunghwa Telecom, the largest operator in Taiwan, has also partnered with Mozilla to support Firefox OS. There are now 22 key operators across the globe, such as Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom, China Unicom, KDDI and SingTel that support the open Web device initiative.
Two Firefox OS devices being showcased at Mozilla’s Mobile Asia Expo booth will be going on sale for the first time this summer: the ZTE Open II and ALCATEL ONETOUCH Fire E.
ZTE has deployed Firefox OS on a broad range of smartphones that are tailored for different types of consumers. The ZTE Open II, which will be demonstrated for the first time at Mobile Asia Expo, adopts dual-core processors and will be available for purchase in the coming months in Latin America.
The ALCATEL ONETOUCH Fire E adopts dual-core Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm Technologies Inc. with a 5MP camera and 4.5-inch qHD screen for higher resolution.
Firefox OS is a device platform built entirely to open Web standards, with every feature developed as an HTML5 application.
"Mozilla is dedicated to putting the power of the Web in people’s hands, and Firefox OS frees consumers, developers, mobile providers and manufacturers from the limitations and restrictions of proprietary platforms," said Dr. Li Gong, Chief Operating Officer of Mozilla. "With more accessible Firefox OS phones coming to India soon, and the addition of Chunghwa Telecom, Intex and Spice to our team of global partners, it is clear that momentum for Firefox OS is continuing to accelerate."