Firefox OS gathers its allies; the official debut in the fall
As Mozilla's browser-based technology was presented at the mobile World Congress show, the non-profit company has won a considerable list of allies whose phones are to be run on Firefox OS. What more can be said about the newest child of this firm?
The first version of Mozilla OS debuted at the Mobile World Congress show and it has to be said that it's far from iOS or Android. However, future may not be all doom and gloom for this software, as the system is bound to attract the low-end smartphone market developers and partners. Firefox OS is dedicated to markets feature phones are yet in reign, and the major allies include Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Telenor, and China Mobile.
How does the system look precisely?
When it comes to its interface, this software is not so distinct from its rivals, namely Android and iOS. With an attached set of four apps presented across the bottom of the display (the phone dialer, a text-messaging application, the Firefox browser and the camera), the programs installed are browsed by swiping through the icons.
As the browser-based OS runs with Firefox's browser engine, Mozilla claims that lower-end phone hardware is going to work much smoother than in the case of a Java-like Android apps. There is, however, a substantial number of extra features so programmers can control such services as a battery level monitor, camera, accelerometer, network strength indicator and phone dialers. The system is also delivered with a variety of built-in apps such as Facebook and Wikipedia, and mapping services are provided by Here by Nokia.
Mozilla OS – who's in?
Yesterday it was announced by Mozilla that it's persuaded 18 mobile network operators and four mobile makers to back its open-source mobile operating system. Seems not enough? Though it's not a lot and Mozilla is certainly not to dominate the market in the close future, at least the system isn't extinguished before it appears. According to Brendan Eich, Mozilla's Chief Technology Officer, the first phones should be available in the second quarter of the year. The carriers that promised to pack in Firefox OS come from all around the world, and it's worth naming handset manufacturers, namely Alcatel, ZTE, LG Electronics, and Huawei.
The first markets for the Mozilla-run phones will be Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. Especially Latin America countries operators want to advertise Firefox OS as a powerful yet less expensive system.
Fears and cons
Though he compliments the open-source character of the system, Adam Fleming is skeptical about the business side of the accomplishment. As a chief technical officer of mobile software developer, Apadmi, the man says that unless Firefox matches the criteria already fulfilled by Android and iOS, there would be no professional developers willing to work with Mozilla's OS.
Moreover, due to the fact that there are many differences in mobile browsers, running an app on Firefox OS may require building the whole program from the scratch. Though Mozilla's OS software will be available through the Firefox Marketplace, the need for new applications may actually slow down the process of assimilating the system by the users. Though Eich claims that part of their effort is to improve the mobile Web standards for everyone, it may take a long road to eventually achieve unity – and it remains unknown whether Android and iOS are willing to accept that.