Mozilla Reveals Plans to Take Firefox OS and HTML 5 to New Devices
by Ostatic Staff - Jan. 07, 2014
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As the company made clear early on with its Firefox OS strategy, Mozilla wants to stay focused on emerging markets for phones based on its mobile platform. The company initially rolled out phones in five countries: Venezuela, Poland, Brazil, Portugal and Spain. Since then, there have been some novelty sales, including sales on eBay, in the U.K., the U.S. and elsewhere, but mostly the focus has been on emerging markets.
Judging from the comments that Mozilla officials made at this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), though, we may see some higher end Firefox phones arrive, and we even could see Firefox OS arrive in new wearable form factors.
Regarding wearables, in a statement, Mozilla noted the following:
"As the internet comes to your wrist, your car and your TV, Mozilla would like to see the web principles of openness and a level playing field in these areas, too."
Mozilla has also launched a contribution program to seed Firefox OS on tablets, and early Firefox OS tablets have been shown. And, Mozilla has encouraged a healthy app ecosystem for Firefox OS devices. If it can get compelling apps in place, these devices could obviously sell in healthy numbers around the globe.
As for higher end Firefox OS phones, ZDNet reports on two of them that may be coming from ZTE, which is already a player in the Firefox OS arena (see the photo), and there is also a new deal between Panasonic and Mozilla to drive HTML 5 televisions.
Many of us have thought of Mozilla as the company behind the Firefox browser for years, but last year the company rearranged its whole executive roster around new mobile technology goals. It's clear, now that CES is here, that Mozilla has plans that extend well beyond just smartphones.