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Mozilla introduces Firefox OS phones for developers
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 22, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
Browser maker Mozilla on
Tuesday introduced two phones powered by its open source Firefox
OS platform with focus on low-end markets.
In partnership with a Spanish start-up named GeeksPhone and
Spanish telecommunications provider Telefonica, Mozilla unveiled
two 3G phones, Keon and Peak, for its mobile system.
Rather than catering for mainstream customers, the two phones
are for developers preview, enabling them to develop apps and
improve the operating system.
"This week we are announcing our new Firefox OS developer
preview phones because we believe that developers will help bring
the power of the web to mobile," Mozilla said in its official
blog.
The "Keon" model features a small 3.5-inch screen, 1 GHz
processor and 4GB storage, making it barely comparable to a cheap
Android phone in the U.S. market.
Rather than taking on major market players like iPhone, Mozilla
plans to focus initially on developing markets where customers
started to upgrade to smartphones from feature phones. The company
plans to debut its Firefox OS-powered phone in Brazil later this
year.
At the Mobile World Congress in Spain last year, Telefonica,
with half of its customers in Latin America, said it hoped to
bring smartphones to the masses in developing countries with
Mozilla's browser-based operating system with a price "ten times
cheaper than iPhone".
With the first official version not yet available, Firefox OS
is a browser-based open source operating system for smartphones
and tablet computers.
Launching the development project in July 2011, Mozilla touted
the system as more accessible and completely open, compared to "
walled gardens" of Apple iOS and Google Android.
But some analysts said although the idea of truly open is
captivating, Firefox OS could stand little chance to make headway
in the mobile market which has been entrenched by Apple and
Google.
Mozilla, headquartered in Mountain View in the U.S. state of
California, is a global, non-profit organization dedicated to
creating open source products like the Firefox browser.
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