Consumers in the U.S. and the UK will soon be able to purchase a smartphone running Mozilla's Firefox OS. The ZTE Open will be sold unlocked on eBay for $79.99.
Mozilla is the latest company to build its own smartphone operating system to compete with the likes of iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry. The OS is an open-source Linux-based operating system that runs HTML5 applications, which makes it easy for developers to create applications for the platform. Soon customers in the U.S. and UK will be able to try out Firefox OS on the ZTE Open.
ZTE announced that it will soon offer the ZTE Open Firefox OS smartphone to consumers in the U.S and the UK. In order to attract consumers to a new smartphone operating system, ZTE has decided that it will sell the unlocked handset on eBay for $79.99.
"It is great honor to launch the ZTE Open Firefox OS phone worldwide through eBay. ZTE is devoted to providing more options for customers globally and enabling them to live better lives via advanced technology," said Mr. Dai Wenhong, VP of ZTE Corporation. "The ZTE Open offers customers a smartphone experience at an incredible price point, making it ideal for cost conscious consumers or those looking to upgrade to a smartphone for the first time."
"Mozilla is dedicated to moving the Web forward as a platform for innovation and building products that people love. We are pleased that now we will put the full power of the Web in even more people's hands," continued Dr. Li Gong, Mozilla Senior VP of Mobile Devices. "With a great potential user base, we know that even more developers around the world will create their apps with new APIs to stimulate an inspiring new wave of innovation."
The ZTE Open is designed for emerging markets and its specs reveal why the smartphone is being sold at $79.99. The ZTE Open features a 3.5-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen, 512MB of storage, and is powered by a 1.0 GHz processor. It also includes 256 MB of RAM, a 3.2-megapixel camera, 3G radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and a microSD expansion slot. The ZTE Open will be able to run on AT&T and T-Mobile's networks.
ZTE hasn't announced when it will officially be available for purchase, but the smartphone is believed to go on sale on August 16.
