Boot to Gecko, the previous name of Mozilla's mobile OS has now been given the more appropriate (and obvious) name of Firefox OS, as it prepares to boldly step into the mobile OS world currently dominated by Android and iOS.
Along with the announcement of the name change Monday came word that two carriers are on board to use Firefox OS in some of their upcoming products, ZTE and TCL Communication Technology, which will make mobile phones under the Alcatel One Touch brand. Those phones will use Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors, and should see the light of day by early 2013.
The move is a small but necessary first step of breaking bread with third party phone developers, who are by and large in bed with Google and their Android OS at this point (which just received an update of its own, 4.1 Jelly Bean). Android OS's power more than 60% of the mobile phones on the market today, with Apple accounting for much of the rest (confined to their own products).
In particular, Mozilla hopes to carve out their own niche in the mobile market as a value brand, and one committed to the same open platform that has defined their iconic and successful web browser. Unlike Google, which charges fees and royalties for the use of its OS in phones, Firefox will be free for phone makers to utilize.
Further, the HTML5 and Linux powered OS will require far less processing power than other modern OS's, allowing for manufacturers to develop phones that are cheaper to produce, passing those additional savings on to the customers. It's possible Firefox phones could be sold for as little as $50, a far cry cheaper than the $200 price tag that finds itself affixed to the lower end mobile phones on the market today.
Ovum analyst Nick Dillon questions whether the change in OS can really enable prices to fall that much however.
"It is hard to see how you could make them much cheaper than comparable Android handsets," Dillon said.
In addition to their deal with the two phone developers, Mozilla has also struck deals with six carriers; Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telenor and Etisalat. The first Firefox OS phones will be released in Brazil and other emerging markets later this year, before a full global roll out.
Can Firefox loosen the stranglehold that Google has on the market? Or is Android too robust and entrenched to give up its grip so easily? Let us know your thoughts on the matter.
