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Mozilla is finally ready to release some phone running Firefox OS to the public. The company today announced that two carriers in Europe would soon be launching the first Firefox OS smartphones. Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica have signed up to carry the Alcatel One Touch Fire and the ZTE Open.
It looks like the latter will be available first, as Telefonica has already confirmed that the ZTE Open will hit the Spanish market on July 2 and will be priced at €69 with a €30 pre-pay balance thrown in for good measure. The device boasts a 3.5‐inch, HVGA TFT touchscreen display and has 256MB RAM and 512MB ROM combined with a 3.2MP camera and a 4GB microSD card.
Of course, the most notable feature is the fact that it runs on Mozilla's Firefox OS. The Firefox OS is built on a Linux kernel and uses B2G (Boot to Gecko), meaning apps developed on the phone can be entirely built on HTML5, JavaScript and any other open source web application APIs. Phones running Firefox OS will also ship with Firefox Marketplace, Mozilla's own app market, as well as built-in social features via Facebook and Twitter, and HERE Maps complete with offline capabilities and smart walking, driving and public transit directions.
No word on when the One Touch Fire is due out but we'll keep you posted!
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
The problem with any new mobile OS is the application base. It will take a number of years for programmers to write enough applications to make it competitive with Apple or Google.
