Firefox OS spoils smartphone market

Computer store news: Mozilla is trying to challenge Google and Apple in the smartphone system market. The Firefox OS mobile operating system it has developed has been supported by 18 mobile operators worldwide, including Telefonica, China Unicom and Inter-American Telecom.

Mozilla believes that in the smartphone operating system market, in addition to iOS and Android, other systems still have room for survival. Currently, iOS and Android account for the majority of the smartphone market.

Firefox OS Features

Mozilla said that Firefox OS is based on open Internet standards and has lower requirements for mobile hardware than current smartphone systems. Because Firefox OS is an open source system based on Internet technology, third-party developers are free to sell mobile applications without having to share revenue with platform vendors such as Apple or Google.

Firefox OS provides basic phone, SMS, email and webcam features, as well as call control, social services integrated with Facebook and Twitter, location services, Firefox, and one-time downloadable Applications and features such as the Firefox market are essential for smartphones.

Firefox OS provides content-related search capabilities that provide users with exactly what they want, rather than simply displaying a generic application. Such a feature supports simultaneous in-app search and web search, which is not possible for native applications. For example, when a user searches for a favorite singer, they will see search results for music purchases, concert tickets, and immediate listening to related songs.

The Firefox market will offer games, news media, and commercial office applications. These apps are linked to the user's online identity and can be used across devices and platforms. Mozilla said the Firefox market will offer well-known apps and games such as Airbnb, Box, Cut the Rope, Facebook, Pulse News and Twitter.

Open Source Technology

Jay Smidvan, senior vice president of Mozilla products, said: "The emergence of an open source operating system in the industry is a strategic need, which will bring Choice and competition. "Mozilla will showcase mobile phones using Firefox OS at this week's Mobile World Congress (MWC). LG, TCL, ZTE and Huawei have said they will develop the system's mobile phones, using Qualcomm's Opteron processor.

Android and iOS are based on proprietary technology. In contrast, Firefox OS uses the HTML5 standard for web development. This means that anyone who is familiar with web development can develop a Firefox OS application. It is unclear whether smartphones developed using web standards can deliver the performance of devices that consumers expect.

Facebook stopped using HTML5 technology to develop iPhone apps last year. The company's CEO Mark · Mark Zuckerberg said that HTML5 can't bring acceptable quality, and choosing HTML5 technology to develop iPhone apps is Facebook“The biggest mistake”.

Market Competition

Mozilla also faces fierce market competition. Google's Android system is free and has been widely accepted by vendors such as Samsung and HTC. According to Gartner, in the fourth quarter, Android's share of the global smartphone market was about 70%, while Apple's market share was about 21%.

IDC analyst John · John Jackson said: "The real obstacle is not technology, but scale. & rdquo; Mozilla needs to attract more users and application developers to avoid the similar fate of HP webOS. However, he also said: "The global computing experience is moving towards mobile technology, but the mobile platform is controlled by Apple and Google. Content and service providers want to see more neutral mobile platforms. & rdquo;

Mozilla will initially target emerging economies such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. In these markets, many users still use old-fashioned phones and have not yet upgraded to smartphones with touch screens that support high-speed Internet connections. The first phones to use the Firefox OS system will be available in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Serbia and Spain this summer.

Spain Telecom will launch the first Firefox OS mobile phone for $100 this summer. The operator's spokesperson said that the specific selling price will be different in each market, while prepaid mobile phones and contract machines are also different. Telefonica will also launch a higher-end Firefox OS phone, and plans to launch it in 25 countries in the end of 2014.