Mozilla's Boot to Gecko becomes Firefox Mobile OS

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 2 Jul 2012 at 14:19

Mozilla has rebranded its Boot-to-Gecko project as Firefox Mobile OS, confirming the first devices will arrive next year.

First unveiled last year, Boot to Gecko is Mozilla's take on the mobile OS; it sits on top of the Android kernel, booting directly into the Gecko rendering engine, and runs HTML5 apps rather than the proprietary apps favoured by rival platforms.

The first Firefox devices will arrive in Brazil in early 2013, on Telefonica's Vivo network. The devices were previously rumoured to arrive this year. They'll be manufactured by Alcatel and ZTE using Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors.

Mozilla said Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia, and Telenor were also "backing" the project, but it is unclear whether those operators also have handsets in the works, or when Firefox Mobile OS devices might arrive outside of Brazil.

Developing markets

The system allows "HTML5 applications to access the underlying capabilities of a phone, previously only available to native applications", Mozilla explained, saying that makes it easier to create low-end smartphones.

"Due to the optimisation of the platform for entry-level smartphones and the removal of unnecessary middleware layers, mobile operators will have the ability to offer richer experiences at a range of price points including at the low end of the smartphone price range, helping to drive adoption across developing markets," read a post on the Mozilla blog.