Mozilla announced on Tuesday that it will be bringing new, cheaper smartphones to India and Indonesia. The phones will run on the company's own Firefox OS and will sell for as little as $25.
Mozilla is a non-profit organization that promotes openness and innovation on the web. The company is launching Firefox OS as an alternative to the relatively closed-off systems of Android and iOS. Instead of running apps natively on the device, Mozilla OS uses web-based applications running on HTML5, making it easier for programmers to develop apps for the system.
The new $25 phone will use a Spreadtrum chipset designed and manufactured in China, and will provide an alternative to the less advanced feature phones that remain popular in India and Indonesia. Mozilla is partnering with Intex and Spice, two of India's most popular mobile brands, to bring phones running on Firefox OS to India in the next few months.
"The platform will give us an edge in upgrading buyers from feature phones to smartphones while making it affordable for the mass market," Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, head of Intex's mobile division, said in a statement.
Kalirona sees the move as a way for the company to bring its devices to the next step, that is to boost the brand in helping people maximize the mobile platform.
Although Firefox OS doesn't have the vast library of existing apps currently available on Android and iOS, presenting itself as a replacement for feature phones rather than existing smartphones means it doesn't need to. Mozilla may seek to compete with the more popular smartphone operating systems in the future, but for now a basic set of apps allows it to outperform feature phones by a wide margin.
Mozilla also announced a partnership with Chunghwa Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Taiwan. 22 operators around the world are now supporting Firefox OS, including Telefónica, Deutsche Telekom, China Unicom, KDDI and SingTel.
Two new phones featuring Firefox OS will be available this summer. ZTE is producing the Open II, while Alcatel will be selling its OneTouch Fire E. The Alcatel phone is a more feature-rich and less inexpensive option, featuring a 5 megapixel camera and a high-definition screen.
"Mozilla is dedicated to putting the power of the Web in people's hands, and Firefox OS frees consumers, developers, mobile providers and manufacturers from the limitations and restrictions of proprietary platforms," said COO Li Gong in Mozilla's statement. "With more accessible Firefox OS phones coming to India soon, and the addition of Chunghwa Telecom, Intex and Spice to our team of global partners, it is clear that momentum for Firefox OS is continuing to accelerate."
