MWC 2013: LG and ZTE back Firefox's move to smash up iOS and Android's duopoly

HTML5 platform 'has the advantage'

Running with the premise that developers don't have time to learn new languages, LG and ZTE have thrown their weight behind Firefox's mobile OS as it looks to break up Apple and Google's duopoly.

Both firms – as well as Chinese multinational TCL – have pledged to develop handsets running Firefox OS, which will launch as an "open alternative" to iOS and Android mid-2013.

ZTE and TCL (which is behind Alcatel devices) previously backed Firefox's move on smartphones back in August 2012, and Mozilla has also secured the support of a total of 18 different carriers, including Telefonica, which owns O2, and Deutsche Telekom, which owns T-Mobile.

Chinese OEM Huawei will also follow on with devices later in the year.

The third place

"With the support of our vibrant community and dedicated partners, our goal is to level the playing field and usher in an explosion of content and services that will meet the diverse needs of the next two billion people online," said Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs at the firm's presentation at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress.



VP of or products Jay Sullivan told the BBC that Firefox OS, which is based on HTML5, is perfectly placed for developers who "don't have time to learn a new programming language."

"We believe that the only remaining eco-system is the web and there are more developers for the web than for any other platform in the world."

Sullivan added that, from a user perspective, an HTML5-based platform also offers a number of mobile operating systems already on the market, allowing them to search apps en masses for specific content.

"The web can be searched, indexed and crawled in ways native apps cannot," he concluded.

Mozilla unveiled its two developer preview handsets – above – back in January.

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