Mozilla opens Firefox Marketplace for mobile web apps

Mozilla has opened the Firefox Marketplace, a browser-based strore that enables developers to distribute mobile web apps through the Android version of Firefox.

However, since the Android version of Firefox also known as Firefox Aurora is currently available only in a pre-beta build, this announcement represents an opportunity for developers to get feedback from early adopters and testers, rather than a grand opening.

"It's still early days for Firefox Marketplace Aurora," notes Mozilla's announcement. "We'll be adding payments, ratings, reviews and more soon stay tuned."

Free for all

For now, then, the Firefox Marketplace is for free apps only, but Mozilla's ambition is to build its store into a channel that enables developers "to build, distribute and monetise rich, immersive apps that use web technologies like HTML, JavaScript and CSS."

Indeed, the entire project is part of Mozilla's broader efforts to turn the web into a viable app development platform, and the Firefox Marketplace will naturally form part of the company's forthcoming Firefox OS for mobile.

Interested developers can find out more about developing and submitting apps for Firefox Marketplace from Mozilla's developer hub and the Mozilla developer network.

[source: Mozilla]