Sony Working on Firefox OS Smartphone

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

The company aims to have its first Firefox OS product on the market in 2014

The ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona has made one thing very clear: that Mozilla’s Firefox OS is steadily gaining support among mobile carriers, with as many as 18 carriers from around the world having already been confirmed as backers of the platform. One such carrier, Spain-based Telefónica, has entered into an agreement with Sony to, among other things, “explore” the development of a Firefox OS-based handset.
The carrier-vendor duo announced their multi-year agreement in a press release in which they described Firefox OS as a “significant milestone” with the potential of enabling the creation of devices based on “totally open web standards.” The two companies are targeting 2014 for a launch.
Of course, no matter how much they love, or claim to love, open web standards, the fact is carriers are desperate to break free from the suffocating, viselike grip that Google and Apple have on the industry with their respective platforms. In fact, Telefonica CEO Cesar Alierta is on record as saying: “Duopolies are not beneficial for any industry.”
The less said about Sony’s mobile woes the better. While the company has seen a significant increase in smartphone shipments over the past year, it has a very long way to go before it can challenge the likes of Apple and Samsung. Actually, it would do well to maintain its recent growth in a highly competitive industry that not only has a few former heavyweights still trying very hard to rediscover their mojo, but also several up-and-coming vendors hoping to upend the old order. Given its somewhat precarious position in the market, exploring alternatives like Firefox OS is a good idea.
"At Sony Mobile we continue to evaluate innovative technologies that can help deliver the premium user experiences that Sony's consumers expect," said Bob Ishida, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Products Business Group, Sony Mobile Communications in a press release Monday. "Our engineers are now working with Firefox OS Mobile and HTML5, evolving technologies which show great potential. In addition, we continue to work with our operator partners, including Telefónica, on a development project with an ambition to bring a product to market in 2014."


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