If you have been hoping for Mozilla’s Firefox browser to make the leap on to your iOS devices screen then you might be in for a long wait.

According to a recent report over on CNET, Mozilla has stated they are not interested in bringing Firefox to iOS until Apple relaxes its tight rules and regulation for third party browsers. The issue seems to be with the fact Apple will only allow third party browsers to use UIWebView to render sites while Safari on iOS makes use of the Nitro, a much faster rendering engine.

Firefox want’s to bring it’s own rendering platform to iOS, but with Apple’s current rules this would be impossible. While we might not see a fully-fledged Firefox browser on iOS anytime soon, we might see something else based on Mozilla’s iPad browser prototype named Junior.

Does it bother you that there isn’t yet a version of Firefox for iOS, or are you fine with the current iOS browser choices?

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Huawei, ZTE, Alcatel, and LG are already into Firefox OS and now Sony, too. Sony has announced that it has partnered with Telefonica for developing a device that will run Mozilla’s browser-based Firefox operating system, and the company expects to bring out the handset in 2014. It appears like the Sony Mobile engineers are already working on a project to meet that goal.

Sony, as you know, is currently into Android as its mobile solution. The question is whether indulging into the Firefox OS will do them any good. Firefox is meant to be used with web apps. You might remember that back in 2007 the iPhone also came out with a web app experience, but later Apple changed plans which resulted in the App Store. So will the Firefox OS survive in the web app space given up by the iPhone?

It will be difficult fighting against iOS and Android, but the Firefox OS can certainly take advantage of the work done by programmers for creating websites and web apps. That it targets the developing world and low-cost smartphone market could help it form a niche as well. What do you think?

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While Android and iOS might be the leaders, they are far from the only mobile operating systems on the market. We have Windows Phone and Blackberry, and many newcomers such as Tizen and Ubuntu for Phone/Tablet. So is there room for Mozilla Firefox OS? Mozilla seems to think so.

The new mobile OS has made a pretty big splash at MWC 2013, showing off its first handsets by Alcatel and ZTE. What really makes Firefox OS different from the competition is that it isn’t trying to win over the hardcore mobile smartphone user.

They understand that the big boys already have this market by the horns, and instead they wish to expand into the developing world and also attract consumers in countries like Europe and the United States by offering competitive, entry-level devices running on open standards.

So what exactly is Firefox OS?

Somewhat reminiscent of WebOS, Firefox OS is all about using open web standards, making it easy for web developers to program apps for the OS. It is also open source, which means anyone with coding knowledge can help expand and improve the experience.

In many ways it is also similar to Chrome OS for Chrome computers, though it seems to have a little more of a traditional layout and while Chrome OS is starting to grow its library of offline-capable apps, all of Firefox’s apps will have the option to either be stored locally for off-line or ran directly as a web-app for conserving storage space and more.

A look at the apps available for Firefox OS

As for the apps included with Firefox OS? There will be usual suspects like an integrated dialer, messaging, the Firefox browser, Nokia maps, and email. Beyond that though, they are already prepping their marketplace to offer goodies like Facebook, Twitter, TimeOut, and Disney apps like “Where’s My Water”.

What really makes Firefox OS different though is that it could actually entice carriers in a big way. Why? They leave quite a bit of control up to the carriers, even making fully possible for consumers to purchase apps on the Marketplace directly through the carrier. This likely means that carrier’s get a piece of the pie when it comes to app sales, and it also makes it easier for contract-carrying consumers to buy apps: they will simply see the charges added to their monthly bills.

Another interesting thing about Firefox OS is that all paid apps will be able to be tested before buying, through a “one-time use” trial.

The Hardware as we currently know it.

At the moment, there are two announced handsets that will run Mozilla’s Firefox OS, the ZTE Open and Alcatel One Touch Fire.

ZTE Open

The Open is a 3.5-inch device with a modest 480 x 320 display. The phone is powered by an A5-based Qualcomm processor clocked around 1GHz with a measly 256MB of RAM. The internal storage is also quite tiny at just 512MB with a included 2GB microSD card. Connectivity options include WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, GPSm and FM radio. There is also a 3.2MP camera on the back of the phone.

Alcatel One Touch Fire

If you were hoping for more power here, you will be disappointed. The Touch Fire is a 3.5-inch phone with a 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, 256MB of RAM, 512MB storage, microSD with included 2GB card, 3G, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio. The camera is also a 3.2MP shooter and the battery is 1400mAh.

As you can see, these are REALLY basic devices. These devices are meant for their launch markets like Brazil, where a smartphone on the cheap sounds like a great plan, even if the specs aren’t much better than a typical “dumb phone”.

In countries in Europe and North America? It is doubtful we will see the One Touch Fire or Open. Mozilla is also partnering with LG and Huawei for hardware, which are more likely to be the partners they choose for (hopefully) more upscale yet still lower-end devices down the road.

When is Firefox OS coming?

Impressively, Mozilla has announced tons of partnerships, including 18+ carriers with a constantly growing list. The first markets expected to see the hardware will be Brazil, Hungary, Mexico, Colombia, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela.

As for the United States and Western Europe? The platform likely won’t launch until 2014.

But can it really compete?

That’s good question. Based on hands-on reviews coming in from the net, the existing ZTE Open and Alcatel One Touch Fire are sluggish and the operating system itself is a bit buggy – but the hardware is still a few months out from shipping to its first few markets. Additionally, just because it is running a little choppy on 256MB of RAM doesn’t mean it will be the same story when brands like LG launch hardware, as I highly doubt their offerings would have less than 512MB of RAM.

To put it frankly, it is just too early to judge. While operating systems that lean heavily on open web technologies haven’t exactly taken off in a big way just yet, Firefox’s modest approach of going first after developing countries and second after first-time smartphone users could potentially pay off if they play their cards right.

The biggest challenges will be convincing consumers that haven’t made the jump to a smartphone just yet that Firefox OS is worthy of their time. The second issue will be building up their store and continuing to expand partnerships with hardware vendors, app developers and others in the mobile industry. What do you think, interested in Firefox OS or not?

The post Mozilla Firefox OS is Here, Should You Care? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Believe it or not, ZTE is actually the fifth largest smartphone company in the world. And now the Chinese company is preparing to broaden its horizons by unveiling its first smartphone powered by Mozilla Firefox OS. Yes, we’ve got another operating system on our hands.

Just as people can choose between Safari, Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox for their desktop web browsers, the same is quickly becoming true with cell phones, choosing between iOS, Windows Phone, Android and, soon, Firefox too. There isn’t much in terms of details being released by ZTE’s foray into Mozilla’s mobile efforts, but an official statement from ZTE says that they have two major announcements at MWC 2013, the Android-based Grand Memo and a new Firefox OS-based ZTE handset.

 I’m not sure how a ZTE Firefox phone will do in this increasingly crowded and complex market, but it’s good to see that one of the “big five” is on board with Mozilla. Ultimately though, Mozilla isn’t looking for major piece of the pie, instead the company simply wants to reach out to the low-end market segment, and the developing world. Whether that strategy will work or not? That remains unseen for now.

[Source]

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When it comes to Android, probably one of the best things about the platform is how open it is. That means you can run just about any app, any custom skin or any application store that your heart desires. The newest store to hit Android will soon be Mozilla’s Firefox Marketplace, which will actually be part of the Firefox app.

Right now the whole thing is a BETA, but it does give us a bit of a hint on what to expect with FireFox OS since all the apps in the store will be based on HTML5, just like Mozilla’s upcoming operating system. Want to try out the store for yourself? It is pretty easy to do. Head over to Firefox’s page for instructions on getting the app and installing it. Keep in mind that this isn’t offered through Google Play and it is just a BETA.

What kind of applications are there right now? Pretty basic stuff at the moment but Mozilla hopes to expand the effort dramatically in the future. The downside to using these apps is that they are all pretty much optimized for the small screen. Considering the Firefox OS (which will have basically the same HTML5 apps) is only coming to smartphones – at least for now – this makes sense.

What do you think, interested in giving it a try or not? Check out the source for more information on testing it out yourself on a Firefox for Android supported device.

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It seems that Microsoft has had plenty of complaints stacked against their new move with Windows RT, which only allows Internet Explorer to run in the desktop- enough to prompt a EU investigation. With RT, 90% of functionality is meant for the new Metro interface, and so MS only allows 3^rd party browsers to work in Metro. As you can imagine, the browser companies out there, such as Google and Mozilla, didn’t exactly like this move and their complaints have now prompted an EU antitrust investigation into the matter.

The primary issue that the EU watchdog is looking into has to do with the claim that MS does not provider complete access to APIs for alternative browsers in Windows 8 and also the fact that only IE can run in desktop on RT (though this isn’t an issue with Win8 for x86 processors). Three years ago, the European Commission ruled that MS would have to comply to certain rules and policies that allowed a choice of media players and browsers, something that Windows 8 and RT might not be properly doing.

Windows 8 and RT devices are due out later this year so it’s hard to say how and if the investigation will effect the launch. What do you think, should MS be required to allow desktop access in Windows RT for other browsers, even if desktop isn’t really a major focus in that version?

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This comes by way of Statcounter and it looks at the week of May 14 to May 20, 2012. During that time period, Chrome had a higher traffic share than IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, or any other web browser. More tech-savvy people have a higher likelihood of using Chrome, but regular consumers still dominate the market of course.

In North America, Internet Explorer (37%) is still the leading browser (Chrome has 26%). The same can be said in Asia where IE has over 50% in Japan and nearly three-quarters in China and South Korea. IE continues its massive lead in Oceania too, whereas Firefox is the leader in Europe. So, where is Chrome making up its numbers? As it turns out, South America is where it’s at: Chrome has nearly a 50% market share there and along with incremental growth everywhere else, that was enough to dethrone Microsoft’s browser.

[Source]

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Palm may have been the company to produce webOS, but Mozilla might be the company to produce one of the first truly web-based operating systems for smartphones. Dubbed Boot 2 Gecko, it’s a mobile OS that relies primarily on the web… not unlike the Chrome OS for Chromebooks.

The new OS is currently under development as the Mozilla team is working on its “proprietary, single-vendor stacks.” Various APIs for the camera, phone, SMS, and so on are also be developed. The idea here is to have a truly stripped down OS for contacts and phone, and getting everything else through the web.

You’ll notice that early drawings depict an icon-based OS, which will largely fall in line with people already familiar with iOS, Android, and even webOS. We also hear that Boot 2 Gecko will use Android for booting and drivers, but HTML5 for most other functions. In any case, I’m not sure we need yet another OS option. We’ve already seen the slow death of webOS, the diminishing market share of BB, the less than optimistic outlook for QNX/BBX. Even WP7.5 is having a tough time.

In any case, I’m sure the legal types in Cupertino are already readying their papers for another patent infringement suit. I can feel it in my bones.

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If you’ve been anxious to get your hands on a suitable web browser alternative on your Android tablet, your day has now arrived. The team at Mozilla have been frantically tweaking and fixing bugs, but now they feel that Firefox for Android tablets is ready for the limelight.

That comes with a huge caveat. This is not at all the final release of the tablet web browser and you might not even call it a real beta build. Instead, they’re saying that Firefox for Android tablet has entered the “nightly builds stage,” whatever that means. In any case, this version is being made available publicly.

To get it, you’ll need to direct yourself over to the Nightly Mozilla website and grab the browser in APK form. It handles multiple tabs and has a few other bells and whistles, but since it’s far from a final version, you can expect it to still be littered with bugs and crashes. Such is the life of someone living on the bleeding edge of technology!

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Firefox Mobile-type app for the iPhone released, Firefox Home

I’m pretty content with Mobile Safari, I don’t need a full-fledged browser for my smartphone and I highly doubt Apple will allow something to go above and beyond the current native offering. We’ve seen Fennec (FireFox Mobile) get released for Android, and Windows devices, so naturally Apple iOS should be next.

Playing by the rules Mozilla released a “browser extension” for your FireFox desktop software, FireFox Home. It’s free of course, and on iTunes for your iPhone to sync bookmarks, history and tabs with your desktop.

A Firefox Sync account will be required, and the browser extension installed on your home machine’s browser. You won’t be able to surf as you would expect, this is not a complete web browser. But hey, since we can’t get a full-fledged Firefox on the iPhone (right now atleast), this is the next best thing, right?

[Mozilla, iTunes Download]

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