Originally Posted by MartinK

But the question is if you are forced to only write applications in HTML5 (didn't work very well on WebOS), or if you can also run & distribute proper native applications that can be ported from other platforms & use the many existing multiplatform libraries (Qt, imagemagic, SDL, etc.).

Originally Posted by MartinK

Of course there is native code - I'm 100% sure there is no CPU that executes Javascript & HTML5 on the metal.
All the stuff that renders HTML5, runs the Javascript interpreter, exports APIs, the telephony framework and the whole sandbox management is definitely not written in either Javascript or HTML5.

Originally Posted by switch-hitter

This video shows Firefox OS/Gecko running 3D animations at > 60fps on a Raspberry Pi using WebGL. The Pi is quite modest hardware compared to many current smartphones.

I think the NOKIA engineer that made this demo is a member here isn't he?

Originally Posted by Wreck

Because everything with rounded edges and a home button is an iphone?

The inside of this phone is ∞ time better than the iphone ever was and will be.

ZTE's plans for this year's Mobile World Congress just got a little more interesting. While we've already taken a look at the huge Grand Memo in action, the Chinese maker's invite suggests that there will be another "major new mobile device" to show us, throwing in a 'ZTEMozilla' hashtag for good measure. We knew that Mozilla and ZTE have been holding hands for a while, and this serves to confirm mutterings that we'd see some Firefox OS hardware early this year -- although there's no hint of that mysterious European carrier just yet.

Mozilla is running its Firefox operating system for smartphones on top gears as developer Robert Nyman has announced a tool which will help developers to start creating applications for the Firefox OS or even porting an existing web application to it. Dubbed as Firefox OS Boilerplate App, the tool will bring in several basic features which almost all applications have in common. “The idea is to avoid any dependency on external libraries or resources, but rather be self-contained,” wrote Nyman in a blog post.

“As the name implies, Firefox OS Boilerplate App will provide you with the most basic features to get started with building an app from scratch, or tools to port your existing web app. The easiest way to get started, installing it and testing the various features, is to navigate to the Firefox OS Boilerplate App in the web browser on a Firefox OS device or in the Firefox OS Simulator,” added Nyman.

Meanwhile, ZTE has now announced that it would launch a smartphone based on Mozilla's Firefox operating system at the Mobile World Congress 2013 on 25 February. ZTE's Firefox smartphone would be similar to the ZTE V788D. The smartphone is expected to sport a 8.8-cm (3.5-inch) display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. On the hardware front, ZTE will include a Qualcomm chipset clocked at 1.5GHz and will include a 5-megapixel camera.

SAN FRANCISCO: Mozilla, makers of the popular Firefox internet browser, is preparing to challenge Google and Apple's grip on smartphone software.

A new Firefox operating system for mobile devices is set for a July release after winning the backing of 13 wireless service providers around the globe, including Spain's Telefonica, China Unicom and America Movil.

Mozilla is betting there's room for a software developer-friendly mobile platform alongside Apple's and Google's Android, which together power the majority of mobile devices on the planet.

The new software is based on open web standards and is capable of operating on devices with much lower hardware requirements than today's existing crop of smartphones, according to Mozilla.

Because the Firefox OS is open-source and web-based, third-party developers will be free to sell mobile applications without needing to share revenue with Apple or Google.

"There's a strategic imperative for the industry to have another OS that really is open and supports choice and competition," said Mozilla's senior vice president of products, Jay Sullivan.

Mozilla will showcase some of the first hardware devices based on that software at the Mobile World Congress, taking place in Barcelona this week. Among the brands that have signed on to make devices based on Firefox OS are South Korea's LG , China's ZTE and Huawei.

Unlike Google and Apple's operating systems, which are built from proprietary technology, Firefox OS uses the HTML5 standard that web services are built with. That means anyone familiar with web programming can create Firefox OS apps.

Whether a smartphone built on web standards can deliver the kind of performance that consumers expect remains to be seen. Facebook famously stopped using HTML5 to develop its iPhone app last year, with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg saying the technology couldn't deliver acceptable quality and calling a decision to use HTML5 for its app one of Facebook's "biggest mistakes."

Size matters

Mozilla, a non-profit organisation, also faces stiff competition. Google's Android software, which the company distributes free to phone vendors from Samsung to HTC, had roughly 70 percent share of the worldwide smartphone market in the fourth quarter, according to industry research firm Gartner. Apple, which created the smartphone market with the 2007 launch of the now-iconic iPhone, had a roughly 21 percent share of the market.

"The real barrier here is not necessarily a technical one, it's scale," said John Jackson, an analyst with research firm IDC. Mozilla will need to attract large numbers of consumers and app developers if it hopes to avoid the fate of previous mobile operating system hopefuls, such as Palm's WebOS, now owned by Hewllet-Packard.

But "the world's computing experiences are going mobile and when they get to the mobile environment, they're happening on a platform that's controlled by either Apple or Google," said Jackson. "There's a universe of content and service providers that have an interest in seeing a more neutral platform materialise."

Mozilla will initially look to compete in so-called "emerging economies" in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia, where many people still use older phone models and have yet to upgrade to more expensive smartphones that feature touchscreens and high-speed internet connections.

The first phones will be available this summer in Brazil, Columbia, Poland, Venezuela, Serbia and Spain.

The first Firefox OS phones that Telefonica will offer this summer come with a wholesale price of $100. The price that consumers pay for the phone will vary in different markets and depend on whether the phone is offered on a prepaid basis or comes with a service contract, a Telefonica spokesman said.

Telefonica will eventually offer higher-end Firefox OS phones, and plans to offer Firefox devices in all 25 countries that it operates in by the end of 2014.