mozilla

Ubuntu Touch beats Firefox OS to win best of MWC from CNET

BARCELONA, Spain--We've seen lots of interesting hardware at Mobile World Congress, and yesterday when the team met to talk about what product should get our best of show award, there were plenty of gadgets in the mix. Asus' Padfone Infinity was in the running, along with its FonePad, the Nokia Lumia 720, and Sony's Xperia Z tablet.

But the nine-strong judging team from our San Francisco, New York, and London offices quickly discounted those products. We were much more interested in the product category that has arguably generated more buzz at MWC and is potentially much more disruptive: … Read more

Who really needs the Firefox phone OS? Not me.

BARCELONA, Spain--One of the big news developments at MWC 2013 is Mozilla's big push of its Firefox operating system for mobile phones. Based on the few devices which are expected to run it, however, I'm not impressed.

Software maker Mozilla certainly generated a lot of buzz when it announced a slew of mobile carriers (18 in all) which have jumped on board the Firefox phone operating system. Big-name handset manufactures have also hinted at supporting the fledgling mobile platform or have expressed outright plans to sell their own devices running Firefox themselves.

Besides heavy-hitters such as Sony and … Read more

Mozilla CEO: Android, iOS leave lots of room for Firefox OS

BARCELONA, Spain--With another 2 billion people hooking up to the Internet in the next five years, there's plenty of room for another mobile operating system, Mozilla Chief Executive Gary Kovacs said today in a sales pitch for his new Firefox OS.

Apple and Google have led the way in the smartphone market but can't cover the whole thing, he said in a speech to thousands at the Mobile World Congress show here, though he didn't mention the companies by name.

"I find it impossible to understand how 3, 4, 5, or 6 billion people are going … Read more

How the wireless industry will connect the next billion people

BARCELONA, Spain--The price of mobile devices and services will need to come down to connect the next billion people.

That's according to the CEOs of four major companies in the wireless arena: Nokia, Qtel Group, Bharti Airtel, and Mozilla.

"As an operator, we have to package services to the lower segment of the economy," said Nasser Marafih, CEO of the Qtel Group, during a keynote address at this week's Mobile World Congress.

Qtel yesterday announced a new brand, Ooredoo, which will cover various wireless carrier brands throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Much of … Read more

Twitter to build app for new Firefox OS smartphones

Twitter is jumping into the Firefox mobile mania, committing to build an app to the forthcoming platform.

The microblogging site announced today that when devices running Mozilla's browser-based operating system begin to be shipped to consumers in the next couple of months, it will have an app for the mobile platform in its Firefox Marketplace.

"Similar to our other mobile apps, Twitter for Firefox OS has a rich interface, featuring the Home, Connect, Discover and Me tabs, as well as the search and compose Tweet icons, so you can easily find and send Tweets from anywhere in the … Read more

Firefox betas pull the shades per-tab on 'porn mode'

Private browsing, or 'porn mode' for people with more prurient Web browsing requirements, will soon be available in Firefox on a per-window basis for desktops and a per-tab basis on Android.

The latest versions of Firefox 20 Beta (download for Windows, Mac, and Linux) and Firefox 20 Beta for Android (download) have been updated to allow people to have a more streamlined private browsing experience. Private browsing disables built-in browser recording, including history and cookies.

This is a pretty big change for Private Browsing aficionados, since previously in Firefox switching to Private Browsing would save all your tabs, close the … Read more

AT&T Mobility CEO says he's open to Firefox OS

BARCELONA, Spain--AT&T has cracked open the door to Mozilla's recently unveiled Firefox mobile operating system.

"I think there is room for more" operating systems, said Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility, in an interview with CNET.

When asked whether the industry could support multiple operating systems, de la Vega affirmed the sentiment: "absolutely."

Ultimately, it comes down to consumer demand, he said. If people are vocal about the desire for a Firefox phone and there's a likelihood of succeeding, AT&T will provide a device, de la … Read more

Unspectacular Firefox OS is OK for low-end phones (hands-on)

BARCELONA, Spain--Firefox OS is real, and it works.

Mozilla's browser-based phone technology is a credible option for the emerging markets where it'll first arrive starting in the second quarter. The nonprofit debuted the first version of the software at the Mobile World Congress show in front of 700 people curious to see how well it works.

For that mobile-savvy audience, the answer is this: not well enough. For wealthier customers, Firefox OS will have a hard time standing up to the two powerhouses of the mobile market, Google's Android and Apple's iOS.

With Firefox OS, Mozilla … Read more

Global allies give Mozilla's Firefox OS a mobile foothold

BARCELONA, Spain--Laying the groundwork for its nascent Firefox OS, Mozilla has won over a sizeable list of allies including LG Electronics and China Unicom, and the first phones with the browser-based operating system should arrive in the second quarter of the year.

Mozilla announced today at the Mobile World Congress show here that it's persuaded 18 mobile network operators and four mobile phone makers to back its open-source mobile operating system. That's not enough to unseat the incumbent powers of Google's Android and Apple's iOS slayer, but it is enough to ensure Firefox OS at least … Read more