Mozilla is pretty well known in the world of personal computing for their Firefox web browser and things like Thunderbird email client, but they are substantially less know for things like their Matchstick HDMI dongle or their Firefox OS. Mozilla’s Firefox OS isn’t very prominent in the mobile OS market which is mostly the reason why many users probably aren’t aware that it exists. However, Mozilla is committed to making a name for itself as a worthwhile mobile OS platform and have already gotten some OEM’s on board to manufacture handsets with this OS running things.
Out of the handful of devices that run on Firefox OS, they’re all fairly low end, so for those wondering there’s not really much to miss out on. That isn’t stopping Mozilla from continuing progress with the OS’s release onto more devices, and according to Upleaks, HTC may be the latest manufacturer to start working with the mobile platform. In a tweet earlier he states that HTC may be testing Firefox OS on an unknown handset, but that he isn’t sure if they’re doing so just for “testing purposes,” or if they’re working with it as a step towards production of a Firefox OS handset to be released at some point. It should also be noted that there is no confirmation on whether or not HTC is working with Firefox OS at all.
HTC has been working to diversify their portfolio of affordable products, so thinking about it from this perspective it wouldn’t be too outlandish to learn they were working on a Firefox OS handset. Chances are that if they were in testing of developing such a device, it would likely head to emerging markets for a low cost where most Firefox OS phones are currently targeting. Emerging markets are also a hotspot for increasing revenue, as there is a large userbase to potentially tap into. If HTC manufactured a Firefox OS device and it was made available at a reasonable cost, would you consider looking into it? Should HTC stick to the platforms it already deals with or is it smart for them to try and branch out with something like Firefox OS?