Mozilla, the nonprofit organization best known for its success in its Firefox Web browser has had a hard time trying to prove to the world that they could bring forth a $25 smartphone to help those across the world have access to a smartphone where iOS and Android reign supreme. Even though they have tried to bring the device to market, it was hard battle that in the end could not be achieved. Mozilla instead has decided to go in a new route. According to an email from Thursday that leaked from the company’s new Chief Executive Chris Beard, Mozilla will change its Firefox OS strategy to a new “Ignite Initiative” that hopes to bring forth phones that can unlock the web and are compelling for users to use, not to just have a lower price.
In the email it is suggested that Firefox OS in the future might be able to run Android Apps. Beard wrote in his email, “And to bridge this app gap between user expectations and the readiness of the ecosystem, we will explore implementing Android app compatibility, within a framework that keeps our long-term focus on the Web as the platform across desktop, mobile and connected devices.” The email does not tell how the Android apps might work though, probably focusing on a few key apps to help give Firefox OS a boost that it needs to help it compete with its top competitors.
Mozilla will continue to target the low-end spectrum, but with the “Ignite Initiative” the company will also release a series of devices from the high-end of the spectrum to the low-end. Beard will be focusing on the operating system and make it the daily driver of all of those involved in the design and structure of Firefox OS. In his email, he wrote, “We will eat our own fox food. It’s incredibly hard to build, make decisions and provide feedback on a product you don’t use every day…While we won’t be able to live and breathe on each and every target device for our core product and technology, we can on phones that are powerful enough for each of us to make our primary phone.” So maybe we will not have to wait too long before we see what Mozilla has to offer in terms of high-end devices.
In the end, at least Mozilla is not giving up on its dream to bring the open web to smartphones. This is definitely the end of their development into the $25 smartphone, but they are nowhere near calling it quits on Firefox OS and we are sure to see new devices coming out in the near future. We can only sit back and wait to see Mozilla’s new innovations come to life.