HOPE'S BLOG: Mozilla breaks smartphone price barrier: Firm unveils a $25 Firefox prototype aimed at the developing world

By: Unknown on 13:56

Smartphone created in partnership with Chinese chip maker Spreadtrum
Device will be able to run simple apps and make use of mobile internet
Other brands are expected to release similar phones over next few days
Mozilla has also launched several high-end models, including devices from Huawei and ZTE

Mozilla has broken the smartphone price barrier with a prototype for a $25 (£15) device aimed at the developing world.
The smartphone, created in partnership with Chinese low-cost chip maker Spreadtrum, will be able to run simple apps and make use of mobile internet.
Analysts claim it would appeal to the type of people who currently buy cheap ‘feature’ phones who are locked into long contracts to subsidise the cost of smartphones.

The smartphone, created in partnership with Chinese low-cost chip maker Spreadtrum, will be able to run simple apps and make use of mobile internet

The prototype could allow Mozilla to have an early lead in a market that is increasingly being targeted by mobile device manufacturers.
The Firefox OS device, however, should be judged at a lower-end standard, said Mitchell Baker, chair of the Mozilla Foundation at a press conference.

‘Imagine the phone in your pocket is a feature phone. Imagine, when you go buy one of these devices, that every euro is precious to you,’ Mr Baker said.
‘Looking at the richness and power we're able to offer to this market, you'll be astonished. Then imagine where we can go from there.’

As well as the prototype low-cost smartphone, Mozilla launched several high-end models, including the Huawei Y300 (pictured)

Y300: HUAWEI'S FIREFOX OS PHONE

Huawei has launched its first Firefox OS smartphone today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Dubbed, the Huawei Y300, the 4-inch handset runs Firefox OS v1.1, features a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon 8225 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera.
The device seems to have the same basic specifications as its earlier Android smartphone. The company did not give a concrete timeline, though there are reports of a release in the next couple of months. Final pricing is also yet to be confirmed.

Other brands are expected to make similar announcements over the next couple of days at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.
‘These solutions expand the global accessibility of open web smartphones to first-time and entry-level smartphone buyers by reducing the time and cost required for handset makers to bring these devices to market,’ said Spreadtrum in a press statement.
Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s chief operating officer, told MWC that Mozilla plans to add 12 markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa this year to the 15 markets it entered by the end of last year.
Individual partners are expected to release the dates of availability for each market.
‘We are about bringing people online,’ Mr Sullivan said during the introduction.
A spokesman for Mozilla told MailOnline that Firefox is able to run so well on low-end handsets with because it 'cuts out the middle man.'
He said he expects phones to become even cheaper and the specifications to increase as more people adopt the Firefox OS.
At last year’s MWC, 18 wireless carriers supported the development of an open mobile operating system by Mozilla to build out a range of cheaper smartphones.
In addition to the $25 (£15) smartphone, Mozilla also launched several high-end models, including devices from Huawei and ZTE.