HTC may be testing Firefox OS on some of its phones

posted by Florin T. / Jan 28, 2015, 12:23 PM

HTC may be testing Firefox OS on some of its phones

Firefox OS isn't exactly the hottest smartphone platform around, but Mozilla is definitely committed to making it a thing of the future. With that in mind, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised to hear that, apparently, HTC developers are working to port Firefox OS to some (unnamed) HTC devices. According to @upleaks, it's not clear if this is done just for testing purposes, or if it's "a step to production."

Last year, HTC started making cheap MediaTek-based Android handsets, in an effort do diversify its line-up. So the company could certainly also try and see how things go with some Firefox smartphones (or at least one).

Right now, there aren't too many manufacturers who are making Firefox OS smartphones, though LG, ZTE, Huawei and Alcatel / TCL are notable among them. Most Firefox handsets are low-end, cheap devices targeted at first time smartphone users in emerging markets. The only Firefox smartphone that's truly notable is the LG-made Fx0, which is available only in Japan.

Should HTC invest time and resources in Firefox OS? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

source: @upleaks

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15 Comments

1. theguy2345

Posts: 1216; Member since: Jun 24, 2014

I'm not sure about Firefox OS. Not making it widespread isn't helping, because I have never seen one, ever. Kinda want to though. Not even sure how it works. If they ever want to make ground though, they need to have a few killer devices, as well as low end.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 12:32 PM 1

2. JakLee

Posts: 16; Member since: Jan 19, 2015

i would definately be willing to try FFOS on a device, but not sure I would be willing to jump ship for it before trying it.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 12:35 PM 0

3. Tziggy14

Posts: 624; Member since: Sep 02, 2014

Uh oh.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 1:01 PM 1

4. Fallen1

Posts: 288; Member since: Nov 14, 2014

Hell if it works, and its consumer friendly, why not

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 1:49 PM 1

5. seanwhat

Posts: 321; Member since: Jul 11, 2013

Pointless.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 2:16 PM 0

7. Liveitup

Posts: 1798; Member since: Jan 07, 2014

Choice is not pointless.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 3:22 PM 2

6. pradeepreddy

Posts: 65; Member since: Apr 01, 2013

i think they should release it FREE, at least for couple of flagship devices, like what CM did & try to get the manufacturers once it's proved, what it can do.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 2:52 PM 0

14. Somebody995

Posts: 33; Member since: Jan 28, 2015

Nexus 4 and 5 are listed as Tier 3 build targets, and there are builds available for them. Their build targets will generally be limited to Nexus phones since having an unlocked bootloader is a prerequesite for installation.

posted on Jan 29, 2015, 10:24 AM 0

8. Rager722 unregistered

I love HTC for being open to other OS's that's what made android, windows mobile/phone much better.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 3:31 PM 2

9. corporateJP

Posts: 2458; Member since: Nov 28, 2009

Gotta' have a backup for when Windows Phone bombs and/or Microsoft buries non-OEM's for their own products...

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 5:10 PM 2

11. Liveitup

Even on non WP articles you are trolling WP. I think deep down you are seriously in love with WP.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 6:37 PM 1

10. Cyberchum

Posts: 1068; Member since: Oct 24, 2012

Web based apps? No thanks, I'll pass and so will many.

posted on Jan 28, 2015, 6:28 PM 1

12. givemetacos

Posts: 16; Member since: May 12, 2014

HTC stick to Android and WP. No one is looking to buy a Firefox OS phone

posted on Jan 29, 2015, 1:01 AM 0

13. tokuzumi

Posts: 1907; Member since: Aug 27, 2009

Interesting. I wonder how far Firefox OS will go? The market is saturated with Android and iOS, and WP to a much smaller degree. It's a tough market to get into. It's going to need serious app support to be anything other than the "Other" piece of the market share pie.

posted on Jan 29, 2015, 8:09 AM 0

15. Somebody995

Firefoxos is basically Android, with a whole bunch of it stripped out and replaced with Firefox *browser*. I don't think that it will really ever be much more than a "low end" phone OS, and frankly, I don't think their TARGET is to be much more than that.