Cost smartphones that can reach 25 dollars using its software Mozillawill begin to be sold in India and Indonesia during the year, a Wall Street Journal executive told the company.
Mozilla is promoting its Firefox OS operating system for low-cost smartphones in developing markets as an alternative to Android and iOS, and has so far closed partnerships with device manufacturers and carriers to launch five Firefox phones in Europe and Latin America. However, the prices for these phones are over $60, which means that the Appliances παραμένουν πολύ ακριβές για τους περισσότερους καταναλωτές στην Ινδία και άλλες χώρες της νοτιοανατολικής Ασίας, δήλωσε ο Γκονγκ Λι, chief operating officer της εταιρείας σε συνέντευξή του στο περιθώριο της Mobile Asia Expo. “A dollar is a big deal to consumers in developing countries. It's hard to sell phones that cost more than $50 in these markets."
For this reason, Mozilla is working with the Chinese chip manufacturer Spreadtrum Communications, aiming for a low-cost chipset which paves the way for $25 smartphones within the year.
"With 25 dollars, there is no gap between a smartphone and a feature phone," Gong said. "The attractive price could encourage feature phone users to change them with smartphones."
The company plans to expand its partnerships to include retailers and local brands such as Micromax Informatics in India. Also, according to a post on the company's blog, Mozilla is already working with Intex and Spice, two από τα κορυφαία brands φορητών συσκευών της χώρας. Ακόμη, η εταιρεία ξεκίνησε συνεργασία και με την Chunghwa Telecom της Ταϊβάν.
With lower prices and a larger distribution network, Mozilla expects the availability of Firefox phones to exceed 10 million in the next 12 months. Currently, according to Gong, the operating "runs" on over one million smartphones.
However, in any case, Firefox is facing a tough "battle" because low-cost Android phones are already in China and other emerging markets, and many analysts argue that the operating system's ecosystem is not as well developed as its competitors.
As it became known, summer will launch two new devices with Firefox in the summer: ZTE Open II and Alcatel Onetouch Fire E.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
