Firefox OS device launch plans have been confirmed today by Telefonica, which will be bringing Alcatel and ZTE devices to Spain, Colombia and Venezuela in Q3 2013. Firefox OS handsets manufactured by LG, Huawei and Sony will be launched in Q4 2013. Carriers that have pledged support for the nascent smartphone OS are Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile), Etisalat, Smart, Sprint, Telefonica, America Movil, KDDI, Telecom Italia, Telenor, China Unicom, 3 Group, KT, MegaFon, Qtel, SingTel, TMN and VimpelCom.
The announcement came as part of Telefonica’s Q1 2013 financial results, which were published earlier today. The Firefox OS platform was announced at Mobile World Congress this year, and is based on HTML-5. The platform is designed to be released in emerging markets, and to grace handsets that are on the lower end of the scale. Firefox unveiled its new Firefox OS simulator recently, which gives developers a new tool to help grow the fledgling app ecosystem. Mozilla plans on releasing the OS in emerging markets before tackling the U.S. and other markets.
Time will tell how Firefox OS fares in the smartphone market, as it will be competing against heavy hitters such as Android and iOS.
[Via: Pocket-Lint]