Mozilla’s Firefox OS may not be so popular here in the states, but in Europe and other emerging markets the new mobile OS is showing much promise. To help developers create the app ecosystem of the fledgling OS, Mozilla has released version 3.0 of its Firefox OS simulator. The new simulator gives developers an array of useful tools, the most potentially useful being the ability to push work in progress applications to connected test devices.
The new simulator includes support for rotating displays and mock geolocation data for testing location-based apps. It also allows for the use of some keyboard shortcuts, and now supports newer versions of Firefox OS and the Gaia user interface.
Companies such as Sony, ZTE, LG and Huawei have already announced that they will manufacture devices running the Firefox OS. ZTE showed off a few of its Firefox OS handsets at Mobile World Congress last February, and a small startup called Geeksphone sold its Firefox OS reference phones the Keon and Peak to developers and were forced to limit sales due to the high demand.
The Firefox OS is slated to launch in emerging smartphone markets such as Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. Mozilla’s thinking is that a strong app ecosystem must exist before entering the U.S. market, and that the FFOS powered phones will be embraced by first time smartphone buyers.
Mozilla expects a rollout of the Firefox OS in June of this year in certain markets.
[Via: Tech Crunch]