The future belongs to tablets, that’s for sure. That’s why Mozilla isn’t wasting a single moment and is trying to spread the fresh Firefox OS and sign as many partnerships as it can. We had our chance to get a feeling of Firefox OS devices at the MWC in Barcelona: the Geeksphone Peak and the ZTE Open. It was also then when we found out that Mozilla is closely working with Alcatel, LG Electronics, Huawei and even Samsung to bring Firefox OS devices later this year. Qualcomm is also said to take a part in this deal, by providing their snappy Snapdragon mobile processors. Reuters firstly spread the news that Mozilla plans to hold a press event together with Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai), prior to the Computex conference in Taipei, taking place from June 4 to June 8. For those of you who don’t know yet, Foxconn can be considered as the maker of iPhones and iPads, as 60 percent of its profit comes from that. Focus Taiwan, a local outlet, citing information from an “industry insider”, said that the unveiled Firefox OS device could actually be a tablet.
The first Firefox OS tablet is in the cards
Foxconn’s decision makes sense – the future of Apple’s devices is bound to be further endangered by the growing number of Android handsets. So, the company is looking to play safe and make new partnerships right from the beginning. It is also a solution to further enhance their own brand. We’re not yet sure if the tablet will be only Mozilla-branded, but this is a good opportunity to extend not only the production client base but also to raise awareness and recognition of their own name amongst consumers. Firefox OS’s rivals aren’t iOS or Android, but other smaller, aspiring mobile operating systems as Samsung’s Tizen OS, Ubuntu Touch and Jolla’s Sailfish which has recently unveiled their first smartphone. A Firefox OS tablet made by Hon Hai is even more plausible if we take into consideration the fact that recently, in April, the company has signed an agreement with Microsoft that allows them to make devices for Android and Chrome operating systems. Even if Mozilla looks to target emerging target with the Firefox OS, they have also announced in Barcelona that there are going to be a few “premium” smartphones launched on the market, with at least one being released by Sony. The fact that Firefox OS is truly open source might help Mozilla get a lot of partners, especially amongst carriers.
