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http://www.tech-beats.com/2012/02/mozilla-web-based-os-to-make-smartphones-10x-cheaper/
[h=2]Mozilla web based OS to make smartphones 10x cheaper[/h]
February 28th, 2012
Akshay
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Mozilla, which brought the free web browserFirefox to the masses, now wants to do the same for mobile users, with a new open source operating system that could drastically slash smartphone prices.
The non-profit group’s so-called Boot to Gecko project will go after Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS, to create an alternative which could generate smartphones that are “10 times cheaper” than an iPhone while offering similar experiences to those running on other platforms.
“We want to pioneer a category,” Brendan Eich, who is Mozilla’s chief technology officer, told at the world’s biggest mobile fair in Barcelona.
“We see the mobile world recreating the wall of gardens in the 1990s that AOL had,” lamented Eich, referring to restrictions imposed by the Internet provider two decades ago.
Mozilla therefore wants to “disrupt” the closed system, and open it up to competition for greater innovation.
The idea is for a platform that is completely reliant on the web, meaning that all of the phones capabilities, including calls, messaging, and browsing functions, would be web-based.
Being on the web removes the need for much of the intermediary software that requires large memory or speedy processors — both of which are expensive.
As a result, it is able to cut costs dramatically.
The group has partnered with Telefonica on the project, with the Spanish giant aiming to ship phones running on the new OS this year.
For Carlos Domingo, Telefonica Digital director of product development, the development spells massive opportunities in Latin America, where smartphones are not catching on because of their prohibitive prices.
A new phone on the Mozilla platform, could be “more than 10 times cheaper” than an iPhone, Domingo said.
It could even be competitive compared to the cheapest phone on Finnish giant Nokia’s Lumia line, which runs on the Windows platform and will begin shipping this year at 189 euros.
“We can probably do two to three times cheaper than that,” said Domingo, who aims to have the phones commercialised in six to eight months.
Brazil is a typical target market for Telefonica because it has 75 per cent mobile penetration rate, but just five per cent on smartphones.
Nevertheless, Mozilla will face stiff challenges from Android and Apple, the runaway smartphone leaders.
Microsoft too, will be launching its new Windows 8 at the Mobile World Congress on Thursday, as it seeks to claw back some market share in the rapidly growing smartphone industry.
But Eich, who invented the popular programming language JavaScript, believes the new system could hold its own against competitors.
“If you believe that iOS and Android have about 70 or 80 per cent of the market and if you believe that the remaining 20 per cent will not be fragmented…we would hope to be 80 per cent of that 20 per cent,” he said.
“It is possible that some of our partners agree — that by making the right entry points, we can actually achieve high volume growth and be that platform,” he added.
And if the project succeeds, other regions could also benefit, as like all open source projects, it will be open for sharing.
Firefox debuted in 2004 as an innovative, communally crafted open-source browser released as an option to Internet Explorer.
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/新智慧手機-比愛瘋便宜十倍-034956491.html
[h=1]新智慧手機 比愛瘋便宜十倍[/h]
<cite class="byline vcard">中央社 – <abbr title="2012-02-29T03:49:56Z">2012年2月29日 上午11:49</abbr></cite>
[h=3]相關內容[/h]
（中央社巴塞隆納27日綜合外電報導）英國「金融時報」（FT）報導，由西班牙電信集團與摩斯拉基金會合作研發、可搭載中立且開放平台的低價智慧型手機，將在今年問世。這種手機可望比iPhone便宜10倍。
據PC World報導，西班牙電信集團（Telefonica）希望年底前在目前智慧型手機對多數人來說仍太過昂貴地區，推出第一批產品。
摩斯拉基金會（Mozilla）曾推出免費瀏覽器火狐（Firefox）供大眾使用，如今也為手機用戶提供相同服務，將推出開放原始碼的新作業系統，可望大幅削砍智慧型手機的價格。
非營利組織摩斯拉的「Boot to Gecko」計畫將迎頭趕上Google的Android及蘋果公司（Apple）的iOS作業系統，創造另一個平台，可望讓智慧型手機比iPhone「便宜10倍」，同時提供類似經驗給在其他平台上作業的手機。
摩斯拉技術長艾克（Brendan Eich）在西班牙巴塞隆納的全球最大行動通訊盛會告訴法新社：「我們想開創新的類型。」
摩斯拉希望「中斷」封閉系統，開放競爭以激發更大創新。
他們的構想是打造完全依賴網路的平台，意味所有電話功能都將以網路為基礎，包括通話、傳簡訊和瀏覽功能。
這種以網路為基礎的平台，可免除絕大多數中介軟體，而這些中介軟體往往需要昂貴的大容量記憶體或快速處理器。
因此，這種平台能大大縮減成本。（譯者：中央社張雅亭）1010228
（中央社檔案照片）
[h=2]Mozilla web based OS to make smartphones 10x cheaper[/h]
| |
<tbody>
</tbody>
Mozilla, which brought the free web browserFirefox to the masses, now wants to do the same for mobile users, with a new open source operating system that could drastically slash smartphone prices.
The non-profit group’s so-called Boot to Gecko project will go after Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS, to create an alternative which could generate smartphones that are “10 times cheaper” than an iPhone while offering similar experiences to those running on other platforms.
“We want to pioneer a category,” Brendan Eich, who is Mozilla’s chief technology officer, told at the world’s biggest mobile fair in Barcelona.
“We see the mobile world recreating the wall of gardens in the 1990s that AOL had,” lamented Eich, referring to restrictions imposed by the Internet provider two decades ago.
Mozilla therefore wants to “disrupt” the closed system, and open it up to competition for greater innovation.
The idea is for a platform that is completely reliant on the web, meaning that all of the phones capabilities, including calls, messaging, and browsing functions, would be web-based.
Being on the web removes the need for much of the intermediary software that requires large memory or speedy processors — both of which are expensive.
As a result, it is able to cut costs dramatically.
The group has partnered with Telefonica on the project, with the Spanish giant aiming to ship phones running on the new OS this year.
For Carlos Domingo, Telefonica Digital director of product development, the development spells massive opportunities in Latin America, where smartphones are not catching on because of their prohibitive prices.
A new phone on the Mozilla platform, could be “more than 10 times cheaper” than an iPhone, Domingo said.
It could even be competitive compared to the cheapest phone on Finnish giant Nokia’s Lumia line, which runs on the Windows platform and will begin shipping this year at 189 euros.
“We can probably do two to three times cheaper than that,” said Domingo, who aims to have the phones commercialised in six to eight months.
Brazil is a typical target market for Telefonica because it has 75 per cent mobile penetration rate, but just five per cent on smartphones.
Nevertheless, Mozilla will face stiff challenges from Android and Apple, the runaway smartphone leaders.
Microsoft too, will be launching its new Windows 8 at the Mobile World Congress on Thursday, as it seeks to claw back some market share in the rapidly growing smartphone industry.
But Eich, who invented the popular programming language JavaScript, believes the new system could hold its own against competitors.
“If you believe that iOS and Android have about 70 or 80 per cent of the market and if you believe that the remaining 20 per cent will not be fragmented…we would hope to be 80 per cent of that 20 per cent,” he said.
“It is possible that some of our partners agree — that by making the right entry points, we can actually achieve high volume growth and be that platform,” he added.
And if the project succeeds, other regions could also benefit, as like all open source projects, it will be open for sharing.
Firefox debuted in 2004 as an innovative, communally crafted open-source browser released as an option to Internet Explorer.
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/新智慧手機-比愛瘋便宜十倍-034956491.html
[h=1]新智慧手機 比愛瘋便宜十倍[/h]
<cite class="byline vcard">中央社 – <abbr title="2012-02-29T03:49:56Z">2012年2月29日 上午11:49</abbr></cite>[h=3]相關內容[/h]
放大照片新智慧手機 比愛瘋便宜十倍
（中央社巴塞隆納27日綜合外電報導）英國「金融時報」（FT）報導，由西班牙電信集團與摩斯拉基金會合作研發、可搭載中立且開放平台的低價智慧型手機，將在今年問世。這種手機可望比iPhone便宜10倍。
據PC World報導，西班牙電信集團（Telefonica）希望年底前在目前智慧型手機對多數人來說仍太過昂貴地區，推出第一批產品。
摩斯拉基金會（Mozilla）曾推出免費瀏覽器火狐（Firefox）供大眾使用，如今也為手機用戶提供相同服務，將推出開放原始碼的新作業系統，可望大幅削砍智慧型手機的價格。
非營利組織摩斯拉的「Boot to Gecko」計畫將迎頭趕上Google的Android及蘋果公司（Apple）的iOS作業系統，創造另一個平台，可望讓智慧型手機比iPhone「便宜10倍」，同時提供類似經驗給在其他平台上作業的手機。
摩斯拉技術長艾克（Brendan Eich）在西班牙巴塞隆納的全球最大行動通訊盛會告訴法新社：「我們想開創新的類型。」
摩斯拉希望「中斷」封閉系統，開放競爭以激發更大創新。
他們的構想是打造完全依賴網路的平台，意味所有電話功能都將以網路為基礎，包括通話、傳簡訊和瀏覽功能。
這種以網路為基礎的平台，可免除絕大多數中介軟體，而這些中介軟體往往需要昂貴的大容量記憶體或快速處理器。
因此，這種平台能大大縮減成本。（譯者：中央社張雅亭）1010228
（中央社檔案照片）
