Most of us are familiar with the popular, free and open source web browser Firefox by Mozilla Corporation. Mozilla has now announced that it will be launching its very own mobile operating system for smartphones – Firefox OS.

The introduction of this new software platform will herald a new era for mobile operating systems. We recently posted a new study revealing that internet browsing is now the top most activity performed on smartphones. The timing for Firefox OS announcement could not have been better. It is an operating system that focuses full attention on internet browsing functionality based on HTML5.

Official Mozilla source says:

The Firefox OS for mobile devices is built on Mozilla’s “Boot to Gecko project” which unlocks many of the current limitations of web development on mobile, allowing HTML5 applications to access the underlying capabilities of a phone, previously only available to native applications. Telefónica’s Digital unit joined forces with Mozilla earlier this year to take this work and showcase a new phone architecture where every phone feature (calling, messaging, games, etc.) is an HTML5 application.

The press release posted on official Mozilla blog confirms that the first devices to carry Firefox OS will be released in 2013 and will be manufactured by TCL Communication Technology under Alcatel One Touch brand and ZTE. They will feature Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. It further adds that the new operating system will allow removal of unnecessary middleware layers from smartphones thus decreasing their cost. Major telecom companies including Telefonica Digital, Sprint, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia, Telenor and Etisalat have already lent their support to Mozilla’s Firefox OS.

Source: The Mozilla Blog via PCMag