Back in July, Mozilla announced that its mobile operating system, officially named Firefox OS, would be put into some low end smartphones starting in early 2013 in Brazil. The OS is based on HTML5, the same language used to make websites and other applications.
Now a video has been posted to the official Firefox channel showing off the features of Mozilla OS running on a developer phone by Chinese manufacturer ZTE, which you can view below.
The demonstration, which was recorded last Thursday and uploaded on Friday, shows the dialing capabilities, contacts list, Firefox browser, virtual keyboard, camera, a photo gallery, and Marketplace app for finding and downloading additional software.
The video also shows an example of an app called Galactians2 by Space Monster Games being installed from the Marketplace (jump to 2.45) and then being launched.
The big selling point for Firefox OS is not only that it"s open source, all of its features, including messaging, calling, apps and more, will be based on HTML5. Mozilla states:
"Due to the optimization of the platform for entry-level smartphones and the removal of unnecessary middleware layers, mobile operators will have the ability to offer richer experiences at a range of price points including at the low end of the smartphone price range, helping to drive adoption across developing markets,"
You can also get in on the action, Mozilla is allowing anyone with a Windows, Linux or Mac PC to check out and even test builds of Firefox OS.
You can download the Firefox OS daily desktop builds right now. Head over to the Gaia Hacking Wiki page for instructions on how to set up your PC to install it.
Update: As some of the comments are already pointing out, the OS is laggy and choppy, but it is designed for low end phones, so don"t expect much!
Source: PC Advisor