Mozilla Gives Up on Firefox OS Smartphones

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It was alright while it lasted, Firefox OS-- Mozilla announces an end to development and sale of smartphones running on the operating system at the "Mozlando" developer event.

Firefox mobileFurther confirmation of the news comes through TechCrunch and a company statement reading "Firefox OS proved the flexibility of the web, scaling from low-end smartphones all the way up to HD TVs. However, we weren’t able to offer the best user experience possible and so we will stop offering Firefox OS smartphones through carrier channels."

First announced back in 2012, Firefox OS was an open source attempt to rival the likes of iOS and Android. Primarily aimed at low-end devices, the OS was innovative through its being based on HTML 5, allowing developers to write apps users can run on both smartphone and desktop web browsers. However the Mozilla plan to take over emerging smartphone markets were hampered by OEMs selling cheap Android handsets and a resulting lack of consumer interest meant low sales for the handful of released Firefox-powered smartphones, such as the Intex Cloud FX and Orange Klif.

The end result is dwindling interest from a company wanting to streamline operations-- Mozilla is also looking for a new home for the Thunderbird email/news/chat client. Mind, Firefox OS will continue living in some form, if in the shape of "experiments" based around the Internet of Things.

Go Mozilla Will Stop Developing and Selling Firefox OS Smartphones (TechCrunch)