Mozilla Corp. announced Tuesday its formation of two new hardware partnerships to release Firefox OS smartphones in India.
The company said that it will work with Spice and Intex, two mobile device companies in India, to release the first Firefox OS handsets in the country "in the next two months", according to ZDNet.
Mozilla announced in February that it had partnered with Chinese chipmaker Spreadtrum in order to provide Indian and Indonesian consumers with smartphones that cost less than $25.
"The platform [Firefox OS] will give us an edge in upgrading buyers from feature phones to smartphones while making it affordable for the mass market," said Sanjay Kalirona, business head of Intex's mobile unit.
Mozilla hopes that Firefox OS' approach of running web-based apps will provide openness to customers. Android and iOS make it difficult for consumers to switch to alternatives once they have started using the smartphones, despite these devices holding high positions in the market, CNET reported.
Mozilla, on the other hand, is focusing on extremely cheap smartphones that consumers can compare to feature phones that have less built-in apps. The company is looking to sell the phones in more developed markets over time.
Intex, which is competing with Nokia and its recently-released Android-based Nokia X, currently sells Android smartphones for between 4,000r ($67) and 9,000r ($151), ZDNet reported.
Dilip Modi, CEO of Spice, said he has "high expectations" for Firefox devices in the Indian market.
Mozilla has also formed a partnership with Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest operator, which team up with Chinese smartphone startup Xiaomi in February to release the Mi3. Mozilla currently has 22 partners around the world, including China Unicom, Telefonica, KDDI, and SingTel, ZDNet reported.
The price for the new Firefox smartphones in India has not been revealed. However, Xiaomao Xiao, vice president of Spreadstrum, said Mozilla would define "a new level in smartphone affordability."
