Telefónica launches Firefox OS handsets in Brazil

Spanish operator group Telefónica has launched handsets running on Mozilla’s Firefox OS platform in Brazil, through its subsidiary Vivo.

The operator already offers the devices; the LG Fireweb and the Alcatel Onetouch Fire in Spain, Colombia and Venezuela, and is planning similar launches in Peru, Uruguay and Mexico in the coming days.

Telefónica said that the Firefox OS smartphones are important for the group as they increase the number of design options for devices and operating systems at affordable prices, based on open standards.

The operator is looking to curb the dominance that Google and Apple have in the mobile OS space with their respective Android and iOS platforms. The group added that “truly open systems” such as Firefox OS free consumers and developers from the limitations of existing ecosystems through the use of the web as an access platform to all features and applications. Its design and construction with open source also allows a constant and rapid evolution of the system through collaborative work with Mozilla, Telefónica added.

“Firefox OS represents a relevant option to the smartphone market, currently dominated by operating systems controlled by large international companies,” said president of Telefónica Vivo, Antonio Carlos Valente.

“We intend to offer a totally new experience to the customer at affordable prices and where the features and the evolution of the system will be defined by the immense Firefox OS developer community and not for any particular company.”

Firefox OS users can access local and global applications in Firefox Marketplace. Among the global content companies that support Firefox OS are eBay, Wikipedia, CNN Money and SoundCloud.

In Brazil, the Firefox Marketplace already has more than 50 national apps from different categories developed for the platform.

The two handsets are already on sale. The LG Fireweb has a 4 inch touchscreen and a 3G Qualcomm processor with 1GHz and 2 GB memory. It also has a 5 megapixel camera.

The Alcatel Onetouch Fire has a 3.5 inch display, 3.2 megapixel camera, 3G Qualcomm processor with 1GHz and 2 GB memory card.