February 25, 2013
February 25, 2013 - Mozilla and KDDI Corporation (KDDI) today announced plans to launch Firefox OS phones in Japan, and to cooperate to reinforce Firefox OS development.
Firefox OS is the new mobile platform developed by Mozilla, which fully utilizes open web technologies such as HTML5.
Mozilla has developed a truly open ecosystem with no proprietary restrictions; anyone can access to all properties of Firefox OS.
In fact, in accordance with Mozilla's commitment, specifications and reference codes of numerous APIs are being submitted to standardization bodies such as W3C.
Thus, Firefox OS is expected not only to accelerate application development, but to bring innovative services and fair competition accordingly.
KDDI plans to suit customer needs by means of such a noble platform, since its simple and sophisticated architecture enables system extensibility.
In addition, KDDI has decided to contribute their code back to Firefox OS developer community. It would be epochal attempt in Japanese industrial history that a mobile operator donates their properties to public. The challenge intends to drive development work and to avoid compatibility issue by sharing common functions. For this to happen, Mozilla and KDDI will work closely to achieve (1) efficient data transfer in mobile, (2) secure application framework, and (3) parental control for Firefox OS.
"Firefox OS brings the freedom and unbounded innovation of the open Web to mobile users everywhere. The open Web will benefit greatly from KDDI launching Firefox OS devices in Japan, one of the most innovative mobile marketplaces in the world."
Moreover, Mozilla Japan and KDDI will jointly address technical support and promotion activities for Firefox OS in order to enliven community in Japan.
