Firefox, Ubuntu, and Tizen
Alternative mobile operating systems such as Firefox, Ubuntu, and Tizen are evolving to challenge iOS and Android. Their rapid evolution can be seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2015 currently underway in Barcelona.
There, the Mozilla Foundation officially announced that it would release high-end smartphones running on Firefox next year. The operating system is already enjoying a high market share mainly in Europe, mounted on inexpensive smart phones from ZTE, Alcatel, and LG Electronics.
In the meantime, the first Ubuntu smartphone was launched last month by BQ, a Spanish mobile phone manufacturer, by the name of BQ Aquaris E4.5. This product is on display at MWC 2015 along with the high-end Ubuntu handset scheduled to be released this year by Meizu. The latter comes with 4G LTE, a 20-megapixel rear camera, and MediaTek’s octa-core application processor.
The Samsung Z1, which runs on Tizen OS and recently made its debut in India and Bangladesh, is also on exhibition along with cameras, TV sets, smart watches and many more sharing the same OS. Samsung Electronics is expected to launch a high-end handset as the Z1’s follow-up model, targeting advanced markets as the hub of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart home services.
LG Electronics unveiled the LG Watch Urbane LTE at this year’s MWC. It uses Web OS, developed by LG Electronics, but the company is planning to put a limit on the use of the operating system. “Our devices will operate mainly on Android OS, and Web OS will be utilized when certain functions of Android are limited, as in cars or devices having incompatible functions,” said LG Electronics president Jo Joon-ho.