Telefónica Digital and Mozilla have revealed plans to create a new mobile platform. It’s called the Open Web Device platform and will use HTML5 standards to deliver a smartphone-like device without premium pricing. A Qualcomm chipset is currently being used for hardware development.
The new OWD platform will rely entirely on the web. All the device’s capabilities, from calling and messaging to browsing and games, will be developed as HTML5 applications and will work via a Firefox-type web browser. It’ll be submitted to the W3C for standardisation and will be made openly available.
OWD brings Telefónica’s own research together with Mozilla’s Boot to Gecko open web project.
Carlos Domingo, Director of Product Development & Innovation at Telefonica Digital, said “Telefónica’s objective is to drive HTML5 adoption across the industry. For the first time the capabilities of HTML5 and the open Web have been fully leveraged to create an entirely new mobile platform. From our experience in Latin America we know that a huge part of the market is not being catered for by current smartphones. With new open Web devices we will be able to offer a smartphone experience at the right price point for these customers.”
[More details: Mozilla blog]