If you are experiencing fatigue after being in a closed proprietary web ecosystem — like that of Apple’s iOS or Microsoft’s Windows 8 — then the announcement from Mozilla earlier this week could be of interest to you.
Advocates of open web standards had much to cheer at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with the announcement of the first commercial build of the Firefox OS open mobile ecosystem. The first wave of Firefox OS devices are expected to be available worldwide in the coming months. The open web device initiative has already found support with key telecom operators around the world.
A press release issued by Mozilla on the launch of Firefox OS on February 24 read: “Firefox OS smartphones are the first to be built entirely to open Web standards, enabling every feature to be developed as an HTML5 application. Web apps access every underlying capability of the device, bypassing the typical hindrances of HTML5 on mobile to deliver substantial performance. The platform’s flexibility allows carriers to easily tailor the interface and develop localised services that match the unique needs of their customer base.”
Mozilla has said it was working with Alcatel (TCL), LG and ZTE to build the first Firefox OS devices, with Huawei to follow later in the year, all powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon processors.
“Firefox OS brings the freedom and unbounded innovation of the open Web to mobile users everywhere,” said Gary Kovacs, CEO, Mozilla. “With the support of our vibrant community and dedicated partners, our goal is to level the playing field and usher in an explosion of content and services that will meet the diverse needs of the next two billion people online.”
HP returns to tablet PC
HP burnt its fingers in the tablet PC segment with its TouchPad fiasco. But it has announced its comeback to the segment at the Mobile World Congress with the announcement of Slate 7, a 7-inch tablet running Android’s latest Jelly Bean mobile operating system. Powered by an ARM Dual Core Cortex-A9 1.6 GHz processor, the HP Slate7 will be a Wi-Fi only device. It features a 3 MP rear-facing camera and a VGA front-facing camera. It is expected to hit the U.S. retail stores in April.
Internet Explorer 10 available for Windows 7
Microsoft made its latest iteration of web browser Internet Explorer 10 available for Windows 7 from Tuesday last. It was in a preview mode till now. The browser is available with support to 95 languages worldwide and has already rolled out with Windows 8.
In a post on Microsoft’s official IE Blog, Rob Mauceri, Group Program Manager, Internet Explorer, wrote: “As with Windows 8, IE10 on Windows 7 improves performance across the board with faster page loading, faster interactivity, and faster JavaScript performance, while reducing CPU usage and improving battery life on mobile PCs. Measurements in our performance lab showed, IE loads real world pages up to 20 per cent faster in top sites for news, social, search, ecommerce, and more.”
Among other interesting features, IE10 allows users to browse the Web in total privacy using a ‘Do Not Track’ option.
