Mozilla to ditch $25 phones, to focus on efficiency instead of cost: Report

Looks like Mozilla has realised its ultra-affordable $25 phones cant take on the fiercely competitive phone market. Unlike the decade old Firefox web browser, Firefox phones have failed to woo audiences. According to a report by CNET, Chief Executive Chris Beard has revealed in an email that Mozilla has changed its mobile strategy. Under a new ‘Ignite’ initiative, the company plans to introduce phones with ‘compelling’ features and not just with lower price tags. The company’s mobile OS may soon add support for Android apps, according to the report. The company’s $25 phones that were aimed at developing countries haven’t seen ‘sufficient traction’, so far. This has probably compelled the company to build devices for the connected world by considering efficient features, and not just a lower price tag. “We will not pursue all parts of the [$25 phone] program. “We will build phones and connected devices that people want to buy because of the experience, not simply the price,” Beard reportedly wrote in an email. The company’s decision to support Android apps is a way to help increase adoption of the Firefox OS. However, the company’s focus will still remain web apps and open software development, the report adds. “The shift in Mozilla’s strategy shows just how hard it is for the nonprofit to adapt to the modern era in which smartphones are central to our electronic lives and and the computing industry’s attention,” points out CNET. This doesn’t necessarily mean the company will directly start churning out high-end devices, but it may not manufacture entry-level Firefox phones anymore.