Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE has joined hands with Mozilla, the maker of Firefox web browser to co-develop a new mobile operating system later this year or early next year to power its smart phones.
ZTE said it is part of its plan to diversify the software platforms from Google Android and Microsoft Windows into other operating systems.
ZTE’s smartphone launch plans follow Acer’s postponing of its new smartphone launch in China using Alibaba’s Aliyun mobile operating system, after Google opposed to the device’s launch.
ZTE spokesperson David Dai Shu was quoted by Reuters as saying that the company was trying to increase its efforts in coming up with its own operating system, while introducing products based on Android.
"It’s all part of our wider plans to create a better balance of products using various operating systems. We won’t just rely on Android or Windows", Dai Shu said.
The company is also planning to launch a product for mobile use during the launch of the new OS.
ZTE also has plans to move into Web-based operating systems, but has no immediate strategies to assist those produced by Chinese Internet firms including Baidu and Alibaba.
"We are working with a regional telecom carrier outside of China to unveil products based on our own operating system," Dai said.
Majority of ZTE’s phones are powered by Google’s Android OS, while its ‘Tania’ series runs on Windows OS.
