I think the idea is that native apps (in most cases) can only run on the platform they were developed for. Web apps, on the other hand, can theoretically run o

I think the idea is that native apps (in most cases) can only run on the platform they were developed for. Web apps, on the other hand, can theoretically run on any platform with a solid web browser. Mozilla wants to use Firefox OS to encourage the development of quality web apps, as well as show what is possible in the context of a web browser on a mobile device.