I've always thought that Mozilla's strategy with Firefox OS was very optimistic/ambitious. It was first conceived just as cheap Chinese Android smartphones were

I've always thought that Mozilla's strategy with Firefox OS was very optimistic/ambitious. It was first conceived just as cheap Chinese Android smartphones were beginning to make inroads into developing markets[1]. In such markets, simply reducing the cost of the phone from $80 to $25 won't increase smartphone penetration as much as you might think because the cost of the phone itself comprises only a small part of the total cost of ownership - the customer still has to pay for a mobile data plan. That leaves the "open web" approach as the major differentiator between Firefox OS and Android. Whilst I'm a fan of open standards, I doubt the average consumer is going to care enough for Firefox OS to make inroads into Android's dominance of the low-cost smartphone market (in fact, I'd question whether they'll care at all). At this point, if I were on the Mozilla Foundation board, I think I'd be pushing for a cost-benefit assessment of continued investment into Firefox OS. 1: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/424454/android-marches-on-east-africa/ http://www.technologyreview.com/news/424454/android-marches-...