RIP to Firefox smartphone OS

Mozilla to kill Firefox smartphone operating system. The Firefox smartphone operating system is being shut down, three years after a launch aimed at challenging the dominant platforms powered by Apple and Google, developers said Thursday.

The operating system created by the Mozilla developer community as open-source system has failed to gain traction in mobile devices, according to a Mozilla developer George Roter. “Thanks to the work of hundreds of contributors that we have taken an impressive thrust and created an impressive platform in Firefox OS,” he said in a blog post. “However, as we announced in December, the circumstances of multiple operating systems set up and application ecosystems means that we were playing catch-up, and the conditions are not there for Mozilla to win over commercial smartphones .”

Firefox OS is open source, so in theory community work could continue, but without the backing of a major sponsor it is unlikely.

What’s interesting is that Mozilla’s Connected Devices division has been “testing out a new product innovation process”, with three of the products passing through, and many in the pipeline.

“Having multiple different product innovations in development will be the approach moving forward, and we’re hoping to open up the formal process to non-staff participation in the first half of the year”, it said.