Second tier player, Alcatel One Touch, ZTE Open, try Mozilla, Firefox OS

https://www.google.com.hk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=firefox+os+demo+youtube&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpUgYjWfYwcM&ei=pTDSUeTRNa2Tigfd4YHgBg&usg=AFQjCNGin7wI1mkhdcLBV19I8mQDHLDq1Q

Mozilla is beginning regional rollouts of the Alcatel One Touch and ZTE Open, the first commercially released smartphones running the open-source software development initiative's new Firefox OS.

Telefónica will begin selling the ZTE Open to Spanish subscribers this week for $90 (€69), while Deutsche Telekom will introduce the smartphones in Poland in the near future. In all, Mozilla has signed more than 20 hardware and operator partners worldwide, including Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), Etisalat, Smart and Telecom Italia: Telenor will launch its first Firefox OS phones in Central and Eastern Europe this year, with devices slated to roll out in additional markets in the months ahead.

Firefox OS (formerly Boot to Gecko) promises a new phone architecture that relies entirely on the Web to enable HTML5 applications with complete access to core device APIs. According to Mozilla, developers can create Firefox OS apps from existing websites by adding an app manifest--a JSON file that describes the app, including its name, its icons and a human-readable description.

In addition to core services like voice calling, text messaging, email, Web browsing and a camera, Firefox OS includes built-in social features like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter integration, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Here maps and Firefox Marketplace, which offers HTML5-based apps across a range of categories including games, entertainment, news, business and productivity. Mozilla also will tailor app availability for each regional market.

In late April, Mozilla and OEM partner Geeksphone released the first Firefox developer preview phones. The Keon, priced at $119, boasts a 1GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 4 GB ROM, 512 MB RAM, a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 3-megapixel camera, MicroSD storage and support for 2G and 3G networks. The more powerful Peak, offered at $194, includes a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 4.3-inch qHD IPS display, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (2-megapixel front), 4 GB ROM and 512 MB RAM.

Asia's richest man buys Facebook stake

4 Dec, 2007

Facebook has raised $US60 million from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, adding to the list of financial heavyweights backing the online hangout's rapid growth.
Li, 79, will receive a 0.4 per cent stake in Palo Alto-based Facebook in return for his investment, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity.
The cash is coming from Li's personal foundation, the person said. The billionaire's business interests, anchored by the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, are not involved.
The investment means the three-year-old start-up now has support from both the richest man in Asia and the world's largest software maker, Microsoft, which paid $US240 million for a 1.6 per cent stake in October.
With an estimated $US23 billion fortune, Li is the ninth wealthiest individual worldwide, based on estimates gathered in an annual survey by Forbes magazine.
Li, nicknamed Superman in Hong Kong, has close ties with authorities in Beijing and is one of Asia's leading philanthropists.
The stakes acquired by Li and Microsoft imply a $US15 billion value for Facebook, which is privately held. That valuation presumes the company will substantially increase its revenue, which is expected to exceed $US150 million this year.
Facebook hopes to boost its profits with new ways for advertisers to connect with its audience of 55 million users, now the second largest social network on the web behind News Corp's MySpace.com.
A marketing initiative called Beacon, which Facebook introduced last month, agitated thousands of users because it circulated potentially sensitive information about their online purchases and other activity.
Stung by the backlash, Facebook last week promised it would no longer share any information collected in the Beacon program unless users gave their explicit permission.
Facebook may raise as much as $US200 million more to help fund a plan to more than double its work force of 300 during the next year. The company has explored selling small stakes to private equity firms but hasn't been able to settle on terms.
One possible sticking point has been Facebook's reluctance to give major investors a seat on its board of directors. Neither Microsoft nor Li gained a seat in exchange for investing.
Facebook's fundraising window will likely close in late January, according to the person familiar with Li's investment.
Chief Financial Officer Gideon Yu said at a conference last month that this will probably be the last time Facebook seeks out additional investors as a privately owned company.
Facebook hasn't set a timetable for going public, but Silicon Valley cognoscenti are betting the company will launch an initial public offering of stock in 2009.
Before tapping Microsoft and Li for cash, Facebook had raised $US40.7 million from Peter Thiel, a co-founder of online payment provider PayPal, and venture capital firms Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.
Facebook's largest shareholder is its chief executive and co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, whose stake is worth $US3 billion , based on the value of Microsoft's and Li's investments.

Google nears mobile phone deal with Verizon, Sprint: WSJ

31 Oct 2007
Google is close to a deal with Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel over its new mobile phone, according to the online Wall Street Journal.

An agreement is likely to reached within two weeks for launch of a Google phone in the middle of 2008. The central feature of the Google handset will be an open operating system that will encourage developers to create apps.

But the phone will include Google’s own applications – Google Maps, Gmail and a social networking feature combining YouTube and Facebook-style offering called Makamaka.

An agreement with major US operators would be a breakthrough for the search firm in its dealings with wary telecom operators.

As the ATT-Apple iPhone deal demonstrated, the carriers are still the critical elements in handset marketing channel, especially in the US.