Foxconn to recruit 3,000 for its software centre for Firefox OS apps
Taiwanese hardware maker Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) will hire as many as 3,000 engineers to staff a software development facility where it plans to build Firefox OS HTML5 apps.
The company said it planned to recruit up to 1,000 engineers when it first announced its partnership with Mozilla on Firefox OS project earlier this month. Yesterday it said it would raise that figure to 3,000, according to the Taipei Times. The recruits will be housed at Hon Hai's facility in the Kaohsiung Software Park, which opened in 2011.
Foxconn has confirmed it will build five Firefox OS devices, including a tablet, although these will be models for other OEMs and not sold directly to consumers by the company. Foxconn is also planning to build TVs and digital signage as part of its "eight screens, one network, and one cloud" plan.
Companies that plan to sell devices running Mozilla's mobile OS include Alcatel (TCL), LG, ZTE and Huawei, while up to 18 carriers will launch the low-cost devices to consumers first in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela.
Earlier this year, former Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs said the first devices should be available by June, but according to Mozilla's press team that was incorrect. Release dates will depend on partners.
Madrid-based Geeksphone has also released two developer smartphones, Keon and Peak, that run Firefox OS, which Mozilla has been giving away to developers to encourage them to fill out Mozilla's fledgling HTML5 app store.