ZTE partners Mozilla to develop mobile OS
China's ZTE is partnering Mozilla, the maker of Internet browser Firefox, to launch a new mobile operating system "later this year or early next year".
"It's all part of our wider plans to create a better balance of products using various operating systems. We won't just rely on Android or Windows." said ZTE spokesman David Dai Shu in a Reuters article on Wednesday.
He added that ZTE would roll out the operating system with Mozilla over the next few months, and planned to introduce a product for use in mobile devices either at the same time or a little later.
ZTE is also looking into Web-based operating systems, but has no immediate plans to support those developed by Chinese Internet firms such as Baidu Inc and Alibaba, Dai said in the article.
Most of ZTE's phones currently run on Android, while its Tania series uses Windows, noted Reuters.
There has also been a push by other Chinese companies to introduce their own mobile OS recently. Earlier this month, Acer planned to unveil a mobile phone running Alibaba's Aliyun OS, but was reportedly forced to scrap the launch due to pressure from Google.