There’s big news today in the mobile world. In the battle between operating systems dominated by Google Android and Apple iOS, with Windows Phone smartphones on the rise, we have news today that mobile devices will be arriving in 2013 using Firefox OS, a mobile operating system derived from Mozilla’s Firefox browser. In a development that will stun many, it seems that some of the new devices will be made by ZTE and Alcatel.

Open-source Mozilla has been pushing its ‘Boot to Gecko’ mobile initiative and it seems has met with success in the form of support from some major telecoms including Sprint, Telecom Italia, Deutsche Telekom and more and from now on this initiative will be known as Firefox OS. The first device to run on the new mobile OS will come out in Brazil in early 2013 on Telefonica’s Vivo brand and Chinese vendors committed to producing Firefox smartphones are ZTE and TCL (who make Alcatel phones).

It seems we shouldn’t expect any high-end handsets, at least not initially, as Firefox OS phones using Qualcomm Snapdragon processors will be aimed at the low-end to middle of the market and entry-level phones for developing markets. Also as Firefox OS is HTML5 through and through, any apps are not likely to be highly polished. However, according to iDownload Blog, Mozilla hopes to smooth out performance issues over time and hope that its HTML5-based platform will find appeal with those who want more choice than currently on offer, especially given the huge hold on the market from Android and iOS devices.

As almost all modern computing devices support HTML5 it’s anticipated that “interoperability” will be a major draw to Firefox OS and of course the presence of the Firefox browser and huge user-base should guarantee a huge amount of interest in the new operating system and devices running on it. To see more about Firefox OS check out the Mozilla Blog here, which tells how Mozilla has gained global support. Mozilla’s CEO Gary Kovacs said, “The introduction of the open mobile OS continues the Mozilla mission to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web for users and developers.”

We’re pretty excited about this Firefox OS development and would love to hear the views of our readers on this. Are you pleased that more diversity in the way of operating systems and devices will be coming to the mobile market? Do you think it was only a question of time before Firefox OS came to fruition? Let us know with your comments