Firefox OS Isnt Starting From a Strong Position
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5. Emerging markets
Mozilla has said that it will ship its first smartphones in Brazil and then extend its release to a host of other countries, including the U.S. However, it appears that Mozilla is targeting emerging markets with its operating system, but every other company delivering mobile products today is doing so as well. Whats so unique about Firefox OS that people in those markets will want to use a new and unfamiliar mobile platform?
6. Its following the losers
Lets face it: Numerous companies have tried entering the mobile market to compete against iOS and Android and failed. Take, for example, webOS, an operating system that isnt so dissimilar to Firefox OS and has now all but faded from the market. Even RIMs BlackBerry OS is on death watch. Firefox OS needs something hugely impressive to be successful. And it doesnt appear to have it.
7. Theres a Symbian battle brewing (and thats not good)
As noted, Firefox OS is gunning for both emerging markets and the lower end of the industry. Theres just one issue: Symbian, an operating system that has been catering to those markets for years, is ready for a battle. Dont forget: Nokia might have turned its back on Symbian for higher-end smartphones, but its still offering the OS in much of the rest of the mobile market. And although it has become synonymous with Nokia, Symbian is not tied to that companys ultimate fate. Symbian still has a future, and its important to not forget that.
8. Drastic changes arent necessarily better
Theres no debating that Firefox OS is a major step up over what is currently available across the mobile marketplace. But drastic changes arent necessarily better. In fact, they can sometimes fail miserably in the wake of stronger, more established competitors. Unless a miracle happens, that could very well be the Firefox OS fate.
9. Mozilla: on the downturn?
Another issue that might go overlooked by stakeholders is the fact that Mozilla itself is on somewhat of a downturn. The companys Firefox browser was once tapped to be the successor to Internet Explorer, but its now losing ground to Chrome. Mozilla doesnt get the kind of attention it once didand that could hurt Firefox OS.
10. Is there a tablet strategy?
So far, Mozilla has really only focused its effort on smartphones. But in the mobile world, success in the smartphone space is far more attainable with an associated tablet strategy. Granted, Android devices and iPhones didnt require tablets, but in the post-iPad world, everything has changed. Mozilla must remember that.
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