Mozilla is expanding its ecosystem of Firefox OS-powered phones with the help of partners KDDI, LG U+, Telefonica and Verizon, which are all working to build new classes of entry-level smartphones. Firefox OS is now set to power 17 different smartphones that are delivered in 40 different markets around the world.
The effort to bring Firefox OS to market has not been an overnight success. Firefox OS was originally known as the Boot to Gecko (B2G) initiative that launched in February 2012 with the support of service providers Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom. In July 2012, Mozilla rebranded the effort as Firefox OS. In February 2013, Mozilla announced that 17 carriers around the world were committed to the Firefox OS effort.