TruTower readers will remember last month when we first covered Mozilla’s upcoming Boot to Gecko (B2G) operating system. Mozilla had first announced its ecosystem partners for the open HTML5-based OS. However, many questions about B2G remain unanswered, particularly regarding revenue sharing with developers and the Mozilla Marketplace environment. Nevertheless, B2G is quickly starting to gain popularity, particularly with developers.
Mozilla promised to have handsets with its technology on the market in 2012. They have support from major companies like Qualcomm and Adobe. In addition, it named Telefonica as an operator partner and Deutsche Telecom (parent company of T-Mobile International) as an interested operator.
We’d be very surprised if Tru didn’t hop on board the bandwagon with an HTML5 version of the Tru VoIP App. Developers are interested in the new platform because it will use the Web to enable HTML5 apps while also providing access to core device APIs. The platform also promises to provide a more open development and business environment than Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, while reducing development hassles and costs.
Developer interest and willingness to work with Boot to Gecko will depend on the business model for the Mozilla Marketplace that Mozilla will use for app discovery. So far Mozilla has emphasized that it will make a variety of monetization approaches available but it has not explained how it intends to configure revenue sharing or other terms with its developers. These terms will influence developer acceptance.
Andreas Gal, director of research at Mozilla, emphasized that the organization will not only launch its own store, it will use its infrastructure to help third-party companies and operators create their own stores. These stores will then be able to develop their own business models. In other words, if a company wants to create a marketplace with minimal fees, that would be up to them.
The openness of HTML5 could potentially (and quite possibly will) offer a much wider array of applications, all based on HTML5. Developers have been encouraged to look into different markets, including the medical field, when developing their apps, as these markets can lead to innovative new solutions in the mobile marketplace.
An HTML5 version of Tru VoIP sounds like a fantastic idea. Though Tru hasn’t yet commented on the possibility of an app for B2G, they have expressed interest in development for Windows Phone 8, and they have told TruTower that they are “definitely be looking to expand the number of endpoints on our network, such that we can deliver quality services to more people in new and interesting ways.”
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If that’s not an invitation to expand into a new, up and coming platform, I don’t know that is.