Mozilla do much more than just provide a browser. They are going to create a open app environment. The result is the Boot2Gecko project, which is a open sourced mobile OS based on web technology.
They will unveil some details about B2G on MWC and provide Demo to users. But we have know something about this great project:
- Mozilla Boot 2 Gecko is based on Gonk frame and Android. But it’s not another CM. It can not run Android apps. But it can support Android hardware.
- Gecko will act as the background of apps. It will ensure the execute of HTML, CSS and JS.
- Gaia is the user interface frame of the Mozilla B2G. This frame is write by HTML and JavaScript. It uses API, which is developed by WebAPI, to support web apps using cell phone functions: like send SMS or take photos.
You can download the B2G UI from the Github. This theme is called Gaia. You can open the HTML file in Firefox to preview the B2G OS.
Locking interface
This is the screen when you locked your system. The logo is a lizard holding the earth.
The browser interface.
It uses DuckDuckGo as default search engine.
The setting page.
There is a Do Not Track option.
The map page.
It uses Google Maps.
SMS page
From these pictures, we can see the B2G is some simple and crude. It is still in developing. If you know the background history of webOS, you will see some similar features. The difference is that the B2G is an open sourced operation system from the beginning. But the webOS is opening source. Android and iOS is two very popular system. Compared to Android and iOS, the B2G seems some radical.
According to Mozilla’s portfolio, they are going to release Demo product in Q1 of 2012. In Q2 of 2012, they will release the production B2G.