LG partners KDDI for Firefox handset in Japan

LG Electronics’ new smartphone, the Fx0, which runs on the Firefox operating system, was launched in Japan, Wednesday. / Courtesy of LG Electronics

By Bahk Eun-ji

LG Electronics teamed up with KDDI of Japan to promote its brand new smartphone that runs on the Firefox operating system.

While the Japanese market is difficult to penetrate for foreign handset manufacturers due to high quality standards required by Japanese consumers, LG Electronics plans to target the low-end mobile segment, there, as the Firefox platform is customized for budget models.

The LG Fx0 has a 4.7-inch screen with LG Display supplying the panel. It comes with a transparent shell, run by Mozilla’s web-centric mobile OS.

Designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, who previously worked on LG G3's design, the phone's body shows the internal components of the handset.

For a device that is designed for a developer-centric audience, the design approach does seem rather appealing.

Priced at 50,000 yen, the Fx0 will have limited availability starting Thursday, and will be available widely from Jan. 6 onwards.

The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU. It also has 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of build-in storage space. The rear camera is 8 megapixel (MP) and the front 2.1 MP.

“The Fx0 is certainly different from the previous Firefox OS phone we launched in Brazil last year. It is the world’s first LTE version powered by the OS,” said an LG spokesman.

The LG announcement is aimed at cutting its heavy reliance on Google as a benchmark mobile platform and boosting its share in the growing low-end smartphone segment amid high-end saturation.

"This is nice attempt by LG. But I don't think LG Electronics will generate higher profits by selling handsets with the Firefox OS. This is a good tester," said an LG executive.

"It is an open platform based on HTML5, and the idea of open web means not to create an ecosystem only for Mozilla, but to create an entire value chain from regular users to developers," the LG spokesman added.

Last year, LG introduced a smartphone running on the Firefox platform in Brazil via leading telecom operator VIVO.