Mozilla partners with Foxconn, Firefox OS tablet rumored for June launch

Grant Brunner

Mozilla has been focused on getting Firefox OS onto smartphones for the past year, so the next logical step is tablets. Now, Foxconn is stepping in to produce a product for Mozilla, and rumors point toward a Firefox tablet. With a high-profile partner and a focus on reaching under-served markets, Mozilla might just be onto something.
On Monday, Mozilla announced its partnership with Foxconn (Also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), and now Taiwan’s national news agency is reporting that we can expect a Firefox OS tablet announcement early next month. Mozilla has confirmed that it will be announcing a product on June 3, but declined to comment further. It’s quite clear that Mozilla isn’t content with just a few niche handsets, and Foxconn wants to grow well beyond its infamous partnership with Apple.
Without question, this strategic partnership is beneficial for both companies. Fabricating gaming consoles and iOS devices has made Foxconn one of the biggest electronics manufacturers in the world, but there is much more room to grow by expanding into other markets. Mozilla is going directly after the growing markets in South America, Eastern Europe, and Southern Europe, so having a tablet available will help make the Firefox OS ecosystem substantially more appealing.
Apple reportedly cut iPhone 5 orders earlier this year, console sales are slumping, and the PC market is in the toilet. It’s no surprise that Foxconn is jumping into bed with a new company in hopes of making up for recent sales issues. While Firefox OS has a long road to hoe, the intense concentration on non-traditional markets could potentially pay off with substantial worldwide marketshare in the long run, and Foxconn wants in on that.
So, where is the support for North America and Western Europe? Those are hard nuts to crack thanks to the overwhelming dominance of iOS and Android. BlackBerry and Microsoft have been trying to penetrate the consumer smartphone and tablet market for years now, but they’ve seen little success recently. Smaller platforms like Firefox OS or Ubuntu Touch will have even more difficulty gaining traction in saturated markets, and that’s why North American and Western Europe seem to be getting ignored here. If Firefox OS takes off in the rest of the world, it’s possible that Foxconn’s relationships and manufacturing prowess can be used to cross over into the mature markets.