First Firefox OS Phone Arrives in India, Priced at $33

Mozilla has announced that the first smartphone running its Firefox OS mobile operating system is now on sale in India, following earlier reports that a low-cost phone would arrive there in July.

The phone is called Cloud FX and is built by Intex Technologies, an Indian phone maker. It went on sale on the Snapdeal.com website on Monday for 1,999 rupees (Rs.), or approximately $33.

“It is exciting to see the Intex Cloud FX now available as the first Firefox OS device in India and Asia. The positive consumer feedback from other markets tells us that people like the unique user experience and openness we’re building with Firefox OS. With support from Intex, Firefox OS smartphones in the ultra-low-cost category will redefine the entry-level smartphone and create strong momentum in Asia,” said Dr. Li Gong, President of Mozilla.

“The launch of Intex Cloud FX marks the beginning of a new era of the Indian smartphone market and Intex is proud to be the first Indian company to understand and deliver on market needs. With the launch of Intex Cloud FX, we aim to enable the masses to get smartphone experience at the cost of a feature phone. We are delighted to partner with Snapdeal.com, the partnership allows us to offer the smartphone pan-India at a revolutionary cost,” said Keshav Bansal, Director, Marketing, Intex Technologies.

 “The launch of India’s first Firefox OS smartphone by Intex and at such a lucrative price point, exclusively on Snapdeal.com, is very exciting, given the enablement it will provide to current feature phone users to upgrade to a high quality smart phone. We are sure to see a very positive response from our customers,” said Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder & CEO, Snapdeal.com.

The Intex Cloud FX phone comeswith Firefox OS, a 1.0 GHz processor and expandable memory of up to 4GB. It boasts dual-SIM capabilities, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and has built-in features for users to monitor their data usage.

Several languages are supported on the phone, including Hindi and Tamil.

Higher cost Firefox OS phones have been selling in Hungary, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Greece.  They have even sold in limited quantities on eBay in other regions, including the U.S., illustrating that there are interested users around the world.

Earlier reports had noted that Firefox OS phones would arrive in India for about $50, but Intex delivered a lower cost option, and the phones could potentially reach a lot of users in India's fast-growing mobile market.