Standards Body Forms to Oversee Firefox OS Certification, Branding
In a very short time, Mozilla has gathered quite a lot of hardware partners around its Firefox OS mobile platform, and a growing number of carriers, some of which are among the biggest telecom players in the world. These range from Deutsche Telekom to Telefónica. Now, Mozilla and a key group of hardware and telecom partners have announced a new review board that will function as "an independently operated organization designed to promote the success of the open Web device ecosystem by encouraging API compliance as well as ensuring competitive performance."
The review board will perform various types of certification for Firefox OS phones and services, and will also provide oversight of the branding of the Firefox OS initiative. The group is called the Open Web Device Compliance Review Board, or CRB.
“Users want a wide selection of devices and great apps. Operators, device OEMs and vendors want to be able to develop and test quickly and independently, in order to get new products to market. The CRB will enable partners to do so efficiently, reliably and confidently,” said Andreas Gal, vice president of mobile at Mozilla and president of the CRB, in a statement. “This is the next step in building the ecosystem and will make it easier for partners to get a wide selection of high-quality solutions into consumers’ hands quickly and efficiently.”
According to the announcement, the CRB will support device manufacturers and technology partners to standardize performance, and will also:
Ensure API compliance and make the experience of open Web devices consistent for consumers
Enable device OEMs and carriers to improve time to market
Minimize OEM costs required for compatibility testing
Participants in the CRB at launch include some big technology players. They are: Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, LG, Mozilla, Qualcomm Technologies, Sony Mobile Communications Inc., Spreadtrum, TCL/ALCATEL ONETOUCH, Telefónica, Telenor and ZTE.
The CRB is apparently going to designate some external labs for certification testing, although they aren't all chosen yet. Especially since Firefox OS is aimed at so many global markets, it's wise for a centralized standards body to oversee its branding and monitor compatibility. The CRB is expected to go to work immediately, and there is more information at https://openwebdevice.org.