--A ZTE executive says the company plans to launch smartphones
using a mobile operating system it developed with Mozilla
--ZTE also plans to release smartphones using Microsoft's
Windows Phone operating system at the end of this year or early
next year
--ZTE's plans come after Acer's decision to postpone the launch
of a smartphone using Alibaba Group Holding's mobile operating
system
(Adds Alibaba's mobile OS in paragraphs 5 and 6, smartphone OS
data in paragraph 7, ZTE's market share in paragraph 8)
By Paul Mozur and Juro Osawa
BEIJING--Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp.
(0763.HK) plans to launch smartphones using a mobile operating
system it developed with Mozilla, the U.S. software company behind
the Firefox web browser, in the first quarter of next year.
The move is the latest indication that handset makers are
looking beyond Google Inc.'s (GOOG) dominant Android mobile
operating system as they try to diversify the software platforms
for their smartphones and other mobile devices. While Apple Inc.'s
(AAPL) iPhone uses its own iOS software, most other smartphones
currently sold around the world are powered by Android.
ZTE Executive Vice President He Shiyou said at a press briefing
Wednesday that the company, one of China's largest mobile handset
makers, will also launch smartphones using Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT)
Windows Phone 8 operating system at the end of this year or early
next year.
Along with Microsoft's Windows Phone 8, the new mobile operating
system from Mozilla and ZTE will fuel discussions world-wide about
possible alternatives to Android. Potential alternatives are
drawing more attention as the technology industry is closely
watching Apple's patent war against rival smartphone makers using
the Google software.
ZTE's smartphone launch plans also come after Taiwanese personal
computer maker Acer Inc. (2353.TW) last week postponed its release
in China of a new smartphone using Alibaba Group Holding's Aliyun
mobile operating system, after Google objected to the phone's
launch.
Google said Alibaba's Aliyun "was derived from Android" yet it
isn't compatible with Android. Acer, a handset maker that is part
of the Android ecosystem, isn't allowed to ship non-compatible
Android devices, Google said. Alibaba, China's biggest e-commerce
company, strongly disagreed with Google's view, saying that some of
Aliyun's key software components were developed by Alibaba and are
different from those used in Android.
According to market research firm IDC, 68.1% of smartphones
shipped worldwide in the second quarter used Android, while 16.9%
were Apple products running on iOS. Microsoft's Windows Phone
mobile operating system accounted for only 3.5%.
ZTE, whose main business is providing telecommunications
infrastructure and equipment, entered the mobile handset business
in 2002. ZTE accounted for 5.2% of all the smartphones shipped
worldwide in the second quarter, up sharply from 1.8% a year
earlier, according to IDC, ranking the company fifth after Samsung
Electronics Co., Apple, Nokia Corp. and HTC Corp. of Taiwan.
Write to Paul Mozur at paul.mozur@dowjones.com and Juro Osawa at
juro.osawa@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
