State-controlled China Daily reports a company spokesman as saying that ZTE is working with Mozilla, which supplies open source web browser Firefox, to introduce a new mobile operating system. “We are increasing our efforts to develop our own operating system,” said ZTE executive vice president He Shiyou.
“It's part of our broader plan to create a better balance of products using various operating systems. We don’t want to have to rely on Android or Windows.”
The report says ZTE is in talks with overseas carriers to offer devices with the new operating system to reduce its reliance on Android. “ZTE believes its smartphone sales will double this year amid market share gains in Europe, North America, Brazil and Japan.”
ZTE is based in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, where Huawei and many other Chinese telecommunications companies are headquartered. IDC places it fourth in the Chinese mobile phone marketplace, and with 5% of all global mobile phone shipments.
ZTE’s annual revenues exceed $US10 billion. In Australia it supplies 3G handsets and data devices to Telstra, which the carrier resells under its own name (the Uno, Smart Touch, Roamer and others).
