BARCELONA — Mozilla, the organization behind the Firefox mobile operating system, has announced a major new partnership with Spreadtrum, a Chinese chip set manufacturer, in a move that promises to usher in the era of ultra-affordable smartphones. Mozilla's new $25 smartphone is being touted as a brand new pathway to underserved users without the cash to pony up for what is traditionally a more expensive smartphone option compared to a flip phone.
"Everyone else is trying to make iPhone competitors," Andreas Gal, vice president mobile for Mozilla, told Mashable. "For example, every release of Android continues to try to compete with the iPhone, so it moves the entire Android ecosystem up in terms of price point. As a result, manufacturers have essentially vacated the space of entry-level priced smartphones."
See also: Why Is Mozilla Building a Mobile OS?
Gal's sentiments reflect a trend at this year's Mobile World Congress toward introducing lower-priced smartphones designed to capture the next big wave of potential users in nations with large low-income populations.
"If you look at the opportunity it's huge," says Gal. "Billions of people out there are looking to get online and get connected, and they're all in a part of the world where the iPhone is only financially viable for a very small segment of the local population. So now, for $25, this is the other alternative… We 're really not interested at all in competing with the iPhone.
Huawei also gave the public its first look at the company's Firefox smartphone. The understated handset offers a 4-inch screen, a 5-megapixel camera and a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera, and 512 megabytes of internal memory, all running on a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. Also on display were Firefox phones from Alcatel, ZTE and traditionally high-end smartphone manufacturer LG.

Image: Adario Strange, Mashable

Because Mozilla's $25 smartphone is a reference design targeted at OEMs, there's no hard date for when we'll see this ultra-low-priced smartphone hit the market, but the Spreadtrum deal means we'll likely begin seeing these handsets appear on the market in the very near future.

Sony introduced the 10.1-inch Xperia Z2 Tablet with an ultra-thin, waterproof case.
Sony also decided to upgrade its mid-range smartphone offering with the Xperia M2.
Sony unveiled the Xperia Z2, the company's new flagship smartphone, a mere four months after introducing Xperia Z1 and one year after launching the first phone in the series, the Xperia Z.
Nokia unveiled the Nokia X, a budget-model Android phone priced at 89 euros (roughly $120).
LG also introduced the G2 mini, a device the company is calling its first "compact smartphone." The screen measures just 4.7 inches and comes with either a 1.7GHz or 1.2GHz quad-core processor and a 13-megapixel or 8-megapixel camera capable of shooting 4K video.
LG introduced the G Pro 2 on Sunday, a device designed to give phablet lovers a significant performance upgrade. Complete with a 5.9-inch HD IPS display and a 13-megapixel camera with OIS+ (Optical Image Stabilizer Plus) it is powered by a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and comes in Silver, White and Titan.
Alcatel introduced the Fire E in a range of bright colors, a new addition to their line on Firefox smartphones.
Alcatel introduced the One Touch Idol 2, an Android 4.3 (Kit Kat) smartphone with a 5-inch display.
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