- DT to roll out Firefox OS to Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia and Montenegro by summer 2014
- Two new devices hitting shelves: ALCATEL ONETOUCH FIRE C and ALCATEL ONETOUCH FIRE E
- Future of Mobile Privacy features enable users to protect their information
Deutsche Telekom is further expanding and deepening its commitment to the Mozilla Firefox OS project. Over the course of the year, the company will introduce smartphones with the Firefox OS to Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia and Montenegro. Two new devices, the ALCATEL ONETOUCH FIRE C and the ALCATEL ONETOUCH FIRE E will also be hitting shelves by summer 2014. In addition, Deutsche Telekom, in close collaboration with the Mozilla Foundation, has developed the Future of Mobile Privacy features to enable users to protect their own personal information themselves - clearly and easily. International rollout Following the launches in Poland, Hungary and Greece and by second brand congstar in Germany in 2013, Deutsche Telekom is poised to launch Firefox OS devices in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia and Montenegro by the end of the second quarter of 2014. “The continuing rollout across our European markets is tangible proof of our drive to push Firefox OS together with Mozilla and bring an open operating system to all of our customers,” said Thomas Kiessling, Chief Product & Innovation Officer at Deutsche Telekom. “The introduction of an even more affordable handset on the one hand and a higher-end model on the other also show we are reaching out to more market segments.” New devices In order to reach out to a still broader customer base, Deutsche Telekom is launching two new devices that run on the Firefox OS across the eight national companies now carrying it. They will be launched by summer 2014. The ALCATEL ONETOUCH FIRE E is bringing Firefox OS to the mass market with a higher-end device that offers a high-quality design and advanced features. The device’s compact form is just 7.9 mm thick with a brushed metallic finish for a high-quality look and feel. It features a 4.5-inch IPS display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor for fast Web browsing. The 5-megapixel camera has autofocus and an LED flash to enable users to capture life’s precious moments. On the other side of the spectrum the ALCATEL ONETOUCH FIRE C is in line with the project’s initial approach by targeting even more price-conscious customers who are looking for a phone with all the basic functions. It features a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen and a 2-megapixel camera. Future of Mobile Privacy Working in close cooperation with Mozilla, Deutsche Telekom has developed three user-friendly features to bring data privacy closer to customers. With Guest Mode, users can hide their personal data including call and Internet browsing history and their address books when they are sharing their phones with other people. Location blur allows them to decide how precisely specific apps can access their location: a weather app, for instance, does not need to know your exact street address, whereas a navigation app does. The Find My Phone feature enables the user to locate and delete all the data from their smartphone if it is lost or stolen. Unlike other similar solutions, this feature does not require central registration of the device. Firefox OS, as an open, customizable platform, provides Deutsche Telekom with a unique way to demonstrate leadership and test market demand for privacy enhancements included in future products. This fits exactly into the data protection principals of Deutsche Telekom: trust, transparency, responsibility and avoidance. These and other features that are part of the Future of Mobile Privacy concept will be introduced in subsequent Firefox OS releases and versions.
About Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies with 140 million mobile customers, over 31 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of September 30, 2013). The Group provides fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in around 50 countries and has 230,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 58.2 billion in the 2012 financial year – more than half of it outside Germany (as of December 31, 2012).