Can Firefox Burn Apple and Android?

By Tim Beyers – Mar 1, 2013 at 8:30PM

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A new mobile OS brings the open Web to every mobile device.

By now you've heard the news: Firefox, the popular desktop browser, is now a pure HTML5 operating system capable of running any sort of web app. Talk about disruptive.

We've known this was coming for a while. But no one could have foreseen how fast carriers would take to the OS as a potential supplement or even substitute for Apple's (AAPL 1.27%) iOS. Spain's Telefonica (TEF -0.68%) is already distributing a Firefox handset in price-sensitive markets. Qualcomm (QCOM 1.41%) has agreed to supply the chip architecture. Not bad for an upstart.

How big a threat is the Firefox OS to mobile incumbents like Apple and Google? What about the emerging tandem of Microsoft and Nokia? Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova addresses these questions and more in the video below. Please watch, and then be sure to leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Apple and Google at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.

The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm, Apple, and Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Microsoft, Google, and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a covered bull call spread position in Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.