Mozilla, the makers of Firefox and Thunderbird, keeps up with the constant evolution in mobile technology and is developing a standalone operating system for the open web, dubbed as Boot 2 Gecko (B2G).

Though in its infancy, B2G aims to operate for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, rather than notebooks. The idea of this to have an environment that gives access to native applications through web technologies. Mozilla is very open with the development of the B2G that it created a wiki site where developers can give valuable inputs and suggestions.

Boot 2 Gecko apps are based on the HTML5 the main competitor of Flash, is believed to compete with Chrome OS. Though Mozilla announced that they will not use proprietary technologies, reports say that Mozilla OS will still be based on Android.

But with the numerous OS out in the market, is it good move for Mozilla to develop its own? Here's a closer look of why Boot 2 Gecko is not a good idea as reported by eWeek.com.

Beat Android

Claiming to be better than Android would be harder than Mozilla could think of. Considering that it will still use Android to run on mobile devices. Androids popularity is at its peak, and vendor support is getting better. It is also debatable if the market still needs another open source platform, since the industry already have Android. Patent is also an issue since Mozilla's core is based in Android.

Timing

In every business venture, timing is everything. If Mozilla wants to be successful in the mobile market, it should work hard and fast. Android is getting its way up as Samsung, HTC, T Mobile and the like, opted an open source OS for their handsets. On the other hand Nokia is in the works with Microsoft. Blackberry and Apple have their own proprietary operating systems. So where does Mozilla go?

Planning

Mozilla should have a concrete plan for Boot 2 Gecko. In the wiki page of B2G, there's still a long list of things to be done. When asked what is B2G in its FAQ site, Mozilla answered that it is and "exploratory project with the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web. It is not a product offering, but if successful, could form the basis for one". Does this mean that Mozilla is still experimenting, and no concrete end product? When asked as to when to expect some development, Mozilla again answered "We're very early in the project, soliciting suggestions and contributions from a lot of people. As we have more specific estimates for different pieces of functionality, they'll be shared widely". Timeline is a part of the planning process. When specific tasks are not done at a given period, the whole project implementation would be delayed and would affect credibility and quality as well.

Competition

Mozilla should know what it's up against. Competing with the giants is a risky move and the chance of winning the game is very little. By the time Mozilla released B2G, Android has dominated the mobile industry, along with iOS, BB OS, Symbian and Windows. There's still a long list of tried and tested OS being used by other mobile phones in the market. Some operating systems are unknown to buyers; some they don't even know are installed in their mobile devices, such as MeeGo and Bada. After all, Apple and Windows would not allow Mozilla to succeed, because of proprietary standards as it could have a tangible and negative effect on their mobile goals.

Another issue Mozilla should take into consideration is the support from mobile phone manufacturers/companies. Samsung for example is supported by multiple operating systems; in fact some of these operating systems made their company quite an amount for revenue. It would be difficult for Samsung to experiment on investing in a newly developed OS, since their current OS even made them at the top of the rank.

Power

Boot 2 Gecko's goal is stated as "breaking the stronghold of proprietary technologies over the mobile device world". The question now is does Mozilla have the power to live with its goal? Ever since the Mozilla announced development of its own OS, a lot of assessment and evaluation had been done by experts. Could Mozilla live up with the power required to compete with Google, Apple, RIM, Windows and Symbian, or would it remain to be known as the maker of Firefox?