-- Announcement Marks Key Point in Development of Open Source Mobile Ecosystem

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Web Device Compliance Review Board (CRB), in conjunction with its members ALCATEL ONE TOUCH, Deutsche Telekom, Mozilla, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and Telefónica, has announced the first handsets to be certified by the CRB. The CRB is an independently operated organization designed to promote the success of the open Web device ecosystem by encouraging API compliance as well as ensuring competitive performance.

The two devices are the Alcatel ONETOUCH Fire C and the Alcatel ONETOUCH Fire E. ALCATEL ONETOUCH has also authorized a CRB lab.

The certification process involves OEMs applying to the CRB for their device to be certified. CRB's authorized labs test the device for open web APIs and key performance benchmarks. CRB's subject matter experts review the results and validate against CRB stipulated benchmarks with a reference device to ensure compatibility and performance across key use cases. The two ALCATEL ONETOUCH devices passed the CRB authorized test lab procedure and met all CRB certification requirements.

The process is open to all device vendors whether they are a member of CRB or not. The CRB website www.openwebdevice.org will publish the process for applying for certification.

CRB certification testing is conducted by industry labs authorized by the CRB, with each submission expected to be completed within approximately three days. The CRB offers a platform for the rest of the industry to request certification.

"As an initial founding member of the CRB, we are pleased to know that the Board has achieved one of its major objectives in certifying Firefox OS devices on a standard set of Web APIs and performance metrics," said Jason Bremner, Senior Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "We expect other companies will also certify, improving their product development cycle time while ensuring a compelling user experience and compliance to standard Web APIs."

"As one of the partners of the CRB and owners of these certified devices, ALCATEL ONETOUCH is excited to witness the solid progress and achievements made by all members," said Alain Lejeune, Senior Vice President, ALCATEL ONETOUCH. "In the coming year, ALCATEL ONETOUCH will continue to contribute to the CRB and establishment of the Firefox OS ecosystem. This news is not only an honor for us but will inspire more Firefox OS partners to strive for certification."

"In the last three years Mozilla has proven with Firefox OS that open Web technology is a strong, viable platform for mobile," said Andreas Gal, Chief Technology Officer, Mozilla. "Certification by the CRB provides a launch pad for those who complete to prove that their device offers a consistent and excellent experience for users, reducing time and cost to qualify across operators and markets. Today's announcement paves the way for other device makers to reach this milestone."

"TELEFÓNICA supports the opportunities that an open Web ecosystem delivers to mobile consumers," said Francisco Montalvo, Head of Group Devices Unit at TELEFÓNICA S.A.. "Having CRB as a product certification scheme helps all the partners guarantee that rich Web content is delivered to certified devices with the right level of quality. We are glad to collaborate on this effort."

"Deutsche Telekom is pleased to be a close partner with Mozilla, Qualcomm, Telefonica, and ALCATEL ONETOUCH among others in the development of the Firefox OS," said Louis Schreier, Vice President of Telekom Innovation Laboratories' Silicon Valley Innovation Center. "As one of the founding members of the CRB, our goal in focusing on API compliance and performance is to establish a uniform set of requirements, test and acceptance criteria, enabling uniform and independent testing by accredited labs."

For more information about the Open Web Device Compliance Review Board, please visit https://openwebdevice.org.

About the CRB

The Open Web Device Compliance Review Board (CRB) is an independently operated organization designed to promote the success of the open Web device ecosystem. It is a partnership between operators, device OEMs, silicon vendors and test solution providers to define and evolve a process to encourage API compatibility and competitive performance for devices. Standards are based on Mozilla's principles of user privacy and control.

Related Links

https://openwebdevice.org

SOURCE Open Web Device Compliance Review Board