China-based ZTE has launched the world’s first smartphone powered by the latest version of Firefox OS, on eBay US, UK, Germany and global buying hub sites.

The ZTE Open C offers users a sleek intuitive design equipped with features including a four-inch screen and a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor based on the A7 architecture.

It is the first smartphone to ship with the latest version of Firefox OS, bringing performance improvements, enhanced messaging and multimedia capabilities to first time smartphone users at an affordable price. The ZTE Open C, priced at $99.99, is now available to eBay users in the US, UK, Germany, Russia and more than 20 other European countries.

“We are excited to work together with Mozilla and eBay to offer the ZTE Open C to consumers globally, following our successful collaboration last year,” said Adam Zeng, CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices. “ZTE will continue to make a comprehensive range of innovative devices available to appeal to consumers who demand great user experience and performance, at different price points.”

In August 2013, ZTE and eBay collaborated to launch the ZTE Open, the world’s first smartphone powered by Firefox OS, directly to first time smartphone customers in markets around the world. The ZTE Open sold out only three days after launching, a company statement said.

The latest version of Firefox OS offers many new features including: better email functionality with POP3 support, enhanced MMS capabilities, direct music player access from the lock screen or notifications bar, improved sorting of Gallery media to make it easier to find photos and advanced Bluetooth sharing to allow multiple files to be transferred simultaneously.

Users can also now get to where they want to go faster with enhanced scrolling performance and system app (e.g. calendar, address book, camera) startup times, according to the statement.

“We are pleased that ZTE is delivering another Firefox OS device, building on the success of the ZTE Open,” said Dr Li Gong, Mozilla chief operating officer. “The ZTE Open C is an amazing experience for first time smartphone buyers.”

“We’re excited that ZTE has again decided to debut its Open C on eBay,” said John Lin, CEO of eBay Greater China. “eBay, with its 145 million active buyers around the world, is uniquely positioned to help Chinese brands such as ZTE reach global consumers directly and expand worldwide.” – TradeArabia News Service