The Mozilla Foundation has released a sort of non-profit’s
annual report, "The State of Mozilla," which provides a glimpse
under the covers of the popular browser and e-mail provider.
The report also updates Mozilla’s plans for the mobile world.
Firefox for the Android operating system will be available "in a
few months," according to the report, which noted the Firefox 4
Beta was designed to appeal to end users as well as developers.
While Mozilla didn’t release specifics, it said it has
designed a prototype of an "Open Web App ecosystem" that hints at
creating an open app store platform that won’t be
device-specific.
"The current app model also has traits that threaten some of the
characteristics that have made the web so vibrant a platform,
particularly in the mobile space," the report states. It went on to
note that its prototype app ecosystem includes "a system design,
technical documentation and examples of what such a system would
look like and work like."
Mozilla said it is in a healthy position both financially and
organizationally; its revenues have grown and rose to USD 104
million in 2009 from USD 78 million in 2008. The company noted that
the majority of its revenue comes from search functionality from
organizations like Google, Yahoo, Yandex, Amazon and eBay.
The largest piece of revenue comes from Google, with which it has
enjoyed close ties. However, Google’s Chrome browser has been
rapidly growing and could represent serious competition to Mozilla
in the future. Mozilla said it has signed up about 400 million
users, of which 140 million are active.