Firefox-powered phones coming to Europe?

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BRUSSELS, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A Chinese manufacturer says smartphones from the creators of the Firefox Web browser and running a Firefox operating system could be launched in Europe in 2013.

Phone-equipment company ZTE said it was working with a European wireless carrier to sell Mozilla's Firefox OS-powered phones, although it would not disclose which carrier would be offering them, the BBC reported Thursday.

The phones will compete with devices running Google's Android operating system but only at the lower end of the smartphone market, ZTE head Cheng Lixin said.

He said the phones could be marketed in the United States this year if there was sufficient demand.

"We closely monitor the ecosystem and how it evolves. If that is ready and if consumer studies support that data, then we may launch one in the United States also this year," he said.

Jay Sullivan, vice president of products at Mozilla, said the company was also in talks with equipment makers Qualcomm and TCL Communication Technology Holdings on the devices.