By late 2012, consumers can expect to see the launch of mobile phones running an operating system developed by the makers of Firefox, the popular web browser. The news has been confirmed by Ztop, a Brazilian blog, which confirmed that the handsets featuring the new Mozilla-designed software will be made available in the South American state first.
Known as Boot to Gecko, the new operating system has been designed to compete with Google's Android alternative, which is currently the dominant force in the lucrative smartphone market.
Gary Kovacs, chief executive of Mozilla, explained that the openness of the new software would make a difference to the way applications on phones operate, making the process more enjoyable for the consumer.
Speaking in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, Mr Kovacs said that the operating system was given the Geko tag because it is the element of Firefox that determines how to display web pages in its browser.
Ultimately, Firefox hopes to make the app market more accessible and easier to navigate for consumers. By doing so, the firm hopes to compete with Google in the ultra-competitive market.
Through Boot to Gecko, the firm plans to make apps more like individual web pages. Additionally, the plan is to make it even easier for consumers to share data and web links, according to Mr Kovacs.
The firm has refused to reveal who would make the new handsets that Telefonica Vivo was planning to offer to its 90 million customers. It did, though, confirm that the new handsets would not be significantly more expensive than regular feature phones.
And while an exact date for the new operating system has still to be announced, Telefonica was happy to confirm that the new handsets should be on the market by the end of 2012 or early 2013, at the latest.