Mozilla confirms Firefox OS smartphones coming to eBay for less than $90 unlocked

Mozilla has announced the ZTE Open smartphone will be sold unlocked on eBay for less than $90.

In a statement, Mozilla says an orange version of the device will be exclusively sold through ZTE’s US and UK eBay stores for $US79.99 and £59.99 respectively.

While Mozilla says the devices will work globally on GSM networks, it warns users not to expect network-specific apps or optimisations on the device.

“There won’t be any local apps or features because these devices are general, unlocked global variants targeted at developers and early adopters around the globe. As the devices are open market devices, they are not optimised for specific networks,” Mozilla stated.

In its statement, ZTE promises the device will support Nokia HERE maps, as well as integration with Facebook and Twitter.

“The ZTE Open is powered by Firefox OS, which frees developers, operators and consumers from the constraints of existing closed ecosystems by using the Web as the platform for all functionality and applications,” ZTE stated.

“Applications already available on the Firefox Marketplace include: eBay, Badoo, Terra, KAYAK, The Weather Channel, TMZ, AOL, Wikipedia, CNNMoney, Huffington Post, TIME, Facebook, Airbnb, Time Out, Twitter and SoundCloud.”

The low-end smartphone is significantly less powerful than an iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4, featuring a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, a 3.2-megapixel camera and supports Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi.

The device was released in Spain during July, and has since begun shipping on a range of other networks.