Telefonica takes on Google and Apple with Mozilla deal The company is working with the not-for-profit organisation to launch a new operating system based on the Firefox internet browser that Mozilla owns. The system will allow developers to produce apps based on HTML5 - the main computer language used for the internet - which it says will require considerably less effort and investment than producing apps for the Apple and Google-owned systems. At the moment, Apple and Google are locked in a battle to dominate the smartphone market through the iOS operating system, installed in all of Apple's iPhone and iPad devices, and Google's Android platform, which is licensed free of charge to suppliers such as Samsung and has effectively edged out most other competitors. Telefonica and Mozilla have been in talks for some time about introducing a third platform to help shake up the market, and will unveil detailed plans this evening, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The first smartphones on the new system could be launched in two to three months.