The HTC HD2 smartphone is one that remains newsworthy due to its favoritism in the developer community due to its surprisingly open ability to be hacked. For over three and a half years, this device has been a go-to smartphone for the most intrepid developers looking to prove their might in hacking, pushing everything from Windows Phone 7 to Android to this machine where it’d otherwise only be running a relatively ancient operating system.

Here in the spring of 2013, the HTC HD2 has received a port of the internet-based Firefox OS. This operating system is otherwise known as Boot2Gecko and has been on its way to the public for over a year. Earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, a global convention for mobile devices and services, we saw the first wave of Firefox OS smartphones – now it’s time for the operating system to spread.

Of course here on the HTC HD2 with a first port of the system, not every feature of the system works right out of the box. In its first reveal, the HTC HD2 Firefox OS port had camera issues, SIM card detection breaks, and issues with the resolution of the device’s display being detected. That said, the deed remains done: the HTC HD2 now has another notch in its sword hilt, growing in versatility as it remains the developer community’s most hackable device.

SlashGear readers hoping to run this port on their own treasured HTC HD2 should follow the XDA Forum Post which details the information shared above. There a download awaits for the brave. It’s important to remember that this, like all hacks of this nature, is not a situation you’ll be wanting to present to your local mobile carrier if you’re in need of repairs in the future. In other words: hack at your own risk.

The HTC HD2 has also run Windows RT, a full version of Windows 8, and Windows Phone 7 in the past several years. It’s also run MeeGo, Android 2.2 Froyo and a few more – the list continues to grow!

The idea that Mozilla would launch a mobile operating system the way they’re saying they will is more than just exciting, it’s revolutionary: not only would Boot2Gecko be open like no operating system has ever been open before, it would be able to run inside any web browser. Analysts are saying that this system is essentially what Google’s Chrome is but much lower tech. Underneath the Boot2Gecko face of the project is a set of Web APIs which allow both JavaScript and HTML5 to speak with your smartphone or computer’s hardware.

This system will allow anyone to skin it, anyone to create their own web store for applications for it, and will generally take the mobile world on a whole new path to unknown places – if it gets adopted, that is.

And that’s a bit if. If LG works with Mozilla to have their devices, or just one developer device as this tip suggests, there’s a much greater chance the Firefox-related OS will stand a chance in this landscape than if Mozilla simply offered it out to whoever wanted to use it and left it at that. We’re excited to take a closer peek at whatever Mozilla has for us to get our hands on this weekend and next week at Mobile World Congress 2012. Mozilla, wow us!

[via ExtremeTech]

What Mozilla Chief Technology Officer Brandan Eich said this week was that “B2G is partnering up” and to look for “more at MWC.” We expect to see at least some hardware partners, but perhaps a whole lot more on the software side of things. If you take a peek at what they’ve got set up thus far for preview, you’ll note that Facebook and Google Maps are already integrated, but it may just be for demonstration’s sake. Having just seen the user interface for the B2G system thus far, we’re excited to see the whole operating system in action.

Earlier this week at the newest unveiling of a set of Mozilla products, Jay Sullivan, Mozilla’s vice president of products of the plan, had the following to say of B2G:

“A truly Web-based OS for mobile phones and tablets would enable the ultimate in user choice and developer opportunity, both from a technology and an ecosystem point of view. Boot to Gecko is a project to build a OS that runs HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS directly on device hardware without the need for an intermediate OS layer.” – Sullivan

Would you consider using a web-based software on your mobile device? What this would mean is access to the local files you’ve got now potentially, but mostly a cloud-based experience not all that unlike what Google is doing with their Chrome OS. We’ll be getting a much better look (we hope!) at Boot to Gecko sooner than later. Until then, cross your fingers it comes to fruition!

[via Brendan Eich]

This whole setup is being created by teams at Mozilla to one day perhaps tie the entire mobile operating system world together with one basic system. Most of the components you’ll see in the B2G environment are able to be made and work in a basic web browser – be it desktop, smartphone, tablet based or whatever you like. Because of this, its very possible that we’ll see this so-called operating system fully functional in what Mozilla says could be the second quarter of 2012!

That’s a “product stage” in Q2 of 2012, so says Mozilla, and we’re convinced they can do it. What we’re not quite convinced of yet is Mozilla’s ability to convince the world that it makes more sense to use their open-sourced system when there’s already several mobile operating systems well in effect: Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Symbian to name a few. What we’re sure of is the idea that the gigantic batches of technical information on the back end of the browser that Mozilla has listed for developers will fall on deaf ears if presented to consumers as interesting in the least.

Instead what Mozilla will have to do is present the ultra simple to understand components of the Gaia user interface as they exist today. The images you see above and below are Gaia. You might say the look a bit familiar if you’ve ever used an Android or an iOS device in the past. Getting past the opening screen is quite similar to an LG or Samsung device in that you pull up the Gecko-laden clock like a garage door. At the moment this is all just a face to put with a body that will be developed in a much more grand sense in the very near future – a lot of this doesn’t do a whole lot yet, but certainly will soon, especially given the fact that it could have a massive impact on the mobile world and Mozilla is already in the non-profit market and does quite well for itself and has for some time.

We’ll certainly be seeing more of Boot2Gecko in the near future – for now you can try out the Gaia user interface by heading to this GitHub repository, downloading the files as a zip file, opening them up and opening the homescreen.html file inside the folder you get with your Firefox browser. Again not a whole lot works yet, but it’s interesting to see!

Also note that when you open up the Map app, it immediately directs you to Barcelona. You know what that means! Mobile World Congress 2012 action is in order – we’ll see you there!