Right now, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are the ones competing for the top spot in mobile, with Android gaining on Apple’s lead by being an “open source” project. But with companies filing patent infringement cases against Android, their spot in the race is being compromised, effecting the mobile ecosystem’s diversity.  So will the tech world just submit to Apple’s dominance?  Mozilla says no.

Mozilla, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web, is now busy with a project to design an OS for smartphones and tablets.  The OS will have some parts similar to Android’s mobile OS but the rest will all be original.  The release of this OS will directly compete with Android as it will become available to the same handsets and tablets that currently have Android for OS.

The project is being called Boot to Gecko, or B2G.  Project developers aim to get applications running without the need for the browser, effectively creating a web-centered operating system.

Mozilla researcher Andreas Gal announced: “We propose a project we’re calling “Boot to Gecko” (B2G) to pursue the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web.  It’s going to require work in a number of areas.”

“We will do this work in the open, we will release the source in real-time, we will take all successful additions to an appropriate standards group, and we will track changes that come out of that process.  We aren’t trying to have these native-grade apps just run on Firefox, we’re trying to have them run on the web,” said Gal.

If the project pushes through, Mozilla may be able to beat Android’s dominance on non-Apple devices due to the fact that app developers are getting pissed with the way Android’s ‘open source’ code operates. Developers are finding it tedious to keep rewriting their app codes because Android’s readable source code is released months after giving the code to them, resulting in many wasted apps or having to do everything from scratch – again.

And as for Apple getting stricter with their policies, especially with the one that prohibits developers from providing in-app links to their own out-of-app content, Mozilla’s OS may just be the breath of fresh air needed by the developer community.