Sony was one of the first major companies to announce their support for Mozilla's new Firefox OS just a couple of days ago but we had no idea they already had something in the works. Today the Japanese company released an experimental Firefox OS ROM for developers to use on its ultra low end Xperia E smartphone.
The announcement shows that Sony is serious about supporting the web-based operating system and will give developers a head-start on working with Mozilla. Of course, Sony expects something in return - valuable community feedback.
A post on Sony's developer blog gives readers an introduction to Firefox OS and highlights the architecture behind the new mobile platform. There are steps to assist users in the process of flashing Firefox OS to their Xperia E handsets. As always, it should be understood that unlocking the boot loader may void the device's warranty.
Once installed, you'll likely want to spend some extra time reading the post as Sony outlines some key steps and links to some useful resources to get you started. Your second stop would likely be the Mozilla Developer Network as they have an extensive set of documentation on how to write an application as well as details on emulators, the privileged access model and debugging instructions.
It's worth pointing out that while the ROM is designed for developers, anyone with an Xperia E smartphone can download it and take the plunge. Just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.