15May

Firefox For Android Beta Gets Native UI, Improved Performance And Support for Flash

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Firefox Beta - Android Apps on Google Play-1

Mozilla was late to the mobile revolution and is still playing catch-up with Firefox for mobile. It’s starting to look as if Firefox for Android is slowly becoming a competitive player on Google’s platform, though. Today, Mozilla is launching its most radical redesign of its browser for Android in beta. This new version features a redesigned interface that, according to Mozilla, “blends in with the Android user interface.” The beta now also features support for Adobe’s Flash plugin, as well as the usual performance improvements and bug fixes.

Firefox for Android Beta is now available in Google Play and unlike Google’s own impressive Chrome for Android, it will work on any phone running Android 2.2 and above (including, of course, Ice Cream Sandwich). For now, it’s only available in English, though.

The highlight of this release is, without doubt, the new native user interface. This new update, however, also features an improved version of what Mozilla calls the “Awesome Screen,” its smart mobile homepage for Firefox.

In addition, the Firefox team has worked on improving startup and response times for the browser, as well as the browser’s overall graphic performance. Thanks to hardware acceleration, web apps and games on the browser should now also run significantly more smoothly on Firefox for Android. Redoing the user interface, of course, should also give the browser a bit of a speed bump.

Mozilla also promises better text readability in this version by using font size inflation.

The fact that this beta now supports Flash will likely raise some eyebrows. It’s worth noting, though, that by default, plugins are only loaded on touch.



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02Dec

Google Chrome overtakes Firefox in browser market share

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Now second to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer

Google Chrome overtakes Firefox in browser market share

Google Chrome has stormed past Mozilla Firefox to become the second most widely used web browser last month, after Internet Explorer.
StatCounter, a…

Read more: http://www.itreviews.com/2011/12/02/google-chrome-overtakes-firefox-browser-market-share/

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22Jun

Mozilla Firefox 5 For Android Goes Live On The Android Market

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Mozilla‘s Firefox 5 for Android is now available from the Android Market, carrying over some of the same features as the new desktop browser. Most of the upgrade involved under-the-hood bug fixes and enhancements, but there are still a couple cool new features to get excited about.

For one, Mozilla included the Do Not Track function that was added to the desktop browser, giving the user more control over their data and information about their browsing habits to have a worry-free surfing experience. Unfortunately, the feature only works when websites recognize and honor the setting, so it may not actually make much of a difference for your average user.

Other features of the Firefox 5 mobile browser include faster page loading (especially on a 3G network), increased support for the SwiftKey keyboard, and better panning. Firefox 5 for Android is available now as a free download from the Android Market.

[via MobileBurn]



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22Feb

Firefox 4.0 Expected To Release Next Week

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Back in January 2011, Mozilla was promising to deliver the final build of Firefox 4.0 by the end of February but now we’re pass the middle of the month and the company still has one more beta to roll out before getting to the Release Candidates.

As of February 15th Mozilla’s team still had 22 hard blockers that required fixing before finishing the first RC and while everyone is on overdrive, this means more delays for the already delayed Firefox 4. Now the developers are aiming to deliver the RC by February 25th so the final version won’t reach the web until March, which is still early 2011.

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01Feb

The Latest Firefox 4 Beta For Android Is Up To 3X Faster Than The Default Browser

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In the never-ending Browser battle, speed is king. Browser A might be the prettiest, most secure one around — but if the Browser B seems faster, good ol’ Browser A is going to lose users in droves. This is especially true in the mobile world, where cellular network latency and the occasional peak-hour bandwidth bottleneck add precious seconds over the near-instant connectivity we’ve grown accustomed to.

It makes sense, then, that Mozilla’s latest beta of Firefox 4 for Android is all about the speed. In at least one test, this newest build is clocking in at just over 3X faster than the built-in browser.

Here’s the rundown:

  • In the Kraken Javascript Benchmark, this latest Firefox 4 Beta is roughly 3X faster — but to be completely fair, Kraken is built by Mozilla.
  • Even in the more commonly used SunSpider test, however, Firefox 4 comes in at speeds twice as fast
  • Javascript speeds are great and all — but most people wouldn’t notice the few fractions of a second’s difference we’re talking about here. Fortunately, Mozilla’s also shaved off speed around start-up and general page load, and improved page panning fluidity, memory usage, and text rendering.

Furthermore, Mozilla’s talking up the fact that they’ve just surpassed 100 add-ons, with things like Ad Block Plus and a User Agent Switcher already in the stable. Of course, they don’t mention the one plug-in that the default browser has that Firefox for Android does not: Flash.

Ready to give it a spin? You can nab the latest Firefox for Android Beta by pointing your handset’s browser right over here.



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