Every time Mozilla announces that a new Firefox beta has been released (this time to the Play Store), a part of me hopes that it is nothing short of awesome. And not that I’m all that willing to give up on Chrome, but competition is good and having used Firefox on a PC for so long before Chrome became such a powerhouse, it would be nice to see it carve out a niche on mobile as well. Then I install it and always immediately say, “Ugh.” Such is the case again today with the latest beta that introduces a new UI and Flash support.

The changelog got me excited, especially with the “user interface has been completely re-designed.” Unfortunately, the good news seems to stop there. It’s still buggy, clunky, and freezes up during the simplest of tasks. Once you get it rollin’, it can open pages fairly fast, but the way multi-touch and scrolling work are odd enough to give you a headache. The Flash support is welcomed though. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next release.

Play Link

Via:  Mozilla

Brand New Firefox Beta Released on Android, Say Hello to a New UI and Flash Support is a post from: Droid Life

If you have been waiting to get your hands on Firefox for your tablet, then now would be an excellent time to download the new nightly build that has just been published by the Mozilla team. The browser app is still in development so you can’t expect perfect results, but you are more than welcome to test it out and report and bugs you come across to the Mozilla team to help aid future development.

The major question everyone has for the Firefox app is, “Does it have Flash?” No, unfortunately it still does not support Flash. So don’t go reporting that as a bug. If you really need Flash there are plenty of alternatives such as Dolphin, or even the Stock browser – but Firefox just looks so gangster. Go try it out.

Firefox for Tablets Nightly APK

Via: Android Guys

Firefox For Android Tablets Now Enters Nightly Status is a post from: Droid Life

Not too long ago, Firefox started a march for a better web experience. Today, Firefox has taken it’s first true step towards that goal. They have updated their Android application, and have given Firefox for Android a very nice face lift, and more importantly, have given developers the tools to build better web applications, and websites. 

The new welcome page helps users discover browser tools and features (like Firefox Sync, add-ons, tabbed browsing and bookmarks) that are conveniently stowed away in the side panels. Many users will notice faster zooming, crisp text and reduced pixelation due to enhanced image rendering in Firefox for Android.

Firefox for Android adds support for tools that help developers create rich, compelling mobile Web apps and websites. With the single touch events API, developers can build Web experiences that detect touch events and gestures. Imagine mobile Web apps that enable users to swipe their finger to pan around a map and mobile Web games that let you swipe a finger to swing a baseball bat or pull a slingshot to launch an angry bird. Support for multi-touch events will be added in future releases.

Which mobile browser people tend to use is a big deal for some, and with a seemingly never ending list, it is hard to make a definite choice. Has everyone given Firefox’s previous attempts a chance? Definitely check out the newest version and see if it is on par with Dolphin Browser or Opera Browser. Let us know if it’s better and if this new makeover was a good move.

Market Link

Which mobile browser is everyone rocking these days?

Via: Mozilla

Firefox For Android Receives Makeover, Starts Delivering Tools For Developers To Create Richer Web Experiences is a post from: Droid Life

Mozilla has officially started on their newest venture called Boot to Gecko, a “complete, standalone operating system for the open Web.” They’re diving into the project with all the best intentions, looking for uniformity in application development and to streamline the complete experience provided to users. No more “fragmentation” across different devices. What works on your laptop, would work seamlessly on your mobile phone, tablet, etc.

They will be using the Gecko engine which shall now be completely open source, and all work moving forward shall be updated in real-time for further development. Looks like no double standard will be coming from the workers at Mozilla who will in fact be using Google’s Android kernels, and boot drivers to initially power a device running the mobile OS. Mozilla has said that they want to take as little from Android as possible though. So this is not an OS based on Android, but merely Android is helping get this project off the ground, so in later days, it can stand on it’s own.

This will in turn rival Google’s Chrome OS which has been so far limited to their line of netbooks. I have had no issue while being able to play Angry Birds or Plants Vs. Zombies at my work station using Chrome, so imagine that, but with all applications you currently have. Will people even need to leave their houses? Some time ago, a video was released by Mozilla showing a concept of not only a device, but possibly of the future.

Will we welcome the next mobile OS as friendly competition, or is Mozilla being naive in thinking they can compete with Google at their own game? Let us know.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Mozilla, PC World

Mozilla Working On Their Own Mobile OS To Make Life Easier, With A Little Help From Android is a post from: Droid Life