Mozilla has launched its flagship Firefox browser for Android phones. The new browser is faster, more personalised and Mozilla claimed the new version is much much faster than the stock Android browser, going on to say “it is screaming fast” on their blog.
We redesigned Firefox for Android to make it a screaming fast and personalized upgrade to mobile browsing that lets you take your Web experience everywhere you go.
Does The Firefox Deliver on Speed?
I had a chance to download and test the new version of Firefox on my Samsung Galaxy S and found that on a Wi-Fi connection, it was true to its “screaming-fast” nature, while it was a bit slow on a 2G connection (compared to Opera Mini), which I believe very less percentage of people will be using.
Comparing speeds of Firefox with Android browser is like comparing speeds of snail mail and e-mail. Firefox beats the Android browser with hours to spare !!
The new browser promises noticeable performance improvements in everything from start-up, page load times, panning and zooming and Web app performance.
Mozilla developed a new benchmark, called Eideticker, that measures the actual user Web experience and we built Firefox for Android to it, yielding an experience that is two times faster than the stock browser. The following pic (img src blog.mozilla.com) shows the results that were obtained from the benchmarking
A Galaxy Nexus running ICS 4.0.4 was used in the benchmark by Mozilla
The Firefox Screen
The Firefox home screen has been beautifully designed, and shows the following in symmetry:
- Top sites you visit very often.
- It helps you to sync Firefox bookmarks, history and tabs from other devices.
- Shows the tabs you recently opened.
- Shows a list of add-ons that you can add to Firefox, plus a list of all add-ons.
When you click on “Browse all sites”, you are taken to a page which shows your top sites, bookmarks and history. Firefox also supports flash (that is why it opens a tad bit slower than Opera Mini)
Firefox Security
Built on the same open technology platform as its desktop version, Firefox for Android offers the same amount of privacy and security in mobile browsing. You get fratures like Do Not Track, Master Password, HTTP Strict Transport Security and many more
How To Download It?
You can download Firefox from Google Play Store.
What is in it for Web Developers?
New HTML5 capabilities in Firefox for Android enable developers to create rich Web apps and websites based on HTML5, JavaScript, CSS and other open Web standards. As the advocate for the Web, Mozilla exposes new Web APIs and submits them to standards groups to move the Web forward as a platform. Among the standards that Mozilla helped build are Camera API, Vibration API, Mobile Connection API, Battery Status API, Screen Orientation API and Geolocation API. Ok, this was copied from the Mozilla blog.
Have you tried out the new browser? How did you find it? Fast? Slow? A disappointment or a streak of light in the darkness of the Android Browser? Let us know your thoughts about the Firefox browser in the comments below.
