Fennec, Mozilla's Mobile Browser, Is 'Days Away' From Launch
Recently, Jay Sullivan at Mozilla told the BBC that Mozilla's upcoming mobile
web browser codenamed Fennec
is just "days away" from being launched. The browser will initially
be available for Nokia's N900 phone followed by other handsets. Sullivan
further explained that the browser is currently going through final testing and
could be released before the end of the year.
The mobile browser has been in the works for the past year and a half. It is said to offer the ability to synchronize with the desktop version of Firefox, allowing users to take web pages that are open in their desktop browser with them on their mobile device. "At the end of the working day you can walk away from your computer and keep on going on your phone," Sullivan explained. Information sent through the cloud between a desktop and mobile device is encrypted for security.
Additional features of Fennec include tabbed browsing and an address bar that can double as a search box. The mobile browser is designed to scale pages to fit the device and will also support tapping the screen to zoom in on a page. Like Firefox, Fennec will offer add-ons that let people customize the browser to their liking.
The browser will initially be available for Nokia's N900 phone directly from the Mozilla website and then from Nokia's Ovi store. Mozilla is also working on versions for Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating systems. Apple users will have to wait even longer due to the fact that "Apple is very restrictive," as Sullivan put it. Currently, Apple only allows browsers based on its Webkit engine to be loaded on the iPhone. Firefox uses alternative technology.
The mobile browser has been in the works for the past year and a half. It is said to offer the ability to synchronize with the desktop version of Firefox, allowing users to take web pages that are open in their desktop browser with them on their mobile device. "At the end of the working day you can walk away from your computer and keep on going on your phone," Sullivan explained. Information sent through the cloud between a desktop and mobile device is encrypted for security.
Additional features of Fennec include tabbed browsing and an address bar that can double as a search box. The mobile browser is designed to scale pages to fit the device and will also support tapping the screen to zoom in on a page. Like Firefox, Fennec will offer add-ons that let people customize the browser to their liking.
The browser will initially be available for Nokia's N900 phone directly from the Mozilla website and then from Nokia's Ovi store. Mozilla is also working on versions for Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating systems. Apple users will have to wait even longer due to the fact that "Apple is very restrictive," as Sullivan put it. Currently, Apple only allows browsers based on its Webkit engine to be loaded on the iPhone. Firefox uses alternative technology.
