Mobile Firefox released for Maemo Linux
By Eric Brown
2010-01-04
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Mozilla has released the first release candidate of the Linux version of its "Fennec" mobile Firefox technology, called Firefox for Maemo. Available for Maemo devices like Nokia's N900 phone and older N810 Internet Tablet, the latest version of the mobile browser offers improved text rendering and adds hooks for add-on developers.Mozilla announced its fifth beta for the Linux version of Fennec in April, followed by an alpha 3 version for the Windows Mobile version in September. Firefox for Maemo is optimized for the N900, but also supports other devices that run the open source, Debian Linux-based Maemo stack. (Mozilla has also released Fennec desktop versions of the release designed for Linux, Windows, and Mac operating systems.)
Firefox for Maemo release candidate (desktop version) showing tabbed thumbnail interface
(Click to enlarge)
Like Firefox 3.6, Firefox for Maemo is based on the Gecko 1.9.2 rendering and layout platform, but is optimized for smaller screens. Firefox for Maemo is also designed to support multi-touch UI techniques and other mobile technology. This latest RC1 version improves text rendering performance and addresses "many N900 specific issues, including installing to /opt and ... fixing the symbol picker," says Mozilla.
Preferences pane in Firefox for Maemo
(Click to enlarge)
Highlighted features in Firefox for Maemo include:
- Awesome Bar -- Also known as the Smart Location Bar, the Awesome Bar is designed to minimize typing, by "intelligently searching the names, URLs, and tags" of previously visited sites, taking into account factors such as most recent visits and frequency of visits. Users are said to be able to quickly hide and retrieve the Awesome Bar (as well as other browser controls) to reduce screen clutter.
- Search engine access -- In addition to using Google Search from the Awesome Bar, users can quickly get to other search engines, including those specific to Wikipedia, Amazon.com, and Twitter.
- Touch-oriented UI -- Firefox's touch-enabled interface allows users to swipe right to open tabs, and swipe left to view controls including bookmarks, backward and forward, browser tool access, add-ons, preferences, and downloads.
- Other UI tricks -- Among other touted UI features, users can double-tap the screen to zoom in and zoom back out, bookmarks can be tagged with a single touch, and a tabbed browsing feature formats open tabs as thumbnails (see image above).
- Synchronization -- Users can create a Weave Sync account on a desktop version of Firefox, and then install the Weave Sync add-on on the mobile device to synchronize Firefox tabs, passwords, history, and bookmarks. Weave Sync can load saved passwords from the desktop, and together with the Awesome Bar, lets users search desktop Firefox web history from their mobile.
- Customization -- Fennec is claimed to be the first mobile Web browser to support add-ons.
- Location-aware browsing -- Firefox for Maemo can work with the N900's GPS radio to bring up maps and other information relevant to location.
- Privacy and security -- Privacy and security features are said to include an "Instant Web site ID," password manager, popup blocker, clear private data, security setting customization, and automated updates.
- Productivity -- Additional features include a download manager, spell checker, and preferences pane (pictured above)
Nokia's N900
Nokia shipped the N900 in November. The company steadfastly refuses to call the high-end device a phone, although it offers both 3G HSPA data and voice capability. Running on an ARM Cortex-A8-based OMAP3430 system-on-chip (SoC) with 1GB of memory and 32GB flash, the N900 offers a 3.5-inch, 800 × 480 touchscreen and five-megapixel camera. The device also provides a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, plus WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and accelerometers.
Nokia N900
Availability
Nokia N900 or N810 users who already have beta 5 of Firefox for Maemo installed will be receiving a software update shortly, says Mozilla. Otherwise, users can download the final release candidate, which is available in 15 different languages, here. Unbranded Fennec desktop builds are also available for Linux, Windows, and Mac desktops.
More information may be found in the release notes here.
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