Android News
Firefox for Android beta now much smaller and faster
November 4, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Android Apps
Mozilla has released an update for the Android version of Firefox that address some of the major concerns that users have had with the app. For starters, Mozilla has cut a lot of the fat to get the install size down 60 percent. The beta is now down to 13.38 MB; still hefty, but getting much smaller en route to the final release that’s sure to be lighter.
Firefox for Android has also been given a makeover and optimized to be much quicker than previous reports. Mozilla claims that the beta performs 25 percent faster than the stock Android browser based on Javascript tests.
Who cares about benchmarks, though? Download Firefox for Android from this address and see if it really loads your web content as fast as they say. You’ll also get to rate the new interface, which has been tweaked to provide quicker access to link sharing and have a more refined look. More on that here.
Thanks, Amy
SD support?
Does not work with less than 2.2
I dunno, it might just be my Droid, but it locks up a lot on me. The stock browser's still my go-to guy until the next iteration. Although, I love the features. They just have to make it smoother, and lighter.
FC on my rooted eVILs Nexus One
Works, ok but does not zoom and scale for quick reading like the stock browser on my SGS. Even when turned horizontally the text is always way to small and the text from a content area does not skull to the width. You here a more desktop oriented view that while pretty is not practical for mobile browsing on a800x480 screen.
I was not very thrilled with this beta. Image scaling is sub par, so viewing pages results in pixated pictures unless you zoom in a lot. Text scaling is slower than the stock browser as well, so it takes a while for text to become legible when you zoom in. It feels faster than the stock browser, however. Another issue are the sidebar menus. Like dolphin, the left bar is sensitive, so it will come up when you don't want it. Moreover, in landscape, if you are zoomed into the page, you need to scroll all the way to the right to view the right bar.
This device does not meet the minimum requirements HTC Hero on Elelinux 2.2 Rom
I'm with "Woogers"… I've tried Fennec/Firefox for Android in several iterations since inception. I continue to be disappointed with performance. Admittedly, I'm not using state-of-the-art equipment (Moto D1), but the fact remains the stock browser works. It works quite well, actually. I just wish I could sync my bookmarks (not passwords, thanks) between my Droid and my other equipment using Firefox…