THE LATEST FIREFOX
The choice of Web browser is a personal thing. The new IE9 gives Microsoft a fighting chance against the even newer Firefox 4, while Google’s Chrome 10 has managed to win for itself a reputation for speed and solidity. The browser battles on the PC are heating up, and with all the three biggest contenders now bringing some genuinely effective tools to the market, a user’s choice is effectively both a brand decision and a choice of functionality.
Until recently though, that decision hasn’t translated to Android devices where users are generally divided between those who use Android’s own browser and fans of Dolphin, a neat independent app that’s been downloaded several million times.
The arrival of Mozilla’s Firefox Mobile 4 to the Android platform might just change that.
The browser has the “famed” tabbed browsing that has set a new standard in Web browser interface, and its loading speed comes up to scratch with SunSpider tests proving that it handles Javascript in almost a third of the time taken by Android’s browser. A save-to-PDF feature allows users to download long Web pages as PDF files to read when they’re offline.
Firefox Mobile 4 also provides access to all of the extensions and customizations that have helped to make Firefox such a popular browser on PCs. You’ll still be able to change the skin and add programs that make Web browsing with Firefox an easy and convenient experience.
Most important of all though, it will also be a familiar experience to the user. Firefox Mobile 4 comes with Firefox Sync that matches the browser on the Android device with the browser on the PC. Passwords, bookmarks and even browsing history and open tabs are seamlessly synced to the Android device. It’s a killer feature that makes the browser in your hand as familiar as the one you’re used to on your monitor screen.
It’s something that Google is now doing with its Chrome browser across different desktops, and its Chrome-to-phone extension already allows users to send a website from a desktop to a mobile. While Chrome may turn up on Android devices at some point in the future, for now, only Firefox Mobile 4 offers a completely familiar mobile environment.
However, it should be noted that Firefox Mobile 4 cannot play Flash. That’s one function choice that Android users will definitely have to weigh against environment familiarity when deciding whether to use Firefox Mobile 4 on their Android devices.
Download Firefox Mobile 4 at the Android Market!
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox