Firefox now available for Android 2.0 and above, still at pre-alpha stage

Fennec, Mozilla's codeword for mobile Firefox builds, has just made its pre-alpha debut on Android. The tastefully named Vladimir Vukićević informs us that it's pretty much a debug release, with unoptimized memory utilization and some quirks rebooting the app when it's started and when add-ons are installed, but it is at a stage where the devs felt they could get useful feedback from a broader user base. It's not yet available on the Android Market, so you'll be needing to download it from the link below, and remember that you'll have to have an Android 2.0 or higher device, with OpenGL ES 2.0 capabilities also being recommended. If you've got all those boxes ticked, get downloading and come back to tell us how that WeaveSync is working out for you. We've got video of an older build running on a Nexus one after the break, just to whet some appetites.

[Thanks, Jonathon]

[grummy Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:28AM]

@TheHypnotist

I won't hangin around on a website that just got issue with the authority (wink wink)

[TheHypnotist Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:36AM]

@grummy

The real reason Gizmodo sucks is because their comment system is just terrible. And everyone knows it. The fact that they have to have multiple articles explaining how their commenting system works proves that the system is flawed, complicated or just simply bad. Sometimes they attack Engadget's commenting system but they tell their own users to stop "trolling" when people get sick of the 50 million iPad articles they write. I mean, the commenting system is just awful, they can't even get replies right. And your comments take too long to get approved. And... God, I could go on forever. sorry for the tangent, but it's just unbearable.

Anyways... does anyone know about add on support for this thing.

[ianpig Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:20AM]

Finally!

[Coke Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:22AM]

@ianpig Ineed

[supernine Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:31AM]

@ianpig
Using this on my Nexus One, and I absolutely love it. It's very user friendly and fast.. (xScope is also great) For a PRE-ALPHA (few bugs) it's really damn good. Can't wait for beta.. this came sooner than I expected.

[gargle Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:59AM]

@ianpig whoa, 10 meg .apk.. good thing i have a nexus one with a lot of free memory.

[gargle Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:11AM]

@gargle It ended up taking 31megs of memory.. i guess thats normal for a browser doing its rendering locally. however it was really unresponsive and choppy for me, presumably because its an alpha version. but i do like the opened tab list on the side :-).

[Mr w00t Posted Apr 28th 2010 6:45AM]

@ianpig yes... and it is that good.

I have been using fennec since the early builds on the N900 and, even though its a bit slower to start than the default browser, it is very handy to have weave in the pocket.

Sometimes I am at the gym and I want to check some bookmarked page that I left for later and BOOM... there you go.

[Natal Posted Apr 28th 2010 6:51AM]

@ianpig

its a pos. Ill take IE on windows phone over this memory hog

[TikiTeko Posted Apr 28th 2010 12:43PM]

@ianpig This is a selling point for me!!!! EVO COME SOOOOOON!!!

[talbotnate Posted Apr 28th 2010 1:25PM]

Touch keypad does not come up on my Droid other than that it great.

[The Joker Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:23AM]

When's Chrome mobile coming out? Switched to Chrome and absolutely CANNOT go back to Firefox. In the time that Firefox is still trying to put something on the screen I'm at a website with Chrome.

[I Fling Poo Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:30AM]

@The Joker
same, i'm amazed and just how much faster the program starts up.

[DonnyChi91 Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:31AM]

@The Joker You've got to be kidding me. lol Android's default browser is Chrome.

[The Joker Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:49AM]

@DonnyChi91 lol don't have an Android phone sorry! What would be the advantage of installing Firefox over the default browser then?

[The Joker Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:51AM]

@I Fling Poo re: Chrome startup (desktop variety) it's freaking INSTANT. Love it.

I wish Firefox/IE/Safari would incorporate the search box (by default) into the address box as well. I find it funny that Microsoft has a video somewhere exclaiming how awful that idea is.

[Tes Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:13AM]

@The Joker

The advantage would be the ability to install extensions on a mobile device. AdBlock on your mobile, User Agent switcher, foxy proxy. All the flexibility of your desktop browser but on your mobile device.

And your comparison of your desktop experiences with mobile phones is just plain silly.

[The Joker Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:44AM]

@Tes I know. I just felt left out because I don't have an Android phone and wanted to be a part of the diesucssions, and I know stuff about the desktop browsers.

After posting I saw the video, and was impressed with the addition of extending the browsers capabilities with the use of extensions. But the interface blows IMO.

[Flix C Posted Apr 28th 2010 9:30AM]

@The Joker
yeah yeah yeah ..
In the time you get to your 3rd website I've not had to load any site thanks to ubiquity and I've done 10 times more stuff.

[Tohe Posted Apr 28th 2010 10:38AM]

@The Joker

I can't live without Firefox keywords (nothing like typing a prefix on the address bar to translate a site or to search google etc). I'm not as productive on Chrome. And when you tweak Firefox (increase pipelining.maxrequests, set it to true, etc) it is just as fast.

My one complaint about Firefox is how it implements Flash, it uses far more resources than even IE.

[f314 Posted Apr 28th 2010 1:33PM]

@Tohe Required keystrokes for me to search Wikipedia on Chrome:
en (or no for Norwegian, etc..) [tab] search term [enter]
That's three extra keystrokes before enter. Chrome automatically generates search shortcuts for pages you've searced on! Just type the first few letters of the URL, press tab, and the address bar has turned into a custom search bar :D

[Kit Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:32AM]

My Cupcake stucked HTC Magic is crying, seriously people on Engadget should face the truth XDA is not the solution.

[bloop Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:58AM]

@Kit
Who said XDA was ever the solution? Freeloader just like you should be thankful for the works XDA did instead.

[Kit Posted Apr 28th 2010 8:09AM]

@bloop Firstly, whenever there is an update for Windows Mobile unavailable to certain models, there is always people say just head to XDA. Which I am pointing out the inability of individual vendors to update their phone with the official standard.

Secondly, I said nothing bad about XDA developers on my comment. Freeloaders like you just want to achieve something that nobody cares.

[Tes Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:35AM]

Won't install on HTC Desire. Not enough space according to the install file. I have 40mb free!

[coolius Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:44AM]

@Tes
Installs fine on my desire. No multi touch tho :(

[Jakeii Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:36AM]

Think firefox will make to to the iphone/ipod touch?

[AlienSix Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:37AM]

@Jakeii Im thinking probably not

[The Joker Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:00AM]

@Jakeii not a chance in hell, unless they go about "rendering" pages in the same fashion as iPhone Opera.

[TheHypnotist Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:08AM]

@Jakeii

Regarding FF for the iPhone/iPod Touch I don't see why not. I can't see them allowing Opera to do so, and not allowing Firefox to. If FF came to iPhone 4 (or even 5) with addons including xmarks sync and tab sync support it would be a super win.

[Tes Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:16AM]

@TheHypnotist

The difference is Opera Mini is not a browser in the same sense that Safari is. It's a window onto a browser running on Operas servers, so not rendering pages on the device at all. Firefox/Fennec is your more traditional browser with it's own rendering engine and THAT is where it will fall foul of Apple.

[phearme Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:20AM]

@Jakeii yep, in about two years :) just to keep the fanboys saying "see ? i told you so."

[TheHypnotist Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:38AM]

@Tes

So you don't think this will be approved?

...Even if Mozilla puts a time counter on their website for days until the app has been approved?

I mean, will they even submit it?

[The Joker Posted Apr 28th 2010 7:36AM]

@TheHypnotist take a nice, deeeep breath and relax. Now, make yourself a coffee, or a cup of tea, whatever it is that you drink (if you don't get it after this I would suggest cyanide) and put it on the table next to your computer. Go to the washroom, and splash your face with some water. Dry off with a towel, and say to yourself in the mirror

"TheHypnotist, you can do this. Come on, man! You can do this. It's just a small exercise in reading and comprehension, I mean, two year olds are mastering this crap, pull yourself together man!"

Maybe slap yourself about a little bit. Come back to your drink and read @Tes's post again, where Tes clearly explains why that wouldn't work.

[Luke Skywalker Posted Apr 28th 2010 7:37AM]

@TheHypnotist
Apple's current developer agreement expressly forbids the kind of local processing that a browser like firefox would have to do.

[John Lennon Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:41AM]

I remember seeing a demo of this about 2, maybe 3 years ago.

[jareth86 Posted Apr 28th 2010 4:54AM]

So long as Mozilla realizes that multitouch is a must, godspeed.

[TheHypnotist Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:04AM]

This is a big deal. I'm getting my first smart phone in the summer of 2011. And if I can get an Android phone with a strong version of FF on it (Add-ons, bookmarks and tab syncing), that'd be really sweet.

[RealGame22 Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:20AM]

Keeps force closing on my Moto Droid. Dang!

[bustafone Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:24AM]

Worst browser ever!
340MB?

[Broderbund Posted Apr 28th 2010 5:41AM]

@bustafone Average RAM for high end smartphones has gone up hugely over the past year. Expect a GB of ram by 2011. 340MB isn't so absurd.

[Munk Posted Apr 28th 2010 6:05AM]

Hopefully its better that the maemo version.

[Drybonz Posted Apr 28th 2010 6:07AM]

I like the layout of the browser... it's easy to get to all the browser buttons, but doesn't crowd up the screen with stuff. Obviously, it still has a lot of problems due to being such an early release. It's very slow and doesn't lay the pages out well at all... also, doesn't call up the SIP when I click in the address box... I think it will be great once they put some work in on it.

[weeman Posted Apr 28th 2010 6:45AM]

It's needs to be pretty special to knock Opera off the top.

[YoMamaOS Posted Apr 28th 2010 8:02AM]

@weeman

Try XScope.

[vintoe Posted Apr 28th 2010 8:55AM]

The left hand looks particularly stiff

[nelagster Posted Apr 28th 2010 9:14AM]

anyone else not getting this to work on the Nexus One rooted with Cyanogen 5.0.3?

[nelagster Posted Apr 28th 2010 9:55AM]

@nelagster

ahh nevermind, i found out why. Can't install to SD Card, gotta install to internal memory

[TimeForTheFairTax Posted Apr 28th 2010 9:21AM]

Considering flash is coming I wonder if 'Add-ons' like Adblock Plus and Flashblock will work with it.

[Johnny15 Posted Apr 28th 2010 9:35AM]

Really wish I could get that on my HTC Hero.......