Mozilla Releases New Firefox Mobile Alpha and Beta

The Mozilla team has released two new versions of Fennec, its mobile Firefox web browser. These two versions -- Beta 2 for Maemo Linux devices and Alpha 2 for Windows Mobile -- include several usability and feature enhancements, and addresses several issues that were reported in the last releases.

One of the key notes with this release is that both the Maemo Linux and Windows Mobile versions are built utilizing the same code-bases and back-ends. The differences are essentially in the platform specific plumbing.

Some of the items in this release include:

• Fixing and optimization of the default theme
• Increased performance and responsiveness with general browsing tasks
• Improved Download Manager
• Retooled the UI and performance of the Add-Ons area
• UI improvements in the way forms are handled
• New Java-Script error console
• And more.

These two releases are also highlighted by Windows (PC), Mac OS X, and Linux (desktop) releases. However, these platform are only meant for those developing add-ons who may not have a Maemo Linux or Windows Mobile device to test their code on. These desktop releases are not supported branches of Fennec.

Fennec is a free, open source product. For more information, and to download for Maemo Linux or Windows Mobile devices, visit the Mozilla Fennec website.

Source: Mozilla Fennec Website, Mozilla Blog, Pavlov.net