Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Fennec, Mozilla’s Version Of Mobile Browser

Mozilla has released the first beta of a mobile version of its increasingly popular Firefox browser. Code-named Fennec, the browser uses the same technology as the desktop version, including its HTML rendering engine called Gekko. Mozilla said it wants to ensure that the mobile version is not inferior to the version that people use on their home computers.

Mozilla pitched the alpha as an early developer release suitable for testing purposes only, its typical description for its prebeta editions. However, according to Mark Finkle, Mozilla's platform evangelist, the company is looking for feedback from as many people as possible.

"Fennec is being tested pretty hard now, and by people who love to find bugs, " said Mark Finkle, platform evangelist at Mozilla. "We are finding and fixing lots of issues now. It is not entirely landed yet and will likely get some tweaks as we iterate on the design."

The mobile Firefox will have touch-screen support, and it will be capable of JavaScript and Ajax. The browser is also expected to support multiple plug-in software like Adobe's Flash, and later versions are expected to incorporate the geo-location features that are in the Firefox 3.1 beta.

Fennec only works on Nokia N810 Internet Tablets for now, but the company is also offering it in versions for desktop PCs to collect feedback from users and entice developers to write add-ons. Mozilla is relatively late to the mobile browser market. Opera Software ASA, the Norwegian company noted for its Opera browser, leads the pack on mobile devices and phones, while Safari handles Internet duties on Apple's iPhone.

A beta version of Firefox Mobile is expected to release before the end of the year, and a public version is expected in 2009. Full release notes of Fennec Alpha 1 are available here, along with a wiki on the mobile project.