Mozilla Update Firefox for Android: What’s New?

Almost unheard of only a few years ago, Mozilla Firefox has blazed a trail in recent years, becoming the internet browser of choice for many people in search of something new from their web browsing experience. The speed, security and intuitive interface of Firefox have fuelled its popularity, which in turn has given tech journos the opportunity to labour corny ‘fire’ jokes ad nauseum.

Despite apparently being a direct competitor to Google’s own Chrome browser, the two companies have collaborated frequently in the past. Back in 2009, Mozilla alerted Google to a potential security flaw in the Google Chrome browser which was subsequently identified and rectified.

The close relationship between Mozilla and Google has seen Mozilla develop a Firefox application specifically designed for use with Google’s Android operating system for phones. The move into handheld mobile browsers took Mozilla one step closer to the world domination that any self-respecting browser developer craves. Now Mozilla are back with an updated version of the Firefox for Android App, but what exactly is new? Quite a lot according to Mozilla who touted the prowess of their new app in a recent blog post.

Mozilla’s blog post talks of a “super fast” browsing experience which takes full advantage of the prowess of the latest versions of Google’s Android mobile operating system. With smartphone processors also getting quicker and quicker almost by the day, the updated Firefox app is expected to put even these finely tuned and highly tweaked chips through their paces.

The company claim that their browser maintains its super speed even when you’re busy multi-tasking with a thousand and one other applications in this busy life that advertising executives are convinced us all have.

The new Firefox Android app will feature fast start up times, fast load times and even fast panning and zooming. Web app performance will also be – you guessed it – fast, as Mozilla attempt to keep pace with the frantic lifestyle of the modern smartphone user. If the point of their blog post was to inform us of the speed of the app; mission accomplished, Mozilla!

To be fair though, Mozilla do provide the charts and graphs to back up their claims. The blog presents us with a natty looking bar chart which relates to the different rendering speeds of competing browsers. The rendering speed is how quickly the app can reproduce graphics; the higher the frame rates the better.
The new Android app clocks in at 39.3 frames per second; nearly triple the rendering speed of the previous Android Firefox App. Opera – often the go to browser for smartphone users and usually pre-installed on the BlackBerry – manages only 21.6 while even Google’s own Chrome for Android browser falls short at only 19.6 frames per second.

We were told it was fast, now we’ve got the figures to prove it.

Improved tabbed browsing and the ability to sync form data, passwords and browsing history from your desktop or laptop version of Firefox are also welcome touches, as is the upgraded Flash player which allows for far smoother video streaming.

All in all, the handy new Firefox for Android app is well worth a download. Happy browsing.