Android only: Mozilla’s posted a new Firefox 2 Beta into the Android Market. What’s new? Stability, bug fixes, theme support, and more than 100 add-ons. But Mozilla claims this release is faster, JavaScript-wise, than Android’s default browser. Is it? Maybe. Kinda.
There’s no denying that Firefox 4 Mobile is a different kind of browser for Android, and it’s come into its own with a wide variety of add-ons and a seamless sync-up with your desktop Firefox, right down to the tabs you had open. Mozilla highlights what’s new in this video:
The exclamation point on this release is Mozilla’s claim that Firefox Mobile now out-performs Google’s own Browser app in JavaScript benchmarks. And while this release does feel snappier, here’s how two pages loaded out on the browsers, if you can put some trust in my timer trigger finger:
Lifehacker (automatic mobile version)
- Default – 2.293
- Firefox – 6.926
- Default – 3.260
- Firefox – 3.838
So maybe my Lifehacker load was a stray error, and maybe Firefox is catching up to the default browser. It still doesn’t feel quite as instant, but I could see using it, if I was intrigued by a particular add-on or Sync features.
Firefox 4 Mobile Beta is a free download for Android devices only.
New Firefox 4 Beta for Android and Maemo is Faster than Ever [The Mozilla Blog]
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