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Firefox 6 for Android released, looks more like a native application and is of course snappier

Categories: Android, Applications
By: , IntoMobile
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 at 3:48 AM

Remember Firefox and how cool it felt to be one of the few people you knew who used a browser other than Internet Explorer? Those days are long gone now thanks to people using either Chrome or Safari, both incredibly more polished and modern browsers, but that hasn’t broken the spirits of the folks at the Mozilla Corporation! They’ve just released Firefox 6 for Android, and besides being snappier and better able to render text, the key feature is that it looks more like a “native Android application”. What exactly does that mean? That unique Firefox look is now gone, scrapped in order to make something people can use instead of the excellent bundled Android browser and not realize that they’re using Firefox. Odd, isn’t it? But seriously, besides being “different”, Firefox has features like plugins and bookmark sync, so should you care enough about your mobile browsing experience that you want it to look completely unique, you’re in good hands.

Now what if you don’t want Firefox, yet you still want to use something other than the default browser? There’s Opera Mobile, which we’re huge fans of because it actually does something no one else on the market offers. Compression. For people who are too cheap to get a big data plan, or for people who are stuck in a part of the world where seeing a 3G signal indicator lighting up on your phone is akin to seeing a statue of the Virgin Mary crying tears of blood, then Opera Mobile is just for you.

If you are one of the folks who uses Firefox for Android, leave us a comment below as to why. We’re incredibly curious, because even after coming out with 6 versions, we still feel that what Google builds is better than what Mozilla can deliver.

[Firefox Mobile in the Android Market]

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • guest

    I use firefox on android; it seems to scroll and zoom more smoothly than the default browser, though it takes longer to load.  Maybe the load time will be reduced in the new version.

  • Guest

    still no flash.

  • Emily Dirsh

    Well better is subjective so I’ll mention a few things:
    1. far better standards support
    2. plugins
    3. gpu acceleration (scroll a page that includes text and pictures– the native browser studders while FF doesn’t)
    4. fast JS
    5. better interface