Firefox for Android launches as pre-alpha
updated 10:50 am EDT, Wed April 28, 2010
Fennec pre-alpha build out for Android phones
Developers Michael Wu, Brad Lassey, Alex Pakhotin and Vladimir Vukićević have released what they call a pre-alpha version of Fennec, or the Firefox web browser for mobile devices, specifically for Android-powered smartphones. Being pre-Alpha, the team warns the build has only been tested on the Motorola Droid and Nexus One handsets. At the same time, bugs are present and may cause a handset to freeze and require a reboot.
Another of these bugs involves the app exiting and relaunching when starting up for the first time and during add-on installs. This is being resolved, however. Memory optimization also needs to be worked on, with some large pages causing problems on devices like the Droid.
The build also cannot yet open links from other apps, with this issue being resolved in the next incarnation. Android 2.0 is needed to run this version of Fennec, as is support for OpenGL ES 2.0-level graphics. The software also needs to be installed to the handset's internal memory rather than an external card.
Alongside the browser itself, users can download an experimental version of Weave that will let them sync their bookmarks, tabs and history from other instances of Firefox. [via Vladimir Vukićević's blog]
