Mozilla has released a mobile version of its Firefox browser for users of Nokia’s N900 smartphone, which runs the handset maker’s high-end Maemo operating system. Built on the same engine as Firefox 3.6 for PCs, the new mobile browser is currently available for download in more than 30 languages, with support for more smartphone platforms and languages on the way, the developers said.
Bringing Firefox to mobile devices is the next step toward fulfilling Mozilla’s mission of providing one web that everyone can access — regardless of device or location, Mozilla blogger Erica Jostedt said Friday. “Key design principles are at the heart of the mobile browsing experience, including minimal typing, seamless synchronization with desktop Firefox, and the ability to take your Firefox with you, to name a few,” Jostedt wrote.
Expanding the Market
The fledgling mobile browser market represents a huge opportunity for browser makers, since smartphones accounted for about 14 percent of the estimated 1.2 billion mobile devices shipped last year, according to Gartner. The new mobile version of Firefox is intended in part to help counter the browser’s slowing growth on desktop and notebook PCs. According to Net Applications, Google’s Chrome browser outpaced Firefox by increasing its market share from 1.6 percent to 5.2 percent since March, even as Firefox boosted its share from 23.3 percent to 24.4 percent.
Mozilla is hoping to expand the browser market by bringing a full-fledged browser experience to smartphones, beginning with the N900. Though the world’s leading handset maker has not released any sales numbers for the smartphone so far, Nokia did say the device has been positively received.
Due to the N900’s fairly expensive price, however, Gartner expects the device to be of interest to technology lovers rather than a product destined for the mass market, noted Research Director Carolina Milanesi.
“What it…