Firefox Mobile for Android to debut in late 2010, future Windows Mobile version uncertain

By on Feb 17, 2010 at 9:39 AM
News February 17, 2010

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After a slow start, Firefox Mobile has been making great strides recently; releasing the final version of the mobile browser for the Maemo platform and ramping up development on its Android client. Mozilla’s VP of Mobiles, Jay Sullivan, recently told Tech Radar that Mozilla is targeting the end of 2010 as a tentative release date  for the Android edition of Firefox Mobile. The development of the Android version poses a bit of a challenge as Firefox Mobile is based upon C and C++, while Android is Java-based and the latest Native Development kit which is necessary to bring Firefox Mobile to Android was only released last October. Sullivan also addresses other platforms in the interview, commenting that MeeGo presents an exciting opportunity for Mozilla, while the future of the Windows Mobile version, already in Alpha, is under review now that the radically new Windows Phone 7 Series operating system has been officially introduced by Microsoft.

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21 Comments

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  • T

    I think they’d be wise to get it out for whatever platforms they can… as the shift continues from laptop to handheld, if they want to continue growing their market share they need to be present in the mobile world. That and Mozilla Weave presents a unique link between Full and Fennec. I’m anxiously waiting for my Android version…

  • rmcgoff

    I don’t blame them for putting the Windows Mobile version under review. Microsoft has made it clear that all the old APIs and visual elements will not be usable any longer in version 7. So I suspect that after MIX10 and the release of the SDK for Windows Mobile 7, we’ll hear that they are now going to port it over. That does not mean they aren’t going to release it for Windows Mobile, just that they’d prefer to release it on the newest platform available.

  • boomKABOOM

    late 2010?
    That is amazing news! now I can go on with my life!
    XD

  • studmuffin

    Late 2010? I’ll be sitting on the edge of my office chair.

  • AlanW

    Firefox???

    Fail.

    Dumped that garbage last year for Chrome and haven’t looked back since.

    • George

      Same here homie.

      • webby

        +2 to that

    • http://www.maemo-freak.com christexaport

      Really? Well good luck running Chrome on your mobile…

  • George

    Why the hell is it taking so long for these mobile browsers (firefox, skyfire, even the BlackBerry browser) to be released? End of 2010? Are you fucking kidding me?

    • rmcgoff

      Because all of the above were apparently blissfully unaware that the mobile market was going to be the next frontier, even though all the rest of knew this a very long time ago. The only excuse I can think of for Firefox is that they wanted to focus on their desktop browser, but the rest of them, especially RIM should have had a legitimate browser a long time ago, in my opinion.

    • Kalel

      I agree…It says the Native Development Kit was released last October? A year…for a web browser…really?

    • http://www.maemo-freak.com christexaport

      Firefox is already out for Maemo. Skyfire is there for Symbian, and WinMo, as far as I know. Blame Blackberry for being late to the party, since they have a closed system. If you want a good browsing experience, just go Nokia and leave the baby platforms for the starters.

  • http://blakemitchellweb.com 0157h7

    I semi understand what they are doing in reviewing wm, but they are already in Alpha for it. Just finish it off. WM still has higher market share than Android worldwide, and I think WM users would be more likely to user firefox (vs. ie and opera) than android users.

    That all being said, I have stopped using ff in my laptop and desktop, and if they do not release a wm version after getting my hopes up, I will hold a grudge.

  • T

    I did not post that!

    • T

      That’s because you aren’t capable of formulating intelligent sentences to compile enough to create a whole paragraph, Jeff. Go back to being retarded.

  • Bradley

    give symbian some love mozilla.

  • Tyson

    Wow really late 2010… why bother announcing it

  • Joe

    How bout a version for WebOS for the Palm Pre users?

  • ilaofficial

    Had Fennec on my N900 man was it a POS!!! (Browser not the phone). Ideas are great but when put to the test it was extremely slow and unusable. I sold my n900 and now am extremely happy with my Nexus 1 of course with some Cyanogen sweetness ;)

  • whoster69

    Looks like they have given up on Microsoft’s phone OS. Who is next? Take a number! No shoving!

  • http://www.maemo-freak.com christexaport

    Firefox is already here in version 1 form on Maemo5, but honestly, its default browser, actually a variant of Firefox itself, is the REAL desktop browsing on a mobile king by a landslide. Firefox Mobile is catching up with it, and isn’t ready quite yet…

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