'Firefox Mobile' alpha hits Windows Mobile 6

For months, Mozilla's mobile version of its Firefox browser has been in first alpha, then beta modes on two Maemo-run Nokia Internet Tablets that few possessed. On Friday, Fennec (as it's been code-named) has arrived on a platform that many more testers will be able to sink their fingers into: Windows Mobile 6.

As with Fennec beta 1 for the Nokia N810 and N800, Fennec Alpha 1 for Windows Mobile 6 (download the CAB file) has been tailor-made for the HTC Touch Pro, with an intention to expand to more handsets in future releases. The flashiest feature to expect is support for add-ons. We got a glimpse of them at CTIA, and judging from Mozilla's video tour of Fennec on Windows Mobile, the module is now much more fleshed out. In addition to a list of recommended add-ons is a tab to start searching for more extensions.

The user interface looks identical to that on the Maemo devices, with the Awesome Bar search field front and center, which serves up suggested search terms in addition to showing off your search history. Flick the screen to the left to see bookmarking tools and the add-ons manager in a gutter on the right. Flick to the right to expose the icons that comprise your "tabbed" browsing experience. The rest of the screen is devoted to your Web page.

'Blair Witch'-like still of Fennec's add-ons screen.

(Credit: Mozilla)

For the techies, Mozilla built its interface for Fennec Alpha 1 for Windows Mobile using CSS. This will help the app adjust to various screen sizes and resolutions, says Mozilla. The Mountain View, Calif., company also divulged that this Fennec build shares Firefox's memory management library, JeMalloc. This resource-sharing is another indication that Mozilla is striving to create a mobile product as identical to its desktop offering on its back end as is technologically possible.

Since it's in an early testing phase, we expect you'll encounter a long list of bugs and other known issues in Fennec Alpha 1. Delays in panning speeds are one problem Mozilla noted, and clean-ups in JavaScript processing and graphics are high on its list for open-source development. You'll find a few more details and some sound installation instructions here. If you get a chance to try out Fennec Alpha 1 on the HTC Touch Pro, let us know what you think. We'll certainly be keeping our eye out for developments.

[plbyrd]

" The Mountain View, Calif. company also divulged that this Fennec build shares Firefox's memory management library, JeMalloc. "

Stuperb! We can now expect to see the same rampant memory leaks on devices with 16MB or RAM instead of this thing having to work a little harder to use up 2 GB.

[upuaut]

On a Samsung SCH- i760 (WM6.0), I installed it on the storage card (not enough mem -25mb - in main memory)
i get XULRunner - Couldn't load XPCOM

[SlanderPanic]

Am I the only one praying for Fennec to come to the iPhone?

[monkeyfun14]

But that would cannibalize Safari and Apple doesn't want that.

[Chocobito]

Good, but for mobile or handheld I prefer Opera Mini, definitely the best Mini Browser.

[splinter82]

I tried this for my Touch HD and it was awful. Really slow to load and very unresponsive; Opera Mobile beats it hands down at the moment. Fennec does do a good job displaying pages though.

[checodaman]

They should rename it Fennec

[J-Do]

Thanks for sharing your first impressions. If you continue to test Fennec alpha on the HTC Touch Pro, let us know how it goes. Remember that data speeds and WiFi strength also play a role.

[alkhaiial]

thank you for the great gop