Mozilla releases Firefox 4 beta for Android

The Firefox browser for Android has come a long way since the days of Fennec. When Mozilla started developing a mobile browser for the Android (and the Maemo) platform, we were eager to try it out but the first versions of the beta was a major disappointment.

Then beta 2 came bringing much needed improvements and added features making the Firefox mobile usable but still, we placed it within the “also-rans” category in the mobile browser race.

Now Mozilla has released the latest version of it Firefox mobile browser and we have to say that Firefox has climbed up from being just another mobile browser to probably one of the best offerings out there.

The most noticeable improvement brought about by this latest addition of Firefox is speed. Browser pages load considerably faster than previous versions of Firefox. In fact this version of Firefox is one of the fastest mobile browsers we’ve tested. In addition, the responsiveness is also felt when feeding inputs into the browser like scrolling, panning and zooming. It’s an overall pleasant experience.

Welcome additions to the latest Firefox beta release include the Firefox Sync feature, the Add-on customisation and the Awesome Screen.

Firefox Sync allows you to synchronize history, bookmarks, open tabs, passwords and form data across multiple computers and mobile devices, delivering one seamless Web experience with minimal typing. Though this is a good feature to have, it is far from perfect and the steps to sync your PC and mobile browser contents are still far from being idiot proof.

The Awesome Screen is an extension of the Awesome Bar. The Awesome Screen pops up just by tapping on the Awesome Bar (URL bar). It gets to know you and gives you instant access to a smart list of your favorite history items and bookmarks and lets you easily select a search engine for your desired search. You can also customize your search engine list for maximum efficiency.

Mozilla has also added a new feature that re-renders text content on screen re-sizes and especially on a double-tap on the touch screen. This is very nice and makes the browsing experience on a mobile device much better compared to previous version.

Being beta you can expect a few minor glitches here and there but the Firefox 4 beta browser is still a good performer overall.

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