FireFox Mobile, Fennec, Gets Alpha 2!

FennecA2 Well we have all been disappointed at the news that MIE 6 is not going to evolve into a patch for all windows mobile devices, but is being limited to more recent, RAM on steroids, devices.  The same goes for Opera Mobile 9.5, seems you are going to have to up your investment in a device if you want a better browsing experience on your mobile device.

The Browser wars, which essentially is the result of mobile device users wanting the equivalent of a desktop, big screen experience on a rather smaller device, have stalled a bit lately.

Mozilla have an offering, Minimo, that has long been relegated to the bench. They have though, been fiddling about, with a little project, that will hopefully, bring a useable version of FireFox to Windows Mobile.

Mozilla have released the second Alpha of their Fennec browser for WinMo [where do they come up with the names?], that is a step forward towards their new mobile offering.

As Fennec development continues to move forward, the value and significance of having the complete Firefox stack in a mobile environment is becoming increasingly apparent. Developers have already started creating innovative add-ons for the new browser that increase its functionality in various ways. For example, the TwitterBar extension allows users to post to Twitter directly from the Fennec address bar. An early Fennec port of Mozilla’s Weave framework is also underway.

Ars Technica, bring a whole heap of detail to the release.

The fact is you still can’t see any better than a technical preview, unless you have a Nokia N810 tablet. Hit the link below for your under privileged preview :)

 

Fennec M10 (alpha 2) for Maemo release notes

Opera Mini 4.2 beta released!

OperaMiniBetaNew
I’ve been using opera Mini for a while on a crapola Samsung E250, the best solution for email on the go, the native WAP browser that came with the phone is really  inadequate for everyday internet use. For those of you that have Java enabled handsets of any kind, it’s worth a look. 

Opera Mini 4.2 beta installs next to any existing stable Opera Mini version on your device and will not overwrite any of your data.

Alternatively, you may download Opera Mini to your computer for a manual installation.

Obviously it works with BlackBerry and Palm equipped phones as well. If you haven’t tried it what’s stopping you, it’s free, you’ve got to love a bargain like that :)

Opera Mini 4.2 beta

Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta, Now available!

Earlier in the year I had a look at the Opera 9.5 Beta, though it was not official, and I was excited, now I’m sounding like some late night telemarketer, but this is exciting. I’ve been waiting for the release of  the real Beta of opera 9.5 for mobile and it’s downloading as I type this.
opera9.5Beta
I am so looking forward to browsing with this tomorrow, but I wonder if Opera can establish a world record for downloads with this most anticipated Beta.

You can Download the Beta Here