[PRINCEJUDAH]

Was reading up on C-Net this morning that a Beta version of Firefox is just about set to be available for Mobile Phones. I think this is great news. I'm a huge fan of Firefox and very excited that they are finally creating a browser for mobile phones. What excited me even more is that during the article reference was made to the open-source WebKit project that powers the high end phone Browser's such as the iPhone, Palm Pre, and the Motorolla Droid....then it states (with Blackberry also heading in that direction) We haven't heard much acknowledgment about Blackberry revamping it's browser but this article does mention that Blackberry is set redesign it's browser using the same WebKit project that powers the iPhone, Palm Pre, and Droid. Not sure about you guys but I am really looking forward to RIM's new Browser and the introduction of a mobile version of Firefox. Firefox Mobile first Beta version is said to be released in about a week with an official release there after during the following weeks. If you are interested in reading the article you can check it out over at the link below. Let me know what you think...

First Mobile Firefox enters home stretch | Deep Tech - CNET News

[Duvi]

IMO, I think RIM should just team up with FF. They already let you emulate FF on the berry in the browser options. That way they can focus more on the OS in general rather than the browser.

I can't wait either.

[dsump]

Nice find. I too am a fan of Firefox. Man did that Droid get popular so fast. I don't own one but I own stock in Motorola, so even if I love my Blackberry I dont have a problem when people buy the Droid. It amazes me that it took off so quickly. It's nice to see Blackberry heading in that direction, but hopefully they don't lose any security with an open browser.

[howarmat]

yes we knew BB was moving towards a webkit browser many months ago. No news here really. Dont expect anything till mid 2010 though.

RIM aquires Torch Mobile, BlackBerry WebKit Browser Coming soon | Cell Phone News and Cell Phone Reviews: HotCellularPhone.com

[PRINCEJUDAH]

Nice find. I too am a fan of Firefox. Man did that Droid get popular so fast. I don't own one but I own stock in Motorola, so even if I love my Blackberry I dont have a problem when people buy the Droid. It amazes me that it took off so quickly. It's nice to see Blackberry heading in that direction, but hopefully they don't lose any security with an open browser.

Yes it's interesting that it's always mentioned with the iPhone now. I've played with the Motorola Droids Web Browser and I was truly impressed. Desktop like rendering speed and it wasn't even running on wifi.

[PRINCEJUDAH]

yes we knew BB was moving towards a webkit browser many months ago. No news here really. Dont expect anything till mid 2010 though.

RIM aquires Torch Mobile, BlackBerry WebKit Browser Coming soon | Cell Phone News and Cell Phone Reviews: HotCellularPhone.com

Yes I've also known this since months ago, what I said is that we hardly hear any mention of it so here is another one. The news in my emphasis is the excitement behind a mobile version of Firefox...that's GREAT NEWS!!!

[ba_hamilton]

Dare I say that RIM was feeling a little heat from the andriod market and decided it was time to upgrade their OS and browser. Competition is good.

I can't wait for mobile Firefox.

[Bajanbastard]

I thought FireFox said they will NOT be making a browser for BlackBerry.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[gtstang462002]

Nowhere in that article does it state that they are releasing for the blackberry platform. The only thing that is mentioned about the blackberry platform was that they are moving towards a webkit browser which as Matt mentioned is old news.

[PRINCEJUDAH]

I thought FireFox said they will NOT be making a browser for BlackBerry.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Where exactly did they say that? I'll have to double check the article. If at one point in the past they did say that competition makes you change a lot of things but even if they did, RIM itself is pushing out a whole new browser interface set for mid 2010 anyway. So either way...we are Blackberry happy campers.

[PRINCEJUDAH]

Nowhere in that article does it state that they are releasing for the blackberry platform. The only thing that is mentioned about the blackberry platform was that they are moving towards a webkit browser which as Matt mentioned is old news.

No where in the article does it say it's releasing it for any specific mobile platform but stated they have already been working with a Nokia model. Who knows what platforms it will be available for once the beta is release? I'm still happy that Firefox is finally stepping into the mobile browsing...who knows what that'll bring.

[1magine]

Where exactly did they say that? I'll have to double check the article. If at one point in the past they did say that competition makes you change a lot of things but even if they did, RIM itself is pushing out a whole new browser interface set for mid 2010 anyway. So either way...we are Blackberry happy campers.

I in no way mean any offense - - but how long have you been using BB? Don't hold your breath for a well designed fully integrated amazing browsing experience. I don't want to offend Chicago fans either, but RIM is like the Cubbies; root all you want; dream all you want; but at some point you have got to face reality. Not saying RIM is mathematically eliminated on opening day from the smart phone competition, just that I wouldn't bet my farm on RIM producing products at the same level level of their competition. They have never needed to before, and will not need to do so for the forseeable future. Buisness and government will always turn to them first for security purposes, and that is the market share that the company is concerned with holding. Better browsers have been out for more than 5 years and RIM is 'first developing' in this area. Open GL ditto - and just look at its current implementation. Not much to see here. Flash? **** - look at the latest 9700 leak, .415. How many iterations of the 5.0 OS? How long has RIM had cameras in their devices? And the camera which doesn't zoom properly on any of the "official" 5.0 OSes causes restarts in .415. If you can''t get programming/ coding down for a cell phone camera in 2009, how are you going to produce an innovative browsing experience and imbed it properly in the OS?

[hydroz_23]

If you can''t get programming/ coding down for a cell phone camera in 2009, how are you going to produce an innovative browsing experience and imbed it properly in the OS?

that is why someone else is making it for them

[1magine]

that is why someone else is making it for them

Not really. They bought webkit. The purpose being that they will develop internally. The browser is not and will not function as a third party or add in application. Is is a core application that must be developed in accordance with the phone, and e-mail.

Look, several years ago ATI came all the way back from the brink and the competition between them and Nvidia has been great for all concerned. So there is hope. I just am saying to tamp down expectations.

[Roscopcoletrain]

Not really. They bought webkit. The purpose being that they will develop internally. The browser is not and will not function as a third party or add in application. Is is a core application that must be developed in accordance with the phone, and e-mail.

Look, several years ago ATI came all the way back from the brink and the competition between them and Nvidia has been great for all concerned. So there is hope. I just am saying to tamp down expectations.

They didnt buy webkit. they purchased Torch Mobile who makes a webkit based browser

[1magine]

They didnt buy webkit. they purchased Torch Mobile who makes a webkit based browser

Correct. Torch Mobile. Thank you. I beleive the premise holds though; Torch is not building 'for' RIM, they are building as RIM. Would a Porsche enthusiast be concerned if they were bought out by Hyundai? Torch programmers will not be developing in Web OS, or Symbian. They will now be developing in Java. Let's see how it goes.

[Bajanbastard]

Mozilla rules out Firefox for iPhone and BlackBerry

November 9, 2009 3:30 pm by Ben Sillis6 comments Categories: Apps & Software News Tags: Blackberry, firefox, iPhone, mozilla

Mozilla Firefox, the world’s number two browser, is rapidly rolling out its plans to invade the mobile space as well as the desktop, giving its Fennec project a proper name (Er, Firefox), announcing new platforms and even unveiling a new logo. If you were hoping those new mobile platforms might extend to iPhone OS and BlackBerry OS though, guess again: we’ve just been told they’re way down the pecking order.


It’s five years to the day that Firefox 1.0 was unleashed upon a world sick of Internet Explorer, but a lot has changed in that time, not least the importance and power of mobile web browsing. Firefox for mobile is already available to try out on Nokia Maemo tablets and Windows Mobile, with plans for Symbian and Android to follow, but it looks like the list ends there for the time being.

We asked Mozilla’s European president, Tristan Nitot, whether Firefox for mobile could ever grace the iPhone, and he straight out crushed our hopes and dreams of a rival for mobile Safari.

“The issue is more with Apple than with us because they control the App Store and because they refuse applications which compete with something that is already on the phone. It’s unlikely that we’ll see a version of Firefox running on the iPhone,” he told us.

Firefox 4: first look!

Mozilla’s so sure the iPhone is a dead end that it’s not even looking into developing a version just in case, he continued: “We’re not investing time and energy in this direction because we’re pretty sure it would be blocked by Apple, so we’re better off using our time in terms of development to do things on open platforms”.
Those open platforms won’t include the BlackBerry OS either, he confirmed to us, despite its desperate need for an efficient, tabbed browser. “[Firefox for mobile] is a modern browser with all the bells and whistles that you’ll find in your desktop browser so you need a powerful operating system such as Android or Maemo or Windows Mobile,” he said. “The list of operating systems we want to support in the mobile world is already pretty long – I guess BlackBerry would be one of the last in our priority list”

Nitot couldn’t give us a timeline for a public release of the Android version of Firefox, but any iPhone owners out there hoping for a bit of competition should Apple ever allow it will have to wait for Opera to get the greenlight, it seems.

Out TBC | �TBC | Mozilla

[Joel S.]

The more I used FireFox the more I began to hate it. It is absolutely terrible with memory and resource management. It's biggest thing it had going for it was it wasn't IE, but dare I say IE is better than FF now.

I personally switched to Chrome and haven't looked back.

[Masahiro]

I agree. Chrome browser for BB would be awesome.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[andino]

Yeah stopped using FF due to it's poor resource management. It also takes forever to start up now a days so Chrome is much better and uses resources better

[silenttt123]

I can wait 6 months if that means we get a much better browser. I dont really enjoy browsing on my S2 right now. I much prefer to use a computer.

[Dyzrv]

i love firefox

[karlac]

The more I used FireFox the more I began to hate it. It is absolutely terrible with memory and resource management. It's biggest thing it had going for it was it wasn't IE, but dare I say IE is better than FF now.

I personally switched to Chrome and haven't looked back.

Yabbut, but the plug-ins make FF what it is. Just like iPhone apps.

[Joel S.]

Yabbut, but the plug-ins make FF what it is. Just like iPhone apps.

lol. Yea, it has some cool plugins, but all they do is make it slower and more bloated.

[bjames2785]

cant wait for any webkit based browser to drop