14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla announced on Friday the availability of the latest release of its browser for Windows Mobile-powered handsets, namely Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3. The fresh iteration of the browser comes around with a series of new features and fixes, including support for a variety of screen resolutions, improved start time, compositor work and panning.
“The first thing you’ll notice is the improved start up time. [...] One caveat is that this faster start up time doesn’t take effect until after you reboot your phone (hey, this is Windows after all). The next thing you’ll probably notice is the much improved panning. We’ve implemented a tile cache rendering system (much like you see on Google maps) that allows us to cache previously rendered content and avoid duplicating the work. This has also allowed us to switch over to native scrolling surfaces which has greatly improved panning performance” is what Mozilla has to say about the new release on its blog.
This is the third alpha milestone of Fennec, which is nothing else than the mobile version of Firefox, aimed at Windows Mobile-based devices. As it happened with the previous alpha iterations of the browser, this version is meant mainly for testing purposes. The Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile comes with touchscreen support, along with a Smart URL Bar and support for add-ons. The developing team stated that it is focused on the stability and performance of the solution, as well as on its integration with Windows Mobile.
Numerous Bug fixes have been included in the new release, as well as a series of improvements. Here's what the release notes show:
- Much improved panning/scrolling performance - Improved start-up time - Revised theme - Support for running in full screen - Numerous bug fixes - Improved painting performance - Improved UI polish - Support for touch sensitive directional pad on HTC devices - Improved kinetic panning with directional locking - Ability to scroll frames - Improved zooming support - Support for multiple screen sizes.
While there are great improvements over the previously released Alpha 2 version, the developing team still has a long road ahead, and future releases are expected to bring even more novelties. In the meantime, you might want to give the new Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile a try, just to see how it works. In case you don't have a Windows Mobile phone, you can try the Fennec 1.0 Beta 3 on a Maemo handset, or on a computer.
Download Fennec 1.0 Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile
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