14 DAY TRIAL // Following the release of Firefox 8 for Android a few days ago, Mozilla announced the availability of a new beta flavor of the mobile browser, namely Firefox 9, now up for download as well, with various enhancements targeting tablet PCs based on Google's mobile operating system.
In the new beta release, Mozilla implemented a new look for Firefox, optimized for delivering a great experience to the users of tablet PCs.
At the same time, the company focused on improving the intuitiveness of the mobile browsing on Firefox, and that it also threw in a few new tools for developers who would like to come up with new, interactive web experiences for users.
The new Firefox Beta was designed to fit the larger screens that tablet PCs sport these days, while also bringing along popular features from Firefox for desktop PCs, including tabbed browsing and the Awesome Screen.
Other features that the new flavor of the mobile browser brings along include:
- Full-Screen Portrait Browsing: Firefox Beta takes advantage of large tablet screens so you can use the full screen to browse the Web, even in portrait mode. Tabs are listed in a top left menu and easily hide when you don’t need them.
- Tab Optimization: Tabs are shown as thumbnails in the left panel of Firefox Beta, allowing you to easily switch between tabs while still viewing full websites on the right. You can swipe to the left to hide tabs for a full screen view.
- New Action Bar with Quick Access Buttons: You can access Firefox Preferences, Add-ons, downloads and more in the new Action Bar menu (next to the Awesome Bar). The Action Bar adds back, forward and bookmark buttons for easy access.
However, this is not all, as developers will also benefit from tools like HTML5 Input Tag for Camera Access, or HTML5 Form Validation API.
Starting with the new flavor of the mobile browser, devs can come up with web apps that take advantage of the camera on the Android device for taking pictures or scanning bar codes without having to leave Firefox.
Not to mention that the new Firefox beta comes with HTML5 Form Validation API for automatic validation of website form fields, including numbers, emails and URLs without the need of writing custom code.
Firefox for Android is available for download from Softpedia as well, via this link.