Mozilla awaiting approval for its new, cloud-based iOS app

Jul 1, 2010 09:17 GMT  ·  By
Firefox Home for iPhone and iPod touch - screenshot from the teaser video by Mozilla
   Firefox Home for iPhone and iPod touch - screenshot from the teaser video by Mozilla

Mozilla has confirmed the upcoming availability of Firefox Home, an iOS application allowing users to access their Firefox desktop history, bookmarks, and even open tabs, right on their iPhone, or iPod touch device. The makers of the world’s most popular web browser are planning to make Firefox Home available for free, when Apple decides it is worth adding to the iTunes App Store listings. A teaser video is available from Mozilla (embedded below).

“We’re happy to announce that moments ago, Mozilla submitted our new iPhone app, Firefox Home, to the Apple App Store”, reads the official announcement posted on the Mozilla blog. “Firefox Home is a free application that provides access to your Firefox desktop history, bookmarks and open tabs on your iPhone”, the makers explain. “Firefox Home enables access to the websites you need on the go by picking up where you left off with your desktop browsing. Firefox Home uses your browser data, securely synced from Firefox on your desktop to the cloud, to let you search and browse it quickly and efficiently. You can view the sites you want directly in Firefox Home, open them in Mobile Safari or share them with friends via e-mail. Your Firefox data is private and only you have access to it.”

The Mountain View, California-based software company recommends that users install Firefox Sync before doing anything, “so that when Firefox Home is available, you’ll be ready to go!” Sync is just one of many add-ons available for Mozilla’s web browser. It enables users to access their history, passwords, bookmarks and even open tabs across all their devices (much like Opera Link).

“Firefox Home helps give you the information you need, when you need it! No need to type long URLs. Bookmarks take you to your favorite websites with one tap. Your Firefox history starts working for you the moment you fire up your iPhone”, Mozilla further explains. Users will be able to just pull out their iPhone and access the list of tabs they just had open on their desktop if, for some reason, they had to leave the house in a hurry. They can also use the Awesome Bar to immediately find their recently and frequently visited sites on the desktop.

Mozilla promises to post an update once Firefox Home is accepted to the App Store, including instructions on how to install the app on an iPhone or iPod touch. Hopefully, Firefox Home only requires syncing the device to iTunes, in what is the most common way of installing in iOS app. It remains to be seen what Mozilla has in store for us.

Those who spot the app’s availability before we do are encouraged to leave a comment below, or contact the editor here.