14 DAY TRIAL // We've got a couple more weeks until the end of 2012, but this is a good a time as any to start looking back at the year that is ending. Mozilla is doing just that with a broad review of what's been up to this year.
Mozilla's VP of Firefox Engineering Johnathan Nightingale is proud of his company, but then again, what else would he say.
He notes that the desktop Firefox keeps on going strong, highlighting the 3 billion Firefox Add-ons milestone, which was hit this year, as well as the fact that the browser supports 89 languages.
The upcoming Social API is also getting some praise. Only Facebook makes use of it for now, but if you're gonna start somewhere, the biggest social site on the planet is a good place.
Things are looking even better on the mobile front, Firefox for Android saw a major revamp early this year. It was completely rewritten using solely native APIs for the UI and the results are obvious, the mobile Firefox is significantly faster and more responsive.
Finally, Nightingale touches on Firefox OS which is coming together well. It's on the final stretch now and the first devices are expected to ship early in 2013.
There's no guarantee that it's going to be a success, or even if it's going to be any good, but Mozilla is determined to offer an open alternative in the mobile space.
"The path for 2013 is clear, but it won’t be easy. We need to deliver on the momentum we’ve built. Our browsers need to keep maturing and evolving as our users do, with features like the Social API expanding the concept of what a browser can be," Nightingale added.
"For Firefox OS, 2013 will be the year when the world can see and hold and try a real device powered only by the power of the Web and, for many, it will be the first smartphone they’ve ever been able to afford," he concluded.