A faster and more stable Firefox 4 beta for Android needs testing

THE LATEST Firefox 4 Beta for Android and Maemo is available at the Android Market, with Mozilla calling for testers to wring it out.

Mozilla has several claims for this version, saying that it is faster and easier to use. There should be better panning and zooming, a faster start-up time and quicker page load times thanks to enhanced Javascript performance

The first Firefox 4 for Android was released last year, a beta version that has undergone a number of revisions based upon user feedback.

Previously given the name Fennec, a reference to a small nocturnal fox, it has features familiar from the Firefox desktop versions, such as an 'awesome' bar, tabbed browsing and the ability to install add-ons.

There are a number of other web browsing options available on Android such as Chrome and Opera. But the name is very familiar, and Mozzarella's web browser also has Firefox Sync, which is useful if you use Firefox on the desktop and want to access your history, bookmarks, tabs and passwords across all devices.

In the future, you will probably see Firefox 4 for Android optimised for tablet devices, which might suit people moving from the PCs who are looking for a seamless transition from the web browser they've been used to surfing with using a keyboard and mouse. µ