On my laptop, I hardly use Firefox except to keep it upgraded or sometimes when curiosity strikes. I love using Chrome on my computer and hence I was rather happy to see Chrome Beta on Android. Unfortunately Chrome on Android is still a bit buggy for me.
This is when I started using Firefox on Android. The browser today is out of beta, interestingly beating out Chrome which is still in Beta (check update below).
Firefox for Android Features
- Firefox is compatible not only with Android 4.0 (ICS) like Chrome. It is compatible from Android 2.2 onwards.
- The browser also prompts users to choose the search engine they want to use for every search. These include Google, Amazon, Twitter and Wikipedia. Considering we are using this on mobile phones or tablets, toggling through these four is handy.
- Firefox also has quite a few add-on, much like its PC version. It is one of the few mobile browsers which has a ad-blocker.
There are the other options like synchronizing bookmarks, passwords and history. The browser also seems to be pretty fast and emphasis is on minimal use of typing out stuff.
Do try out Firefox on your Android phone and drop in your comments and views.
Link: Firefox for Android
UPDATE: The Chrome App for Android was updated a day after this post and is out of beta. Thanks Gokul Sukumar for the tip.
11 Comments
@Adi:
Without Doubt! Firefox is a very good browser for Android. However, I do not second your opinion as the best Android Browser. “Dolphin Browser” is a look alike Google Chrome product, and it is really fast in most of the aspects. I am not sure whether have you test the speeds on both of them?
@Gokul: Being fast is one thing but I like Firefox because I had to type very little to browser around. That for me on (mobile platform atleast) is a winner.
I am running 2.2 and Google Play says “This app is not compatible with your device.” 🙁
@Rakshit: Thanks. The requirements say 2.2 and upwards. Maybe something else is incompatible other than the version.
I’m still not a big fan of browsing on the small phone. Its a real pain to browse websites with rich content. I have reserved browsing on the phone to situations when i desperately need to check something… I have tried other browsers like dolphin, chrome etc, still tethering with a laptop or a 10.1 inch tablet is possibly the best way you can get a decent experience of browsing on the go.
The Firefox PC version is sluggish these days as the author mentioned. I don’t know why, but chrome definitely performs better for me in the desktop. Surprisingly the firefox on the mobile is quite faster, but it was not faster than the inbuilt browser(Nothing I could notice).
If you are a big fan of firefox, this is definitely your chance to plunge.
Note: Installing excessive number of apps in your phone slows it down, and affects tethering speed… so always choose the applications you want.. even if you move them to sd card, still they bring the performance down…
I had to kick out all games, unused apps, unused live wallpapers, etc and even some files, to make my phone more responsive.
Another word of advice: If possible don’t install skype, if you still want it, don’t let it run in the background. Thats the same advice for talkatone and viber too…. These things kill your experience on the mobile….
@Hariharan: I agree with your point that browsers are cumbersome for mobile phones except to check things in an emergency. This is why I liked Firefox’s non-minimal interface more helpful than Chrome (atleast on the phone).
@Adi: Ah! If the scope is “minimal typing” then probably it is the best. But, I have tried both and still find Dolphin way better in many ways. 🙂
Speaking of Chrome : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome ->Just Updated on 27th June 2012
@Gokul: Thanks and updated the post.
I am using Android 2.3 (LG Optimus one)… But shows the message This app is incompatible with your LGE LG-P500. 🙁
@Anumod
I think your phone is running ARM v6 (or lower) CPU, which is currently not compatible with Firefox. For more details, check http://goo.gl/pKslK