Firefox Beta For Android Update Allows Per-Tab Private Browsing

Mozilla announced that it will be bringing its Firefox OS to carrier-sold devices in 2014. But a fundamental part of that ecosystem is the performance of its mobile browser, which is likely why the company is working so hard to perfect the underlying architecture of its Android version.

Private Browsing is perhaps the biggest part of the Firefox Beta update, but not the only one. The Monday announcement also detailed several more updates that users will likely find interesting.

First the big news though. Prior introduced “Firefox for Android Beta comes with new per tab private browsing, allowing you to switch between private and standard tabs within the same browsing session”. While this mode has been called by other, less-savory, names it has many legitimate uses. For instance, you may want to shop for your spouse’s birthday present without her accidentally stumbling across the evidence. Of course, you can erase history, but Private Browsing has your back in case you forget.

Second, Mozilla has a new and updated version of the Home screen. The latest Firefox beta allows users to customize the shortcuts. Users can completely change the images on the home screen to their favorite or most frequently visited sites. To do this, simply tap and hold a site to pin it to the Home page.

Also, the latest version introduces compatibility with much more ARMv6 hardware; “Firefox for Android Beta is now available to phones with minimum requirements of 600MHz, 384MB, QVGA. New devices supported include: Samsung Galaxy Next (GT-S5570, GT-S5578), HTC Aria (S31HT), HTC Legend (A6363), Samsung Dart (SGH-T499), Samsung Galaxy Pop (SCH-i559), Samsung Galaxy Q (SGH-T589).”

Mozilla is going in the opposite direction of Opera, which is adapting itself to the high-performance WebKit engine; Firefox started with high-end devices and is now expanding down, promising good performance on two- and three-year-old hardware.

[GHacks]