Photos: A look at the mobile version of Firefox
ZDNet UK recently had the chance to play with the first mobile version of Mozilla's Firefox browser.
Mozilla has only rolled the browser out to one handset so far — Nokia's Maemo-based N900, pictured here running the application — but it plans to create versions for the Android and Windows Mobile platforms.
The company is touting the application as the only mobile browser to use add-ons, the functionality plug-ins that are familiar to desktop users of many browsers, including Firefox.
The mobile version of Firefox has a lot of the same functionality as its desktop equivalent, such as Mozilla's Awesome Bar. The Awesome Bar allows the address bar to double as a search entry field.
The browser can also synchronise with the desktop Firefox through a function called Weave Sync.
Pre-installed add-ons that come with mobile Firefox include Google, Amazon, Wikipedia and Twitter.
As with the desktop Firefox, users can search for new add-ons, such as the popular AdBlock Plus. Another example is TwitterBar, which adds tweeting functionality to the already multi-talented Awesome Bar.
The mobile Firefox renders sites well, providing the user with a zoom level that fits the width of the page to the device's screen.
Tapping on the screen allows the user to zoom in.
The mobile version of Firefox does not support multitouch pinch-and-zoom functionality. This could be due to the N900's resistive touchscreen, as multitouch generally requires capacitive screens.
The mobile Firefox allows tabbed browsing, so the user can have multiple pages open at once. This functionality is also available on some other mobile browsers, such as Opera Mini.
One piece of functionality lacking in the mobile version of Firefox is Flash playback. Very few mobile browsers offer this. Those that do include Skyfire and the Android browser.