Firefox is keeping their word on offering rapid releases for both their desktop, and mobile browser client. Even though it seems like they released version 15 just last week, yesterday Firefox 16 for Android was released to the wild. They’ve added a few new features, enhanced performance, and even added tons of security features to protect mobile users from malicious activities.
Yup, Firefox 16 for Android is available right now in the Google Play Store. One of the nice new features is a Safari-like “Reader Mode” where users can simply tap the book icon next to any URL for distraction free, easy reading. This isn’t anything new, but is a nice addition to Firefox for Mobile.
Then they’ve improved their Share menu with enhanced options and usability. You can now send entire tabs to and from mobile devices using Firefox Sync. Then regarding security, Mozilla has also beefed up that area. There’s been a lot of discussion in the mobile world about malicious links and URLs that can potentially wipe out and erase your smartphone — but not with Firefox 16. They’ve added levels of protection for URLs crafted to maliciously wipe your phone, and they can no longer be opened.
As usual the update lists performance enhancements and tons of improvements around JavaScript’s garbage collection, which should really improve performance. Mozilla even fixed Kyocera Echo stability problems — as if anyone even uses that phone still. So, do you prefer the stock Android browser, Firefox, Chrome, or Dolphin? Let us know in the comments below.
[via SlashGear]
Chrome is still unstable. Firefox seems to take too many repetitive clicks and downloads are hanging as of late. Dolphin is great but it’s downloaded application add_on rarely works… I’d love to see Google enable tab management on the native browser, without having to tap menu…
I actually still use the stock JB browser over Chrome myself..
Any chance you would share why? It’s always interesting to hear someone’s experiences. Have any browser that runs in ” second place” to stock? PS my second place favorite is Firefox, I like the tab management and things like movies and tv shows seem to download pretty well when Flash is disabled . Also Chrome is a huge data hog, even and maybe especially, when it’s in the.background. It will be the first to get uninstalled because of it’s size ( almost 60mb)…
It’s simple and fast for me. I have Chrome installed and use it occasionally to sync with my PC, but I don’t need that feature all that often. For the most part I just stick to what I’m use to using. That and I use flash more often than many.
Thanks, I find I have more luck downloading things when I disable Flash during that process . I appreciate your answering so many people tend to think they are too “good” to answer a question or maybe its just that folks are just suspicious and hateful. Cheers from the Left Coast , hope your day goes well… PS Do you know a keyboard that works with ICS and offers swipe AND arrow keys? I use a pop-up player to watch vid while typing like this (Dice or Mobo) and I make a lot of typos. My HTC came with a “Trace” feature but no arrow keys and my hand tremors make it difficult to fix errors…. Thank you.( Silly me just noticed you are the Author, Thank you very much for answering my questions!)
Swipe AND arrow keys…? Might have to look into that. Have you tried SwiftKey 3? It doesn’t have swipe but the prediction is very accurate and it has arrows in settings.
Thanks for the idea. I may get brave and try the new beta that the original Swype is offering. Sounds like it is for experts however. The pre-installed HTC ICS keyboard with trace would be perfect if it just.had an option for “arrow” keys so I could fix my typos easier. Tapping accurately on the screen is difficult with a shaky paw! I installed the Firefox update and am grateful for the information. I don’t understand why we should.worry about someone remotely wiping our phones but there are an awful lot of mean people out there. Best wishes and Cheers from the Left Coast!
I thought the stock JB browser was Chrome…