The new version of Firefox for Android gets several innovative sharing tools, while social chat windows in desktop Firefox can now be "torn off." September 17, 2013 8:13 AM PDT The quickshare feature in Firefox 24 for Android. (Credit: Mozilla) From features to speed, mobile browsing isn't quite what its desktop sibling is, but if Tuesday's Firefox 24 update is any indication, the gap between them is quickly shrinking. The new stable version of Firefox 24 for Android focuses on tying the mobile browser to several quick sharing tools. Among the list of options in the Android menu button while using Firefox is now a "quickshare" button, based on your most commonly-used sharing tools. It lets you share with one tap, and automatically picks up on your prefered sharing tools. "Bump sharing" will also work in Firefox on Android phones and tablets that have near-field communication enabled. You'll be able to send an open tab from one Android device with Firefox running to another by touching the backs of the devices to each other. Changes to the offline Reader mode make it easy to change the font from serif to san serif and back, switch to a "dark mode" with white text on a black background to save on battery manually or automatically, based on the amount of light in a room. Firefox 24 for Android also leapfrogs ahead of other mobile implementations of WebRTC by fully implementing the HTML5, plugin-free real-time communications protocol. PeerConnection, for browser-to-browser calls; getUserMedia, for webcam and microphone access; and DataChannels, for browser-to-browser data transfer, all work in the new version of Firefox for Android. WebRTC lets the browser handle services like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and torrent management without plug-ins. Related stories: Microsoft buys Nokia handset unit: It's an end-to-end world after all Firefox for Android gets new 'awesomescreen' interface First batch of Firefox phones sell out in U.S., U.K. Firefox OS faces brutal road ahead ZTE Open Firefox OS handset to hit eBay for $80 Firefox 24 for Windows, Mac, and Linux sees a smaller spate of changes than its Android sibling. Mac users will be pleased to learn that the scrollbar style that was introduced in Mac OS X 10.7 is finally supported. Windows users, who are the majority of non-mobile device touch screen users, will be disappointed to learn that the W3C standard Touch Events API has been disabled pending the repair of a bug. Touch Events are a different API from the ones used by Microsoft in Internet Explorer 10. However, there's also a new option to close all tabs to the right of your current tab, and the Mozilla-developed Social API can now be used to "tear off" chat windows into new tabs by clicking and dragging. Mozilla has release notes available for Firefox 24 for desktops; and notes for Firefox 24 for Android.
The new version of Firefox for Android gets several innovative sharing tools, while social chat windows in desktop Firefox can now be "torn off."
The quickshare feature in Firefox 24 for Android.
(Credit: Mozilla)
From features to speed, mobile browsing isn't quite what its desktop sibling is, but if Tuesday's Firefox 24 update is any indication, the gap between them is quickly shrinking.
The new stable version of Firefox 24 for Android focuses on tying the mobile browser to several quick sharing tools.
Among the list of options in the Android menu button while using Firefox is now a "quickshare" button, based on your most commonly-used sharing tools. It lets you share with one tap, and automatically picks up on your prefered sharing tools.
"Bump sharing" will also work in Firefox on Android phones and tablets that have near-field communication enabled. You'll be able to send an open tab from one Android device with Firefox running to another by touching the backs of the devices to each other.
Changes to the offline Reader mode make it easy to change the font from serif to san serif and back, switch to a "dark mode" with white text on a black background to save on battery manually or automatically, based on the amount of light in a room.
Firefox 24 for Android also leapfrogs ahead of other mobile implementations of WebRTC by fully implementing the HTML5, plugin-free real-time communications protocol. PeerConnection, for browser-to-browser calls; getUserMedia, for webcam and microphone access; and DataChannels, for browser-to-browser data transfer, all work in the new version of Firefox for Android. WebRTC lets the browser handle services like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and torrent management without plug-ins.
Related stories:
- Microsoft buys Nokia handset unit: It's an end-to-end world after all
- Firefox for Android gets new 'awesomescreen' interface
- First batch of Firefox phones sell out in U.S., U.K.
- Firefox OS faces brutal road ahead
- ZTE Open Firefox OS handset to hit eBay for $80
Firefox 24 for Windows, Mac, and Linux sees a smaller spate of changes than its Android sibling. Mac users will be pleased to learn that the scrollbar style that was introduced in Mac OS X 10.7 is finally supported. Windows users, who are the majority of non-mobile device touch screen users, will be disappointed to learn that the W3C standard Touch Events API has been disabled pending the repair of a bug.
Touch Events are a different API from the ones used by Microsoft in Internet Explorer 10.
However, there's also a new option to close all tabs to the right of your current tab, and the Mozilla-developed Social API can now be used to "tear off" chat windows into new tabs by clicking and dragging.
Mozilla has release notes available for Firefox 24 for desktops; and notes for Firefox 24 for Android.
