Firefox 9.0 for Android Now Available

Firefox has introduced version 9.0 of their browser to the Android market this morning and tablet users will want to get their hands on it. Mozilla has overhauled the interface to make for a more pleasant browsing experience on the big screens that Android tablets provide.

Other than the fact that they’ve adapted the user interface for tablet users we’ve got a couple of additions that developers will appreciate. Mobile users are probably in the clear as far as this being a “must have” update but it couldn’t hurt to step up to the latest version anyway. Find the download here and check out the release notes below. [via EuroDroid]

The latest version of Firefox for Android has the following changes:

• New Look for TabletsFirefox has a new experience for tablets that leverages the large screen size and makes mobile Web browsing more intuitive. Popular Firefox features like tabs and the Awesome Screen are optimized for tablets.
  • Full-Screen Portrait Browsing: Firefox takes advantage of large tablet screens so you can use the full screen to browse the Web, even in portrait mode. Tabs are listed in a top left menu and easily hide when you don’t need them
  • Tab Optimization: Tabs are shown as thumbnails in the left panel of Firefox, allowing you to easily switch between tabs while still viewing full websites on the right. You can swipe to the left to hide tabs for a full screen view
  • New Action Bar with Quick Access Buttons: You can access Firefox Preferences, Add-ons, downloads and more in the new Action Bar menu (next to the Awesome Bar). The Action Bar adds back, forward and bookmark buttons for easy access
• HTML5 Input Tag for Camera Access: Developers can build mobile websites and Web apps that allow you to use the camera on an Android phone or tablet to take pictures, scan bar codes and more without leaving Firefox
• HTML5 Form Validation: Firefox supports the HTML5 Form Validation API which automatically validates website form fields like numbers, emails and URLs without developers needing to write a custom code or use a third-party library

Firefox for Android is built on the same rendering engine as Firefox for desktop computers. Please see the Firefox release notes for additional relevant changes

What’s New with Add-ons

There are now over 160 add-ons for Firefox for mobile, and counting. Thanks to our awesome community, the number of exciting compatible add-ons increases constantly.

If you are a developer: Now is the time to extend your reach and build a new awesome add-on, or to make your mobile add-ons compatible with Firefox for Android. Find all the tools and resources you need on the Mozilla Developer Network.

Existing add-on developers can find more information about the specific changes in this version on the Mozilla Developer Network.

Please see the features from previous releases to see what other technologies are available for add-on developers.