The Mozilla team focussed mainly on improving responsiveness and enhancing the JavaScript performance, meaning smoother panning and zooming, faster start ups and quicker page loading. They’ve also reduced the amount of memory needed and optimized CPU usage behind the scenes for an overall stability upgrade.

But there are still a few known issues with the browser. They still haven’t been able to work out the kinks for their Flash add-on, they say, as ”currently, enabling the Flash plugin results in a compromised user experience across Firefox for mobile.”

And the alternative to Flash, HTML5 video, “may load slowly and create artifacts on the screen during playback.”

What’s more, sometimes letters typed on a hardware keyboard will appear in the wrong order, issues with SwiftKey that may cause it to crash or to prevent users from entering text in input fields, they say, adding users of Motorola’s Droid, the Galaxy S and the Nexus S may also experience a disproportionate amount of freezes and crashes.

That said, there are now more than 100 add-ons for Firefox 4 Mobile, meaning a more customizable experience for users.

Those with Apple products are still stuck with Firefox Home for iOS, basically an add-on for Safari Mobile which allows access to Firefox bookmarks, history and open tabs from their iPhone or iPad.

[Mashable via Mozilla]

The post Mozilla releases Firefox 4 Beta 5 for Android and Maemo appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Apparently, according to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, they opted for Windows Phone 7 to because they wanted to avoid a “duopoly.” They were concerned that the Nokia-Google tandem would create a market wherein it’d only be them and Apple. Instead, Elop says they “wanted to create a challenger.”

Right, because everyone would much rather be a strong third than split the top spot with one other party. Right, because it has nothing to do with the fact that Elop was formally playing for the same team as Ballmer and Gates. I’m not necessarily saying that going with WP7 is bad move (though the stock drop and massive exodus appear to indicate otherwise); I’m just saying the avoidance of a duopoly isn’t that good a reason.

Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how these two juggernauts combine their efforts. Bing Maps or Ovi Maps? Ovi Store or Windows Marketplace? Or, more likely than not, we’ll get some Frankensteined combination of the two.

[MWC]

The post The “Reason” Why Nokia Said No To Google Android appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The announcement isn’t new — Intel said it was going to do this — but now we’re getting our first real look at a phone powered by Medfield. Sort of. What you see here is a shot of Anand Chandrasekher holding a Medfield-powered phone. He’s the VP and GM of the Intel Ultra Mobility Group.

So, what do we know about this handset? Not much, unfortunately. The Medfield processor is supposed to rival the ARM chipsets, providing plenty of horsepower with minimal power consumption. The expectation is that Intel will, at the very least, be working with Nokia on something. The Nokia N9, for example, could get a 1.2GHz Medfield to go along with its MWC debut, dropping the physical keyboard in the process. There’s also word of a MeeGo tablet with Medfield.

Will Intel work with the Android crew too? How about its old buddies at Microsoft for Windows Phone 7? From Hummingbird to A4 (and soon A5), there certainly is no shortage of mobile processor options these days.

[Maemo via Twitter]

The post Sneak peek at Intel Medfield smartphone platform appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

I’ve been saying for quite some time that I’m a big fan of Nokia hardware. I think their cell phones are great, but the operating system can leave a lot to be desired. Well, it turns out that we just be able to address that with Google Android.

This is nowhere near an official solution coming out of Finland. Instead, the NITDroid project is heralded by some enthusiastic developers and it effectively puts Android on your Nokia hardware. They haven’t done it with a phone yet, but they have managed to do it with Nokia’s Internet tablets.

Getting past that “not always the best user experience,” UK mobile consultant Terrence Eden was able to load Android 1.6 Donut on his Nokia N810. The result? “Android is a much better software environment for Nokia hardware than what Nokia provides.”

Aside from a lack of support for Google Market (and certain apps), the Android-powered N810 is working just fine. Other developers have created a version of Android 2.2 Froyo for the Nokia N900 and it’s actually stable, including the ability to get calls and run Google apps. The camera doesn’t work yet, though.

For those of you brave enough to give it a try, there is an installation guide for getting the Droid action happening on your Nokia device. Proceed at your own risk and discretion.

Nitdroid: Installing Android on the Nokia N810 [Terence Eden Blog]
Nokia Phones Hacked to Run Android [Gadget Lab]

The post Google Android on Nokia smartphones? Can it be? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

According to Gartner analyst Nick Jones, Symbian has been surpassed by its primary competitors. The Symbian platform may still be the world’s most widely used mobile OS, but it has fallen behind iOS and Android (as well as BlackBerry for that matter).

Jones is saying that Symbian has grown complacent, allowing the others to innovate while it contineus to “rearrange the deck chairs.” Even the future iterations of the Symbian platform fail to offer enough innovation to make the OS stand out. As such, Symbian’s market share is declining and this decline is accelerating.

I’m a Nokia user myself and, as much as I like the hardware, I have to agree in respects to the software. Symbian just feels like it’s a generation or two behind of what iOS and Android are doing. If Nokia doesn’t come forward with something stellar, like a massive overhall of Symbian^3 or Maemo, its days really are numbered.

[Engadget, BGR via Gartner]

The post Gartner says Symbian’s days are numbered appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

A merger between Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo has created MeeGo, a Linux-based software platform for almost everything; pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems.  Their aim is so large in fact, that it is targeted to any Internet connected device.  The collaboration has many of us in surprise, the yet-to-be-completed MeeGo OS is without a doubt a move to fend off rival OSes from Microsoft, Google and Apple.

Nokia’s CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said: “MeeGo will drive an even wider range of internet computing and communication experiences for consumers, on new types of mobile devices… Simply put, MeeGo heralds a new era of mobile computing.”

How will this affect current partnerships seems to be the question.  With Nokia’s Symbian OS for smartphones still in the market, and Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini on Google’s board of directors, the Android team may not think highly of this move.
Here’s what the MeeGo website is saying about the various product types (direct quotes):

Media phones

Telephone and video calling platforms are growing in capability. What was once a pure communications platform is now also an information, entertainment station and internet access point. MeeGo for media phones will help system developers create next- generation communication devices with high-quality multimedia features, while reducing the amount of development iterations. MeeGo’s graphics system pre-integration and open software stack makes advanced visual features, such as HD video-conferencing, advanced telephony, touch UI, and integrated business applications, much easier to accomplish.

MeeGo’s ability to mix native and web UI development allows widgets to share documents and presentations and to access web content with less memory consumption.

MeeGo will provide the development community with tools, such as the Qt Creator IDE, documentation, sample code, and applications.

Pocketables / Handhelds

Today’s users are demanding more powerful and feature-rich devices to take with them on the go. Next generation smartphones allow users to enjoy a rich and dynamic Internet experience, watch HD movies, and multitask like never before on a small form factor device. Travel lighter and longer with extended battery life. Wherever you go and whatever you do, it’s a mobile experience that not only does more, it does it better.

The MeeGo based platform is specifically designed to enable the application and services ecosystem for these mobile, rich internet and media-centric devices. The MeeGo handheld platform builds on the foundation laid by Maemo and Moblin.

Netbooks

MeeGo will provide expanded features, improved performance, and richer user experience for netbooks. With its advanced support for touch and connectivity, MeeGo is a compelling platform for netbook and tablet creation and application development. MeeGo is a light-weight, scalable, fast-booting and brand-able operating system. MeeGo for netbooks includes:

The post MeeGo created by Intel Moblin and Nokia Maemo merger appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

We first heard about the Nokia N900 way back in May, but nothing was being confirmed out of Finland regarding its existence or its specific specifications. That has now changed, since Nokia made an official announcement for this new device ahead of the upcoming Nokia World event next week.

Perhaps one of the most notable changes for this Internet Tablet is the move away from a Symbian-based operation to one that uses the Linux-based Maemo 5 platform. Could this represent a pending switch in Nokia smartphone world too? We can’t say for sure, but Maemo sure looks pretty to me.

The features and specs are very much in line with early predictions, providing us with a 3.5″ WVGA touchscreen display, HSPA and WLAN wireless connections, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 1GB RAM, OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration, 32GB internal memory, and microSD expansion slot. The built-in Nokia Messaging client can handle up to 10 email accounts.

You’ll have to wait until October to get your hands on a retail Nokia N900 Internet Tablet and, even then, it will only be available in “select markets” for 500 Euro, not including taxes and subsidies.

Source: Slashphone

The post Official: Nokia N900 Tablet Announced (with Videos) appeared first on Mobile Magazine.