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September 18, 2013

Firefox for Android 24 Brings New Support for WebRTC and Plenty More


The newest version of Firefox for Android was recently announced, and along with the new version—version 24—comes a variety of new tools geared toward offering value on the go. Not only is there a new means of link sharing via near-field communications (NFC), but there's a whole new premium placed on Web-based real time communications (WebRTC) as well as some extra new features in sharing and the like.

Bringing out WebRTC support on Firefox for Android 24 allows Mozilla's mobile browser of choice to catch up to Chrome for Android in terms of WebRTC support, which is particularly fitting as Mozilla had a pretty substantial hand in the development of WebRTC in the first place, alongside Google. Chrome users have had access to WebRTC services in browsers for some time, but with this, Firefox users will be next on the list. The newfound support, sadly, doesn't allow users immediate access to the new communications system, but its availability does open the doors for developers to start bringing out applications that feature WebRTC and work with Firefox. At last report, all three primary components of WebRTC—the webcam, the microphone, and the data channel between browsers—will all get a note of support under the new release.

As important a step as this is, however, it's not the only step Mozilla has taken for Firefox. Also included with the new update is the “quickshare” feature found in the Firefox Share menu. Intended as a more automated way for users to share links with social media sites like Twitter and Facebook—as well as for those who use e-mail or text messages to disseminate links—the new Firefox for Android version will automatically determine the most frequently used sharing service on that device and add it to the Share menu button, making it a lot easier to pass around links. Sharing with NFC is also now available, allowing users to just touch phones briefly to share an open tab.

Finally, the new release is also lighting a bit of a fire under Mozilla's Reader. While Reader hasn't exactly received a big slice of the limelight in recent history, Reader does offer some exciting features for those who like to read, complete with offline storage. But the new updates allow reader to distinguish between day and night, switching modes accordingly and changing light levels to match. Users can even rapidly switch between serif fonts and sans serif fonts as desired. There's also Braille support, improvements to TalkBack and other Android screen readers, and a switch in the default search engine in China to the Baidu search engine.

While this isn't the full update that some might have liked, it's a step in the right direction that gets us one step closer to seeing more WebRTC functionality show up on mobile devices. Given the kind of implications that WebRTC has in terms of mobile device usage—especially in terms of a mobile workforce or even just a normal recreational users—seeing WebRTC make steps in the mobile field is a welcome sight to say the least.

With more development for WebRTC now more likely to come about in the mobile field—as well as considering what it's doing overall in the desktop arena—WebRTC is likely to pose a major new prospect in communications in the near-term future. The additional improvements in Firefox for Android 24 only help the situation, giving the mobile side a little extra boost to match the developments in the desktop arena.




Edited by Alisen Downey
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