Mobile Firefox (Fennec) arrives on Windows Mobile

The Mozilla Foundation has released a working version of Mobile Firefox, codenamed Fennec, for Windows Mobile devices.

Actually, the Mozilla chaps are keen to stress that this 'pre-alpha' version of Fennec has been crafted for one handset speficially – the HTC Touch Pro. However, it should work on any Windows Mobile device with a VGA screen.

The developers admit that this first iteration is far from finished, and have also taken the opportunity of the release to address the issue of 'leaks' of, um, pre-pre-alpha versions of Fennec. More after the cut.

Mobile Firefox’s programmers state that their aim is to develop a "working, usable browser" but in order to reach this point, they’ve have to make a few compromises. First, this edition of Fennec has no update facility. Second, support for plug-ins is absent. Third, there’s no soft keyboard support – so if your Windows Mobile device is touchscreen only, you’re out of luck for now. However, you can still play with the Fennec desktop emulator, which we reported on last year.

On the subject of Fennec 'leaks' (people have apparently been downloading it for a while now), Mozilla describes the very concept as "entertaining", pointing out that Mozilla operates as an open source project, with code out there for all to see. So, there are no 'leaks' – just versions passed around that are considered far too early to be actively pushed out to the public.

There, that’s told you hax0rs – hasn’t it?

[ Mozilla Foundation]