Today we (Mozilla) are focusing our efforts in mobile on Linux and Windows Mobile devices. In Q3 2008 Symbian had 49.8% of the total smartphone sales (and 57% in Q2) according to Gartner compared to 11.1% for Windows Mobile and 7.2% for Linux. There are a few other platforms: iPhone, RIM and Android that have or are gaining market share, where we for technical or licensing reasons can’t be deployed. So in order for Mozilla to be relevant in the smartphone space we need to have a presence on the Symbian platform. We have worked with Symbian to understand and scope the size of the project and Symbian are supporting this with engineers to start working on this project so far. At the same time, several Symbian houses are interested in contributing work.
We have now kicked off a project in an incubator repository to get the development kick-started and are inviting everybody who is interested in seeing Fennec (Mobile Firefox) on Symbian to get involved. Harry Li already started some of this work, where he has ported NSPR to Symbian.
The current high-level plan (that we will revise as we move forward) is split into 5 phases:
- Fennec compiling and linking
- Planned completion date: end of January
- Basic/limited browsing possible
- Planned completion date: end of February
- Full browsing
- Planned completion date: end of April
- Fennec ready for initial testing
- Planned completion date: TBD
- Bug fixing and productisation of Fennec
- Planned completion date: TBD
Want to get involved? Take a look at the wiki or join us on irc on #mobile for general mobile discussions or #symbian for Symbian specific discussions.
In my next post I will write more details about how the actual work will be done and a more detailed breakdown of the schedule. Drop a comment if there is something else you would like to see me cover in the next post.
Update: The dates in the high-level plan are for 2009 (here’s’ looking at you Doug)
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really nice!!! thanks for the work!!
by the way, what about s60 5th edition(5800, N97)? Will this also be developed?
We will start out by using S60 3rd Edition FP2 v1.1, but it shouldn’t be hard to move to a newer version afterwards.
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Why can’t we deploy on Android?
Gerv
@gerv currently Android does not have a way of installing native apps. So the only alternative – currently – is to write Java apps for Android.
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As i am contemplating uying a Nókia N97 this is great news. Having Firefox on my mobile is very essential, with Foxmarks or Weave of course.
But why is Android out of the question? that seems odd!
@Lars Gunther: Please see comment 6.
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Hi there, ive notice that you wont develop for apples, android but will you develop for Windows Mobile based devices?
The newest ones now are using WinMo, like Omnia, HTCs.
Thanks.
And Great Job!
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@Heitor: We are actively working on a Windows Mobile version and you can build it yourself following these instructions: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Build/Windows_Mobile_Build_Instructions
You can also follow the progress of the port here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile through the weekly meetings (or meeting notes) and/or joining #wince on IRC.
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Está versión del firefox para la plataforma s60 contara con el soporte flash para visualizar videos flv y demás contenido relacionado, contara con algún administrador de descargas Desde ya se agradece está respuesta y demás comentarios al respecto.
Está versión del firefox para s60 contara con soporte flash para visualizar videos flv y demás contenido, contara con algún administrador de descargar y o acelerador de descargar. Desde ya se agradece cualquier comentario al respecto.
I hope that it will also be able to run on the slightly older FP1 devices. As devices like the N95 and N82 use the exact same processor as the N800 and N810 internet tablets, if my knowledge is correct.
Today is 7th March… no sign of Basic/limited browsing possible on Symbian…
@Marco: The high-level plan has changed somewhat and I will shortly write a blog about where we are at, where we could use some help and how we will proceed over the next few months. The up-to-date plan is available here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Symbian