Firefox 4.0 is not due to be released for well over another yeah but mock-ups of the premier open-source browser’s proposed visual refresh as it will look on Linux have been mocked-up and shown off today.
Version 4 will see a raft of major new features and improvements – not least of which is the refined interface above.
Another major addition will be Browser Sync via Mozilla Weave, allowing for cloud syncing of bookmarks, passwords and favourites.
Is it enough?
The majority of the forthcoming improvements are a reaction to Google Chrome. The speed, features and slick interface it offers really puts the “established” browsers in the shade – and Firefox is stepping up it’s game. But is it too little, too late?
Google Chrome will offer browser syncing in just a few months time (it’s already in testing, add --enable-browser-sync as a flag to use it.) Weave will rear it’s head in Firefox well over a year away. It already has the interface, it’s extension framework has potential to be far greater than Firefox’s (add-ons can be installed, disabled and removed without needing to “restart” the browser) and browsing just keeps getting faster.
In The Mean Time…
The next “minor” release of Firefox which will bear a visual change will be that of 3.7 which has also received some Linux mock-up treatment.
