Mozilla is developing its latest browser that could challenge the popularity of Safari on the Apple iPad. The new Web browser from Firefox is titled Junior and was introduced recently by the Product Design Strategy team in a video presentation. Junior erases the need for the toolbar and the browser opens up to fill the entire screen. The web browser is iPad centric, making the browser usage technology-oriented and fun, focusing mainly on the usage from the users’ point of view. These features were confirmed by the company in the same presentation.
Alex Limi’s statement
Alex Limi, product designer for Firefox said that the company aimed at developing something new and innovative. There was a lot of focus on reinvention of the browser in a new form, referring to the Safari on the iPad being a terrible experience for users. There are numerous reasons why Mozilla should expand to the iOS, he said. Mozilla presently does not have technology for the fastest selling consumer platforms and the Junior is set to change all this, he added.
The demonstration
According to the demonstration, the product design team explained in detail how the Junior will function. The Web browser occupies the entire screen, making no space for the toolbar. The entire look of Junior will give the users a magazine-like feel. Initially, the team toyed with designing the controls to make it gesture-based. Finally, they decided on two buttons that would be added on both sides of the screen. Users can view the pages recently visited by clicking on the right button, while the back button is placed on the left.
Challengers to the Safari are not very new. Axis, the web browser from Yahoo was launched to function on the iPad. Skyfire, Opera Mini, Dolphin, and Atomic are a few other browsers that were used on the iPad but did not bode well with users. Mozilla’s Junior could change Safari’s monopoly and create better browsing for iPad users worldwide.