Firefox for the iPhone? Not happening, says Mozilla CEO
By Erna Mahyuni
Mozilla’s CEO put paid to any notion of the popular browser Firefox coming to the iPhone. But we haven’t really seen a realmobile version of Firefox, have we?
If Firefox does go mobile, Mozilla CEO John Lilly told Wired magazine it’s not going to be on Apple’s hot smartphone. Lilly said, “No. Apple makes it too hard. They say it’s because of technical issues — they don’t want outsiders to disrupt the user experience. That’s a business argument masquerading as a technological argument.”
Lilly went on to highlight the foundation’s membership in the Limo Foundation. Though there was no explicit mention of Firefox on a Limo phone, that would be more likely than Mozilla caving in to Apple’s restrictive requirements.
ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes says a likely reason for Firefox’s non-appearance on the iPhone is “ because Apple has unrealistic aspirations for Safari.” And perhaps he could be right. Apple making Safari a download for Windows, and unhelpfully sneaking it into the Apple software queue for updates are definite clues. Still, it doesn’t mean open source and the iPhone aren’t compatible. It’s just dependant on whether an open source app will be competing with anything Apple has to offer.
Right now, there is a version of the popular open source browser…for the Nokia N800, which doesn’t count as a phone. Rumours have already abounded about a version that will visit your local mobile phone. Trouble is, it’s likely to be on a Limo phone first before all others.
So where does that leave the iPhone? Once the Firefox browser makes the numbers on phones everywhere, then perhaps Apple might concede to let it become a part of its hit App Store. No point holding your breath, though. Unless Firefox’s mobile version thoroughly puts Safari to shame, or enough users clamour for it, no speedy fox will make its home on your iPhone. At least, not anytime soon.
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