new Firefox browser for android requires less memory

It's been noted today in the internet community that the latest beta release of Mozilla's Firefox browser for the Android operating system needs less memory to operate and its hardware requirements are also lower than older versions, something that should please most Android users.

Mozilla says that its newer mobile browser is now supported on devices with ARMv6 CPUs clocked as low as 600 MHz, down from the 800 MHz that was required previously. The news comes at a good time, just when CES 2013 is closing down.

According to Mozilla, this improvement allows the open source browser to run on approximately 15 million more devices than it could before. Examples of newly supported smartphones include the LG Optimus One, the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide, the HTC Wildfire S and the ZTE R-750.

The browser's other system requirements haven't changed, says Mozilla. It still needs 512 MB of RAM, a minimum screen resolution of 480x320, around 16 MB of free storage, and Android 2.2 or greater to run correctly.

However, it may not run on every single device that meets those requirements, warns Mozilla. Google only started making public beta builds of Firefox with support for the ARMv6 architecture in September 2012, when it said it would test a variety of hardware profiles. Like all beta software, these builds are not guaranteed to work perfectly.

Nevertheless, Mozilla still estimates that as many as 55 percent of the Android handsets in use today run on ARMv6 processors. The goal is for Firefox to support as many of them as possible, though Mozilla says supporting all of them is probably infeasible for now.

In addition to the reduced hardware requirements, the latest Firefox for Android beta also brings in new features. Most notably, the new release now supports newer user interface themes, much as the desktop version does, and it has also been localized for Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese, something that wasn't possible before.

Users whose phones meet or exceed the new minimum hardware requirements can download the new Firefox for Android beta from the Google Play store. As usual, owners are encouraged to share their feedback about the browser and to report bugs to Mozilla