The developer of the popular Firefox browser, the Mozilla Foundation, has just announce the release of Firefox for Mobile. The newly released version currently exclusively for Nokia’s N900 smartphone/Internet tablet. Plans are in the works to release version compatible with Google’s Android mobile platform operating system and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. None of Apple’s mobile devices (iPhone, iTouch, iPad) will be able to run the new browser because of the “inherent limitations” of Apple’s mobile operating system environment. Equally dissed  are Backberry users since their devices use a java based operating system incompatible with Firefox.

Firefox for Mobile sports bad ass Add-ons with names straight out of a 12-step program like: YouTube Enabler, Shareaholic for Facebook and Twitter abusers, and the Awesome Bar which apparently has nothing to do with alcohol (I checked).

But it does not run Flash.

This is the second poke in the eye this week for Flash whose owner Adobe claims to be the world’s most common software platform found on 99% of desktop computers. Early Steve Jobs was reported as saying Apple’s mobile platform will not support Flash because it too buggy.  At the same meeting anonymous sources reported Jobs said Google’s motto “Don’t Be Evil is bullshit.” Alternate anonymous sources report Jobs actually said “Don’t Be Evil is a load of crap.” Alternate, alternate anonymous sources report Jobs actually said “Don’t Be Evil is just the kind of pompous hubris that the sheeple love to eat up. I wish I had thought of it first.”

Gartner projects consumers will spend $6.2 billion on mobile apps in 2010 and generate $600 million in advertising revenues. They also say 82% of free to download, mostly powered through advertising. Gartner breaks down the smartphone user base at the end of 2009 as follows:

44.6% Symbian (Nokia)

20.8% Blackberry (Research in Motion)

17.1% iPhone (Apple)

7.9% Windows Mobile (Microsoft)

3.9% Android (Google)

1.1% Palm

App Marketplaces

Apple App Store – Currently largest by far with 3 billion downloads of 150,000 apps for the iPhone and iTouch.

Google’s Android Market – Fast growing number two now has 16,000 apps that run on any device powered by Google’s Android operating system including the Motorola Droid from Verizon Wireless and the Nexus One made by HTC for Google that uses the T-Mobile network. Since Android is free and open source it is rapidly growing in market share and every major mobile phone carrier is now offering Android based devices.

Blackberry App World – 2,000 plus apps available for the over 50 million Blackberry’s sold. Blackberry has a well established business user base and excellent security and synchronization with common corporate email systems.

Palm Software Store – Offers 5,000 apps of which 1,000 are free, that run any of 25 Palm devices that run on the webOS platform.

Nokia Ovi Store – For over 50 Nokia devices that run the Open Source Symbian operating system.

There are also third party marketplaces that offer apps for multiple platforms including Microsoft Mobile, whose own app store has been a dismal failure.

photo credit: LordFerguson