In keeping with its efforts to bring Firefox to mobile devices, Mozilla releases Firefox 4 beta for Maemo and Android. While it has yet to reach the same lev

el as Android's WebKit-based browser, Firefox 4 beta has made huge strides in that direction.

The browser still takes up a lot of disk space on Google's mobile device and the Nexus One, which has a limited internal storage capacity. On Android, Firefox 4 beta takes up 30 MB of disk space, and upon its first startup, it unpacks a further 14 MB. This initial startup takes 15 seconds, and subsequent startups are quicker, taking 2 to 4 seconds.

Mozilla has greatly improved the responsiveness of the browser's user interface, with smoother sliding and scrolling, with some lags during loading. Improvements are needed in text rendering, however, as it doesn't do well when compared to the text rendering on Android's browser.

Firefox 4 beta also includes a new welcome screen that includes synchronization features and add-on support, making them more visible. The browser allows remote access to bookmarks and tabs, an area where it has outstripped Google.

Curious users may download Firefox 4 beta from Mozilla's website