By and large, a browser is a browser. Especially when it comes to mobile phones; some are better in that they display Flash content, others allow you to view pages as you would on your computer rather than a mobile version, and the N900’s stood apart by featuring a fully-fledged cursor that allowed the user to interact with drop-down menus. The difficulty isn’t so much in using a browser on a phone, but given the amount of time many people spend on their home computers we all have a list of favourite websites and the problem is remembering what they are to access on a phone.
The beauty of Firefox for the N9 (and indeed Android) is that it syncs beautifully with your Firefox profile on your computer, giving you immediate and full access to open tabs, history and bookmarks. Book a train ticket on your computer, leave the tab open and when you get to the station you can have the reference number and other information at your fingertips by opening the same tab.
On the N9, Firefox loads quickly and is responsive to use. Coupled with the plugin from the Nokia Store, it also allows users to view Flash content, so you can watch the videos on the BBC website for example, instead of being greeted by the notorious grey box informing you that you can’t see it, as happens on so many devices.
For standard browsing, there’s little benefit to be had from choosing Firefox over the default browser. However, if you want to have easy access to your computer’s browsing information wherever you go and keep your browsing habits synced, and view anything you want on your phone, then it’s a definite must-have for any N9 user.
