Google Android NDK Encourages Mozilla to Consider Building Firefox for Android: But Why?

CNET tells us that…

Google move paves way for Firefox on Android

The “Google move” refers to the recently released Google Android 1.5 NDK (Native Development Kit) that lets developers write Android apps that run natively instead of using the Dalvik Java Virtual Machine. This should allow the development of faster apps. But, I wonder if most Android phone users (non-power users) will even care of an Android version of Firefox becomes available. After all, Android’s own Webkit-based browser is already pretty good.

Moreover, Mozilla’s Fennec project is begining to look like the Duke’m Nuke’m Forever game that was in development for a decade before it was finally shut down. If you set Fennec’s start date with the Minimo project (Feb. 2004), it has been in development for over 5 years. And, its Windows Mobile version is still in an early alpha release stage.

A Mozilla Firefox browser for Windows Mobile would make an enormous amount of sense since Windows Mobile users would welcome a good capable free web browser to replace the near useless Internet Explorer mobile version currently available. Of course, if Mozilla’s Fennec project takes much longer, Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer 6 for Windows Mobile will become available and present a much more functional browser by default for Windows Mobile users.

In the end Mozilla’s Fennec project may be a solution in search of a problem.

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