Mozilla launches Firefox 4 on Android

A week after it launched Firefox 4 for the desktop, Mozilla today shipped the final version of Firefox 4 for Android.

But some users quickly complained about slow performance and the browser's lack of Flash support.

Mozilla first pitched Firefox 4 to users last August, when it issued an alpha build of what it called "Fennec." Later, Mozilla renamed the program to keep it in sync with its better-known desktop browser.

Today, Mozilla touted Firefox 4's new streamlined interface, faster performance and its integrated Sync feature, which lets users running the browser keep bookmarks, passwords and open tabs synchronized across multiple desktop computers and mobile devices.

According to Mozilla, Firefox 4 is three times faster than the native Android browser, in part because of the former's new JaegerMonkey JavaScript engine, the same engine that drives JavaScript on the desktop editions of Firefox 4.

Some people begged to differ.

"They say it's faster than the stock browser....but it takes twice as long to open," said a user identified as "Andy" in a Tuesday review on the Android Market, Google's official app store.

"Has to be the slowest browser in the history of Android," reported "Oliver" in another review.

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