Sign up for a new account or log in here:
also @ TechSpot: Gamers spend more money on iOS than dedicated handhelds
Continuing to adhere to its rapid release cycle, Mozilla has published the latest stable release of Firefox 18. "The Firefox of today," Mozilla VP Jonathan Nightingale believes, "is significantly better than the Firefox of a year ago in every way". That sounds like a reasonable claim: Firefox 18 makes the browser faster and more feature-filled than ever.
Download Firefox 18 (stable release)
Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | Release Notes
Download Firefox 19b1 (beta)
Windows
Amongst the biggest changes 18 brings is a brand new JavaScript engine. Named IonMonkey, this Just-In-Time compiler speeds up JavaScript performance by creating an optimized, intermediate representation of the script before run time. Next, the compiler translates that optimized IR into machine code, making for speedier JavaScript execution. According to Mozilla, FF18 offers a 7-28 percent bump in performance over FF17. It'll be interesting to see how IonMonkey stacks up against Chrome, IE10 and others in some comparative benchmarks.
Some Mac users will be glad to hear that Firefox 18 also brings "Retina" support, meaning Firefox is now designed to look sharp and crisp on high-PPI screens. Although such displays theoretically offer 3-4 times the sharpness of traditional screens, software makers must design their UIs to take advantage of those extra pixels or the result is an unfortunate, blurry appearance.
Although FF18 proudly touts Retina support, one bug may continue to dampen the high-res experience of Windows users fortunate enough to own high-PPI displays.
In addition to FF18 for the desktop, Mozilla has also updated its mobile version of Firefox for Android. Version 18 introduces many of the improvements found in the desktop version, but one handheld-specific change is the inclusion of a new anti-malware / anti-phishing filter customized specifically for mobile platforms.
Related Products from Product Finder
Google Nexus 10
The Google Nexus 10 features Android 4.2 with a dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 chip paired with 2GB of RAM, as well as a 10-inch screen at 2560 x 1600 resolution, clocking in at 300ppi. There’s also a 5MP camera on the back, a 1.9MP camera on the front, and a battery that Google says runs for 9 hours. Other features include microUSB, Micro HDMI and not one but two NFC chips.
26 Reviews
Price: $499.99
Google Nexus 4
The Google Nexus 4 features a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, dual cameras (1.3MP front, 8.0MP back), and either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage. Google also baked in NFC support and a wireless charging feature that lets you power the phone by setting it down on an inductive “Charging Orb”.
Google Asus Nexus 7 inch
The Google Nexus 7 has the distinction of being the first device to run the Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" operating system. It measures 198.5mm x 120mm x 10.45mm in size, weighs 340g, and features a 7-inch IPS display that is protected by scratch-resistant glass. The Nexus sports a 1280 x 800 pixel display. It runs a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and 1GB of RAM, it also comes in 2 versions: 8GB and 16GB capacities.
Apple iPhone 5
The Apple iPhone 5 features a 4-inch display retains the same 326 PPI density as its predecessor with an effective resolution of 1,126 x 640, and a new Lightning connector. The new handset now features 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with 802.11n supporting dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. Bluetooth 4.0 is back in addition to GPS and GLONASS for location services.
60 Reviews
Price: $400.00
User Comments: 6
Got something to say? Post a comment-
Seems like the linux version downloaded from mozilla doesn't work. I don't see a linux version 19 beta. Gives "Couldn't load XRE functions" and terminates. Other people are having this problem too. Will try this Techspot's download and will notify you if it works, but I doubt it.
-
I installed FF 18 and it seems faster on Ubuntu 12.10 and Win 7.
-
I might actually check this out.
I am currently on firefox 13, because 14 and 15 kept crashing on me.
-
Darth Shiv said:
Still no TLS 1.2 I see
-
Duckula22 said:
I tried Firefox 18 these last couple of days, but I didn't like its performance. Initially it seems faster than Chrome 23, but Firefox kept eating up memory, so after a few minutes or session, FF gets pretty darn sluggish. I don't like Chrome much, but it performs better on my laptop.
-
St1ckM4n said:
Why does everyone keep saying that non-retina-optimised apps looks blurry? They look just fine and display as normal, as they do on non-retina displays.
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
-
Nvidia Shield arrives in June for $349, pre-orders open now (update)
-
Microsoft launches YouTube app, Google demands it taken down
-
Bill Gates is once again the richest person in the world
-
Google I/O 2013 Roundup: Learn about all the company's updates and announcements
-
Google, NASA join forces to build quantum computing laboratory
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.