Firefox 5 only comes with two additional features of note. The first, support for CSS animations, gives web developers the ability to add a little extra flair to their pages. This could include making text slide into place across the browser or having different elements of text magically appear as different parts of an animation hit, to name a few examples.

The second big feature found in Firefox 5 specifically relates to Mozilla’s rapid-release model. In this case, Mozilla’s added an option to allow users to more quickly switch between one of the three main development channels in the rapid-release cycle: Aurora, a version of the browser where most proposed features are introduced (and an iteration that’s much more stable than Mozilla’s nightly Firefox builds); Beta, a more stable test build of the browser for public consumption; and Release, the standard iteration of Firefox designed for all users to download.

Switching channels

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help menu and select About Firefox to open the About Firefox window. For Windows XP: At the top of the Firefox window, click the Help menu and select About Firefox.
2. In the About Firefox window, click the Change link.
3. Click the drop-down menu to select the Release, Beta or Aurora channel.
4. Click Apply and Update to make the change and Firefox will download the latest updates for your chosen channel.
5. When the updates are done downloading, click Apply Update and Firefox will restart.

The new version comes with built-in support for Firefox Sync (what was known as Weave), so that tabs, passwords and bookmarks that you use on your desktop can be easily synced and transferred to your mobile device.

The alpha also includes support for pinch-to-zoom on AndroidAndroid, location-aware browsing, the ability to save a site as a PDF, and built-in site sharing via FacebookFacebook, TwitterTwitter or Google ReaderGoogle Reader.

Check out our gallery to see screenshots of Fennec 2.0 alpha in action on Android 2.1.

This release is available for the OS2008 (“Maemo”) software platforms that runs on the Nokia N810 Internet Tablets. If you’re viewing this on an N810, install Fennec.

Don’t have an N810? Don’t worry, you can still experiment with Fennec, provide feedback, write add-ons, and get involved by installing a version of Fennec for your desktop PC:

• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Linux

The idea behind releasing the package for PCs is to give people who don’t have a Nokia Internet Tablet the ability to localize, experiment and build add-ons. Note: The desktop version of Fennec is not a supported product.

Mozilla has made the FireFox 3.1 Beta 3 public. The new features it boasts of are the speed, web compatibility and performance.

The new changes introduced by Mozilla include improvised ‘Private Browsing Mode’ with a new option – ‘Forget This Site’ in the History sidebar, a feature found in Chrome and Safari.

The new TraceMonkey JavaScript ensures improved performance and stability, plus there are improvisations made to the web worker thread support.

Firefox 3.1 beta 3 will also have a new native JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) support. There is also support for the new and elements, the W3C Geolocation API, JavaScript query selectors, CSS 2.1 and 3 properties, SVG transforms and offline applications.

The Gecko layout engine has been worked upon to render the content faster than before.

The beta is available for download. Mozilla is seeking developer testing and community feedback from this release. Mozilla has asked for feedbacks for all the above mentioned features and changes, from users.