Mozilla have today released Fennec 1.0 beta 4 for Maemo enabled Nokia devices.

Changes since beta 3 include:

• Build now works on the N900
• Streamlined bookmarking, editing, and management
• Install and manage search engines
• Improved touch-friendly theme
• Improved panning and zooming performance
• Support for add-on options in the Add-ons Manager
• Integration with Maemo5 system UI controls
• Notification of tabs opened in the background
• Numerous other bugs and polish issues addressed

Download links can be found in the Fennec Beta 4 release notes. Fennec is the mobile version of Firefox, and is set to be released some time in 2010.

Stephen Horlander, a Visual Designer for Firefox, has revealed some Firefox 3.7 and Firefox 4 mock-up designs for Mac computers.

The designs are based on feedback and comments left about the firm user interface direction for Firefox 3.7 and 4 designs. Below are possible Firefox 3.7 and 4 interfaces for Mac.

More details, variations and information on these designs can be found on Stephen Horlander blog post.

Mozilla is set to extend its new plugin check feature, which debuted in Firefox 3.5.3 and would check on first run if Adobe Flash player was up to date.

The feature which was so successful, is expected to be expanded in Firefox 3.6, covering other plugins such as Adobe Shockwave Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player and Java.

While not fool-proof, it’s certainly a forward step for browser security. More information on the plugin check feature can be found on the Mozilla blog.

Mozilla has updated both Firefox 3.5 and Firefox 3 to close several security holes, 3 of which were rated as critical.

A full list of changes can be found in the Firefox 3.5.3 and Firefox 3.0.14 release notes.

The update will be automatically pushed out to current users, or can be downloaded directly from the Firefox website.

Mozilla has posted a new roadmap, outlining the future for Firefox in the next 12 months. At this stage, Firefox 4.0 is due to hit somewhere between September and November 2010 according to the roadmap.

New features for Firefox 4 are said to include platform enhancements, including running tabs in separate processes, interface enhancements, and speed and responsiveness improvements.

Also on the roadmap are Firefox 3.6 and Firefox 3.7, due October or November 2009 and February or March 2010 respectively.

Firefox 3.6 is aiming to include Windows 7 enhancements, including Jump Lists and Aero Peak. The browser is also expected to include light weight themes (persona’s) and big improvements to the Tracemonkey JavaScript engine.

Firefox 3.7 is biggest draw card is each add-on will be placed in its own process, making the overall browser experience more stable (especially with poorly written add-on’s). This release should also see some form of bookmark syncronisation.

The next 12 months are looking bright for Firefox, with some great new features expected.

The Mozilla Mobile team have reached another milestone, releasing Beta 3 of the Fennec browser for Maemo based Nokia phones.

“We’ve made big improvements to kinetic panning and added the ability to scroll iframes. A lot of work has been done to make our theme more robust, taking advantage of things like media queries to support various devices, orientations, and platforms which you’ll see more of in the next Windows Mobile release. Overall, this beta is a major improvement to previous Fennec betas” said Stuart Parmenter, Mozilla’s director of mobile engineering.

Full details of all changes, plus download links can be found in the release notes.

After releasing some news of Firefox 3.6 just a few days ago, Mozilla has opened its doors on Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1, codenamed Namoroka.

Firefox 3.6 is not going to include many new changes like Firefox 3.5 did, but rather is aimed at improving speed and reliability. Windows 7 support (jump lists and Aero peak) do not appear to be on their way for this release.

Mozilla Links has posted a full review of the new browser. Firefox 3.6 Beta  1 is expected some time in September, with the final version on track for November of this year.

Downloads and more information are available from the Mozilla Developer Center.

Third time’s a charm, with tab previews now expected to be included in Firefox 3.6, after the feature was dropped from Firefox 3 and Firefox 3.5

Tab preview provides a visual preview when switching between tabs in Firefox (Ctrl + Tab), much like Alt + Tab when switching between programs in Windows Vista and above.

Tab preview is available in the latest Firefox 3.6 nightly releases but is turned off by default. To enable tab preview, set browser.ctrlTab.previews to true via about:config.

Firefox 3.6 is expected to be released sometime in 2010.

Mozilla has realesaded updated to both Firefox 3 and 3.5 yesterday, fixing several security and stability issues.

A full list of changes can be found in the Firefox 3.0.13 and Firefox 3.5.2 release notes.

Users of either browser should have the updated pushed out to them, or you can manually get the update by going to the help menu and selecting check for updates.

Hot on the heals of the Firefox 3.7 interface mock-ups, Firefox 4.0 mock-up designs have surfaced.

While the new Windows interface looks similar to that of Firefox 3.7, there are some slight differences, including an in-line refresh and stop button.

Two separate designs have been proposed, one with tabs above the address bar, and one with the tabs below the address bar as is currently the case. More screen shots are available after the jump.

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