Mozilla: No Firefox Browser for iPhone... Really

Firefox being free and open should also be on a open and free platform.
I just hope they implement a version of Flash...
I don't have flash on my HTC Magic (ARMv6 CPU) even though I have Froyo because adobe thinks it would run slow, but I just want flash VIDEO, no fancy games and animations, and even if they're slow, I still want it as an option just in case I need to access a flash only site...

That's OK I don't have a iPhone anyways. Can't wait for it on the blackberry.

That's OK I don't have an iPhone. Can't wait for it on the blackberry.

WTF?

I had a iphone 3G and now using the iphone 4. No flash & firefox..etc..suks.
Jumping ship to WP7.

Jailbreak it and install flash...It works great!

So let me get this straight...

Mozilla: "You don't do things our way so forget about us developing something our customers want"

Apple: "We don't allow any code to just run on our phones and stand our ground unless our customers demand it"

Sound to me like Mozilla is the wrong one here. I say it comes down to money and laziness on both company's part.

Apple's policies didn't seem to stop Opera. Maybe that's because Opera Mini uses Opera's servers to gather and render the webpages, thus, technically making it different from Safari which downloads the data straight to the phone? I don't really know. All I remember about the Android Fennec alpha was that it was something like 70MB and barely ran at all, so even if I had an iPhone, I doubt I'd be too bummed.

Maybe you should and all other Apple fans should do their research before posting such nonsense. You and Apple seem to think the iPhone is a small appliance. It's not. The iPhone is a PC just like a Dell Dimension or a Compaq Presario, for example. The iPhone is just a smaller size. It shouldn't matter what kind of PC you have, you should be able to run whatever you want on it without fear of voiding the warranty. Imagine if Gateway told you your warranty was void because you decided to run OpenOffice for Windows instead of using the preinstalled Microsoft Office. Likewise, people should be able to use whatever iOS apps they want on their iPhone PC.

@PaulAnderson

actually it more like, let's not invest resources in developing an app that chances are will never see the light of day because apple don't like real competition in their app store, bear in mind mozilla do not have a large amount of resources and money to throw around for something that may never get approved

now if mozilla was developing a fart app... that's another kettle of fish

How can that possibly be true?

In a world where Microsoft got dirtroaded by the EU over having Internet Explorer preinstalled on Windows; How can Apple just not allow competing software onto iOS. Where is the anti monopoly police when you need them?

Going after low hanging fruit and Google. Typically a monopoly has to be in place for years for the legal system to notice, unless pushed by someone with a lot of money. Even then, there has to be millions of taxpayer dollars spent researching the case. Law ain't free ya know.

A company will do whatever it feels like unless noticed and a big lawsuit is arranged typically. That's how many companies survive on nickle and diming people, with gotcha rules and agreements. The people supposed to be watching to make sure they don't do anything wrong or illegal are staffed most of the time with people FROM those industries.

Revamp the legal system and government oversight I say. The industry will regulate itself is a big laugh.

Mozilla's position on apple's policy (abhorrent though it is), seems to be off the mark.

There are plenty of browsers on the app store, and many try to duplicate Firefox functionality.

Atomic Browser is a popular one (*but not actually all that great*). Perfect browser is much better but for those who want the most complete and Firefox-like experience, the best is iCab Mobile - the only browser to support file donwloading (multiple downloads), secure bookmark syncing (without using a web service - it actually runs a mini webdav server while you upload your bookmarks.html file).
Tabs, history, Full screen, controls for simultaneous http connections - its as close to firefox as it gets.

So while I don't actually miss FF on the iPad, I do think their position is silly. Having said that I'm not a developer and there may be issues wit apple's policy on the allowed development tools (prog languages to the old timers).

It may also seem like a good idea for them to concentrate on competing with Chrome on the desktop and leave the mobile devices for later, but given the rise of mobile Internet appliances, that seems like a strategic mistake:-(

I'd rather have Chrome...?

Its weird anyways, why would someone get an iPhone and expect it to run OSS. If you're interested in OSS Apple should be your last choice, even behind Microsoft. Apple is the inverse of free choice.

Even though Apple tends to not allow competition on their stuff and always preloads their computers with everything you need from a media player all the way to photo editing, they do not demand the same attention because they are small in comparison.

In this I am not suprised though. Why would aAple allow Firefox to create a browser that would probably be better than their own? They wont.

But considering that they do control one of the largest shares of the smart phone market I would think anti-trust might come into play if enough complaints are registered.

Then again this is Apple we are talking about. You don't buy their products to do what you want. You buy their products to do what they say you can do only.

this is good cause the iphone sucks balls

Apple's guidelines states that "Apps that browse the Web must use the iOS WebKit framework and WebKit JavaScript". Firefox uses its own layout and javascript engines, so Apple would never allow it (or any browser that provides its own third party engines to the user) into their app store. The other browsers you listed are simply sitting on top of the layout and javascript engines built into iOS that are also used by the native Safari browser.

What strategic mistake? Firefox isn't ignoring mobile at all. They're developing Fennec for Android, which is going to take a huge slice of the global market pretty soon. And they're simply waiting for Blackberry and Symbian and Windows Phone 7 to get their act together and release the next generation of their mobile platform OSes that are supposed to compete with Android and iOS. It doesn't make sense for them to invest time in developing a full browser for older versions of these platforms that are about to be significantly upgraded or replaced.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Opera Mini the only alternative to Safari on the iPhone? I was under the impression that all other so-called iOS web browsers were nothing more than a fancy skin on top of Safari.

Opera Mini is the only non-webkit browser allowed on the iPhone. Perhaps Steve got distracted by something and accidentally approved it.

WHERE IS THE FIREFOX GIRL?!?

Mozilla isn't going to make money by doing this anyway. I'd rather they focus their efforts on desktop variants.

iCab mobile is a full blown browser on the iPhone/iPad that supports plug-ins such as downloading youtube videos to your phone in MP4 format.

Its also very slick in how it handles tabs! Honestly, I have ditched Safari and use iCab only now.

Most of what is being said here is pure crap. Do some research and realize your iPhone can do alot more than people think, (i.e.flash, tethering, etc.)