Banking on the previous success of Opera getting its Mini browser into the App Store, Mozilla today submitted their almost-a-browser to the Secret Police in Cupertino for approval — and they seem quite confident that it’ll get through.
So, what is Firefox Home, anyway, and why is it not quite a browser?
Well, rather than just being a Safari replacement, Firefox Home acts as a bridge between your desktop version of Firefox and your iPhone. This is crucial, as apps that duplicate functionality of native iOS apps without adding anything new are a no-no in the App Store approval process.
Firefox Home uses the Firefox Sync extension to sync your (desktop) Firefox bookmarks and history with your iPhone, and — more interestingly — will allow you to slide tabs open in Firefox over to your iPhone, much like Google’s Chrome-to-Phone functionality in Android 2.2.
You can search for and view any of the pages in your desktop bookmarks or history, as well as view the tabs open on your desktop copy of Firefox, right on your iPhone. Once you’ve found the page you’re after, you can view it either in Safari (an Apple-friendly move), or from within Firefox Home (which may upset Apple). You can also send the links via email.
Mozilla confidently say on their blog that “once Firefox Home is accepted to the App Store, [they’ll] post and let you know how to install it on your iPhone or iPod Touch.” So keep your eyes on their blog (or ours) for news on the approval process.
For a bit more info, a few more screenshots, and a cheesy demo video, check out Mozilla’s post here.
[via Engadget]