Pale Moon for Android public beta!

[Moonchild]

The implementation is far from perfect and not as good as Opera's, which is why it got removed I think, but having the option available was a lot better than nothing.

The implementation was problematic.
Bringing it back as it was in FF23 is not an option, I looked at the code and it just won't do anything but tarpit the browser if it's put back the way it was.

Would be nice to have the ability to set a homepage rather than the most used.

There's an extension to do this.

It's a bit too close to the Firefox browser at the moment.

As opposed to what? Pale Moon is Firefox-based. it's not a brand new from scratch browser

[Supernova]

Would be nice to have the ability to set a homepage rather than the most used.

There's an extension to do this.

I'm not a PM for android user, but such a feature looks "basic" enough to justify to be done a core feature, no ? (Of course it isn't the priority now, when a stable browser with sync working and correct branding is, but for future it would be good imho)

[Moonchild]

There is no UI or setting for a custom home page in fennec. Even the extension available for it does it with an on-load redirect.
As such it's not "basic" to implement, and it's better to present people with a page on mobile that is known to "always work", preferably without network access.
i.e.: something internal.

[lyceus]

Let share the joy, this topic is now in Spanish!

https://forum.palemoon.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4975

[access2godzilla]

The implementation was problematic.

Would some kind of new implementation be worked upon sometime in the future, if not now? Text reflow is very important and the Firefox implementation SUCKS. (Do try using Opera and then come back to Firefox.)

Pale Moon is Firefox-based. it's not a brand new from scratch browser

I understand that, but hopefully it will be something more than just a rebranded browser? I know it's early days, but just rebranding a browser and releasing it is just a magnet for 1-star ratings.

BTW, I would like to see the excessive branding (on the home page) removed. I know I'm using FF(PM), so no need to paste the FF(PM) logo and the text there; and maybe make it something clean like desktop PM's about:newtab.

[Moonchild]

Understand one thing above all: I'm pushing for an Android version in an accelerated way because Mozilla broke sync, leaving Pale Moon desktop users dead in the water if they want to sync their mobile devices. This means it will be released as-is because people want something to be able to sync mobile with desktop, and Pale Moon for Android will be able to do that. Yes, it will be close to Firefox/Android. That probably won't change, unless we get a dedicated maintainer for this.
I honestly don't have time to go all-out on the mobile version, there is only so much one person can do, and the way Android is programmed is significantly different than desktop (it's java-based, uses XML, etc.). My personal focus will ALWAYS remain on the Windows version for desktop. That is what I have experience in, that is the biggest user base, that has the most weight for the entire Pale Moon project.

If you want to see changes to the PM/Android layout, want to improve on its presentation, or want a better reflow, you are most welcome to jump right in and submit patches. Yes you probably don't want to hear "patches welcome", but that is how it is, folks. I'm not a full-blown team in a single body, there are limits to what I can do.

[x-15a2]

First and foremost... THANKS!!! This is a great step forward!

A few things I've noticed:
- If you have the previous test release installed, you'll want to uninstall it before installing this βeta. The previous release was called PaleMoon, this one is Pale Moon. If left behind, you'll end up with 2 identically named sync accounts

- The Pale Moon branding is much better in this version, but I still found some FF crumbs:
* Sync is still branded as Firefox Sync (but has PM icon)
* The small icon in the Android status bar is from FF

- I'm still having issues getting sync to work, but that may be something on my side... I'll test again when I have a minute

[danielson]

Working just fine here on Nexus 7!

Special thanks to Martin (GHacks) for the tip and to Mr. PaleMoon for this pleasant surprise!

[JSB2000]

Working great on my Nexus 7 as well. Syncs up perfectly with the desktop versions (Linux and Windows).

I've been using it to death to look for bugs/quirks but so far, so good.

[silvermoonwolf74]

I'm testing the Pale Moon for Android. It seems to load pages faster than Firefox for Android did and I love that it supports Flash.

However, I can't install any Firefox extensions. It says I'm using the wrong browser and the Firefox install button is grayed out. Will Pale Moon for Android support Firefox for Android extensions in a future release?

Thank you so much!

[Supernova]

Go in about:config and set general.useragent.compatMode.firefox to true

[silvermoonwolf74]

Thanks very much. Now to look for an easy way to switch themes.

[fehmi]

PM4A has been working great on my tablet for 2 days. Today I made a fresh install of CyanogenMod 11, and then reinstalled the PM4A APK from OP. The install went smooth and I could pair my tablet with the desktop browser. However, no data seems to sync with my tablet. I tried removing the sync account and then re-pairing a couple times but the same problem persists. I saw the tweet about the Pale Moon sync server being down and then being restored. Can this still be a server problem?

Update: Uninstalled and then reinstalled PM4A. It pairs with my desktop computer just fine but still no data is synced.

[+Maou]

Thank you!
It works perfect on my Samsung S3mini using Cyanogenmod 10.2, way better than firefox.

[Greenpalmer]

Thought I'd give the PM beta a try on my Sony Xperia running Android 4 ICS and I've been so impressed with it that I've made it my default browser.

Great work! Congratulations to all concerned!

[x-15a2]

- I'm still having issues getting sync to work, but that may be something on my side... I'll test again when I have a minute

I was able to get sync to work, but needed to use the Recovery Key\Account login method instead of the standard sync method. It was strange because both devices recognized each other and indicated that the sync would happen, but it never did. But, I used the other method and it's now working just great!

I've now dumped FF from all of my devices (except those used for testing\development). Thanks!!!

[fehmi]

I still cannot get sync to work on my tablet. I have tried both methods, pairing with the code and using account/password/recovery key - pairing seems to be successful with both methods and I can see the Firefox Sync under my accounts in the settings app. However, no data is actually synced on my device; no bookmarks, history, or tabs. I have tried removing the account and then pairing again but the issue still persists.

A weird detail worth mentioning - I can add my sync account using the advanced setup as long as I do not use the custom sync server, https://sync.palemoon.net/. When I try to enter the sync server address, PM4A keeps saying 'Please enter a valid server URL'. I have double-checked everything to make sure I am not making a typo somewhere.

[x-15a2]

I still cannot get sync to work on my tablet. I have tried both methods, pairing with the code and using account/password/recovery key - pairing seems to be successful with both methods and I can see the Firefox Sync under my accounts in the settings app. However, no data is actually synced on my device; no bookmarks, history, or tabs. I have tried removing the account and then pairing again but the issue still persists.

A weird detail worth mentioning - I can add my sync account using the advanced setup as long as I do not use the custom sync server, https://sync.palemoon.net/. When I try to enter the sync server address, PM4A keeps saying 'Please enter a valid server URL'. I have double-checked everything to make sure I am not making a typo somewhere.

I had an extra space following my account name, that kept me from getting connected. Double (triple?) check the values in each field (I didn't include the trailing "/"). The server is there, things need to be entered perfectly.

[x-15a2]

I'm curious as to why the PM app is 75.45mb (installed) and the current FF app is something around 33mb (sorry I don't remember the exact size, since I yanked it off my devices). The size difference doesn't seem to impact performance (maybe load time?), but I wonder what causes the significant size difference.

[fehmi]

I had an extra space following my account name, that kept me from getting connected. Double (triple?) check the values in each field (I didn't include the trailing "/"). The server is there, things need to be entered perfectly.

I have tried adding my account again - made sure the account name, password, recovery key, and the custom server URL were entered in as they are. But PM4A still does not accept these details as long as the custom server address is there. Once I uncheck the custom server box, I can add the account. However, no data is actually synced.

I have set up iCabMobile on my iPhone to use the Pale Moon sync server and it works just fine - that's why I don't believe I am doing anything wrong during the setup.