Mozilla Fills Feature Gaps with Firefox OS 1.1 Release

Mozilla released Firefox OS 1.1 on Wednesday, filling in a large number of missing features and improving the performance of the browser-based operating system for mobile phones. Firefox 1.0 debuted with the first generation of mobile phones earlier this year, generally low-end models targeted at feature-phone owners who wanted to take the smartphone plunge but not have to spend as much money as required for higher-end Android or iOS devices. Like many first-version operating systems, though there were a lot of missing pieces.

Now, along with speed improvements like smoother scrolling and faster app loading, a host of those missing pieces have been added, according to a blog post by Chris Lee, director of the Firefox OS product. Among the new features:

• Promotion of the adaptive app search feature to the home screen. The feature lets people type to search for apps stored on their phone to get a list of Web sites and apps and bookmark ones they like for later use. (People also can find apps through the Firefox Marketplace.)
• The ability to import contacts from Google's Gmail and Microsoft's Hotmail, not just from Facebook.
• Support for picture messaging with MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service).
• A programming interface to let developers send push notifications.
• Autocorrect for keyboard typing.