Last month, Mozilla announced plans to bring its Firefox browser to Microsoft's Windows 8 platform, and now it seems the company is making good on its promise. Showing off some early glimpses into the Metro-style Firefox, Mozilla developer Brian Bondy posted a few screenshots featuring a prototype Firefox browser.

The prototype browser shown in the screenshots features a one-line user interface bar at the top of the screen. Moreover, the Metro-style browser may use a sidebar with thumbnail images for each tab, rather than displaying the tabs across the top of the screen.

Windows 8 Core Features Already Integrated

Some of Windows 8's core features are already integrated into the prototype Firefox browser. Using the Search Charm feature in Windows 8, users can select Firefox from the application list and surf the Web with their default search engine. In addition, the Search Charm feature enables users to share Web pages through email, Facebook or Twitter. Mozilla has also integrated the Metro interface's file picker into the prototype, as well as the "Snap" feature that allows users to run two apps side-by-side.

According to Bondy, Mozilla used the same Fennec XUL code that it initially used in its Android browser. Issues with startup performance prompted the company to switch to a native user interface for Android, but Bondy said they haven't experienced such issues on Windows 8. "We used to use Fennec XUL on Android, but changed to a native UI on Android for startup performance issues. We haven't seen the same types of startup performance problems we've had on Android yet, even on VMs," stated Bondy.

Working Firefox in Metro by 2Q Unlikely

Based on the report, however, a release in the second quarter of 2012 seems rather unlikely, as the team still faces some unresolved design questions and "a ton of platform integration work to do."

Mozilla is just one company entering the race for a Windows 8 Metro-style browser. Google has also confirmed that it is developing its Chrome browser for the desktop and for Metro. Third-party browsers will receive special classification in Windows 8, as Bondy explained. Under this special classification, they are enabled to work in both the desktop and Metro interfaces. On the other hand, the Metro-style version of a browser will be available only if the browser in question is set as default. "A browser with great Metro support can gain significant browser market share for this reason," noted the developer.

According to Bondy, the final UI could look completely different, as Mozilla will be following Metro-specific UI guidelines. If the Mozilla team continues to use the Fennec XUL, the project will be ahead of schedule, he added.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)