Science & Technology World

The first mobile phone version of the popular web browser Firefox is "days away" from launch, the head of the project has told the BBC. The browser, codenamed Fennec, will initially be available for Nokia's N900 phone, followed by other handsets. It is currently going through final testing and could be released before the end of the year, said Jay Sullivan at Mozilla, the group behind Firefox. The open-source browser will be able to synchronise with the desktop version. " Apple is very restrictive. It doesn't allow other browsers " Jay Sullivan Mozilla Software will mean that any web pages open in a user's desktop browser will automatically open in the mobile version. "At the end of the working day you can walk away from your computer and keep on going on your phone," Mr Sullivan told the BBC. "It encrypts all of the information and sends it back through the cloud between your desktop and mobile." He said that providing there were no "show stoppers", the software could be available to download "within the year". Desktop success The browser will be available to download from the Mozilla website and then offered in Nokia's Ovi store, so that N900 owners can download the software. The organisation is also developing versions for Microsoft's Windows mobile and Google's Android operating system. However, he said that it would be some time before iPhone users would be able to use the browser. "Apple is very restrictive. It doesn't allow other browsers," he said. "As it's a pretty closed platform we don't see that happening soon." When it launches, Firefox will compete with browsers such as Opera, which is the most popular mobile browser according to analytics firm Stats Counter. Apple's Safari for mobile, which comes bundled with the iPhone, is the second most popular, whilst Nokia's own browser is third. The mobile version of Firefox will hope to follow the success of its desktop browser.

Vodafone says it will start selling the iPhone in the UK on 14 January 2010. It is the latest of the UK's major phone networks to offer the iPhone to customers. The cheapest tariff available is £30 a month for 24 months, plus additional handset charges ranging from £59 ( iPhone 3 G 8 GB) to £239 (3 GS 32 GB). Both business and consumer contracts are subject to a 1 GB monthly data limit on mobile internet use. Orange has a "fair use" limit of 750 MB per month. Vodafone and O2 both offer unlimited wifi use. Orange's data limit includes connections to the internet via BT Open-Zone wifi. Both O2 's and Orange's lowest tariffs - £34.26 and £29.36 respectively - are on a 24- month contract and come with a free iPhone. Vodafone comes close with a £35 a month contract over a two year period, also including a free 3 G 8 GB handset. Tesco Mobile tariffs start at £20 a month for 12 months - with a £222 charge for the same model of handset. However, Tesco says that the shorter contract will enable customers to upgrade more quickly. Guy Laurence, chief executive of Vodafone UK, said that the company had been preparing its network for over a year to handle the introduction of the iPhone. There are concerns that mobile networks globally are struggling to cope with demand as more consumers choose internet-enabled smartphones and mobile dongles over fixed broadband deals. Vodafone has also introduced a charge for customers wishing to use their iPhones as a modem - starting at £5 to download 500 MB.

A bird-like dinosaur that prowled an ancient forest 125 million years ago used venom to subdue its prey, according to a new theory. Sinornithosaurus upper teeth resemble those of rear-fanged snakes which bite their prey and channel venom into the wound. The dinosaur probably fed on the abundant birds which inhabited what is now north-east China. The work appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. Rear-fanged snakes are considered less dangerous than other venomous snakes. The fangs in these snakes do not inject venom, but instead channel the poison along a groove on the outer surface of teeth that pierce their prey flesh. Sinornithosaurus had upper teeth that were similarly long, grooved and fang-like. David Burnham, from the University of Kansas, US, and colleagues, say the dinosaur upper jaw also contained a pocket that could have housed a venom gland. This is connected to the base of the teeth by a long groove. Like rear-fanged snakes, the venom Sinornithosaurus used was probably not lethal. The researchers suggest it instead caused rapid shock, allowing the dinosaur to subdue its prey. The researchers propose that the length of the dinosaur fangs allowed it to penetrate the thick plumage of birds that populated the forests of north-east China during the early Cretaceous period.