Mozilla to Release Firefox 4, 5, 6, and 7 in 2011

It’s no secret that Google has been actively developing Google Chrome the past several months.  In fact, there is a new version of Google Chrome roughly every six weeks.  However, while Google has been developing, Mozilla has been trudging along with Firefox 3.  The browser which everyone was raving about not too long ago is slowly being moved away from in favor of other browsers such as Google Chrome which are being developed at a much faster rate.

Currently, Google Chrome is at version 9.  So how does Mozilla plan to compete?  Mozilla’s most recent Firefox roadmap (currently still considered a draft so it is subject to change) shows plans to release Firefox version 4, 5, 6, and 7 by the end of 2011.

The roadmap is very detailed with Mozilla’s plans, however, here is a quick break down of everything they want to accomplish this year.

1. Ship Firefox 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the 2011 calendar year
2. Always respond to a user action within 50 ms
3. Never lose user data or state
4. Build Web Apps, Identity and Social into the Open Web Platform
5. Support new operating systems and hardware
6. Polish the user experience for common interaction tasks
7. Plan and architect for a future of a common platform on which the desktop and mobile products will be built and run Web Apps

This is a very ambitious roadmap. Whether or not they will be able to accomplish it will remain to be seen. However, there is no doubt they need to get rolling with new releases, new features, faster speeds, and user interface improvements.  The only way I’ll ever go back to Firefox is if I’m confident that Mozilla will continue to pump out new releases with new features and improvements on a regular basis.  Otherwise, you can forget it.

What do you think of the Firefox roadmap?