Embedded Linux developer Jaya Kumar has successfully tested Mozilla's Fennec browser on an E-Ink screen. He published several videos on YouTube this week that demonstrate how the open source browser performs on a low-energy monochrome electronic paper display (EPD).

He used the Broadsheet AM300 kit, which includes an interactive EPD and a Linux-based Gumstix mobile development board with an XScale processor, a memory card reader, built-in Bluetooth support, and USB ports. Kumar is doing some nifty Broadsheet driver hacking and has published several impressive demonstrations based on his work with the kit.

Kumar's latest tests feature Fennec, Mozilla's mobile Firefox browser. In the videos, he interacts with Fennec's user interface elements and loads several web pages. The browser is surprisingly responsive on the Broadsheet device.

Although he's off to a very good start, there are still some limitations. He hasn't gotten an on-screen keyboard to work yet and Fennec's memory requirements are a bit too much for the Gumstix board. He plans to adopt the on-screen keyboard from Hildon, which comes from the Maemo platform on Nokia's Internet Tablet products.

Video created by Jaya Kumar

The Fennec project is moving along swiftly and is becoming increasingly viable on resource-constrained devices. The first Fennec alpha release delivered an intriguing finger-friendly user interface with URL autocompletion and tabbed browsing. The second alpha, which was released last month, included some excellent optimizations and performance improvements.

We are starting to see a huge amount of potential in the Fennec project, particularly in the area of extensibility. As we noted in our review of the second alpha release, third-party developers are already building Fennec add-ons that expand the browser's functionality in various ways and a port of Mozilla Weave is in progress.

The Fennec developers are also expanding the browser's reach to new platforms. The primary development target is Nokia's N810 Internet Tablet, but there is also a prototype for Windows Mobile and a Symbian port under heavy development that is expected to arrive in April.

According to the Fennec roadmap, the mobile browser's first mobile release will take place next month. This is a source of much excitement in the Mozilla developer community. The mobile browsing space is fiercely competitive, and it's an area where Mozilla has not traditionally had a strong presence. Fennec could change that and bring Mozilla's browsing technology to a whole new audience.

Kumar's test of Fennec on an EPD is intriguing because it demonstrates the potential for bringing a richer desktop-like browsing experience to low-power e-book devices such as the Amazon Kindle.