Firefox New Tab Need a King

A few days ago we were fortunate enough to get the best commentary on New Tab King by Jeff Almond, a Technology Reporter from Israel.  Jeff was kind to allow us to publish it here so before we blush again, here it is:

Incidentally just two days after Google Chrome stunned us with decorative themes Firefox released this afternoon one of its most promising add-ons: New Tab King (version 2.1.2).

I’ve been watching Google Chrome closely since its release last year and I’m able to spot some seismic action in the past month alone around the display of Chrome’s default homepage or new tab.

Google are on to something (yet again), but are they alone? A default homepage is indeed the gateway to one’s browser, and although users tend to set the homepage to their own selected web address, an appealing new homepage is a great way to make a first impression. But what about the browser’s new tab display? Could this be the next uncharted ground? Sure. Here’s an opportunity for Google to dazzle us with features like Speed Dial sites, recently closed tabs, history, and yes – a never ending themes collection for us to play with.

It’s no secret that Google are running their full burners for making Chrome a serious player in the browser market, and quite frankly – I think they’ll get there. Moreover, I wouldn’t be surprised if the existing Chrome user-base is no other than the classic Firefox user, early adopter in 2005 to Internet Explorer new rival, and now sinking into Google’s product. If so – Mozilla will be the ones to get the first blow from Google, and Microsoft will keep the old schoolers, well – as long as Windows is the dominant OS.

But has Firefox said its last word? Here’s the real surprise… someone at Mozilla, or rather some Mozilla extension developer has crunched up a worthy contestant to the big G (Google or Goliath – you decide), at least in the “new tab” ring. New Tab King, a rather new extension is ranked in the top 3 add-ons in 3 of Mozilla’s 14 categories’ rating systems. I’ve checked – no other add-on has such a consensus on its quality, which kind of makes it Firefox’s most appreciated add-on, at least by Firefox reviewers.

What does it do? The same as Chrome’s approach to new tab, only better. Instead of the big speed dial boxes in Chrome, NTK displays a histogram of most used sites, enabling the user to get a broader view of his visited sites and there’s a touch of analytics on one’s browsing trends. On top of that, there’s a big, no really, BIG search bar, functioning very similar to Firefox’s awesome bar (auto-completion wise). And that’s just a start – this extension let’s you customize just about everything concerning the new tab experience: background (down-to-earth) themes, keyboard navigation shortcuts, suggested sites, blacklisted sites, closed tabs, even desktop applications’ shortcuts. A true geek’s dreams coming true. There’s a touch of mischief in New Tab King that I can’t put my finger on precisely and yet – it’s still within the limits of being a reasonable quality tool. It is short of perfect, but all in all – thumbs up to Firefox for this add-on.

Again, I see Firefox losing the market to Google in the future, but until that happens – New Tab King could be an interesting reason for Firefox fans to stick around.

- Jeff almond