If you have been waiting for the Touch-friendly alternatives for Internet Explorer browser on Windows 8, then there is good news for you all. In the Mozilla’s planning meeting held last week, the company would be rolling out a Metro version of its Firefox browser which will run on the tablet-side of Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Mozilla dedicated to unification the Metro style interface into its Aurora (pre-beta) channel on September 16, with a Windows Aurora Firefox build broadcasted as the Metro Preview Release. The company has planned a beta version on October 28 – a little bit more of a steady atmosphere for prospective testers to play around with, assumed that the company will be devoting its time amid September and October to fix and enhance the features. And the ultimate stable version of Metro Firefox has been planned to be rolled out along with Firefox 26 on December 10.

Mozilla’s planning documents displays that the initial Metro release still has to go through the following steps.

  • Merge to Aurora 26 on September 16, 2013 during Iteration #15.
  • Iterations #15 and #16 will be completed on Mozilla-aurora, concluding all Preview Release work.
  • Iteration #17, still on Aurora, will be used to clean up any remaining carry-over and polish work.
  • Merge to Beta at the conclusion of Iteration #17 on October 28, 2013, making Metro Firefox available to our Beta audience.
  • Push to Release on December 10 with Firefox 26 at the conclusion of Iteration #20.

Mozilla’s developers have already done a great job in supporting Touch on their desktop browser; the same work has to be facsimile d for the Metro version as well.

For the ultimate release, Mozilla’s developers are also constructing an all new Firefox application bar, which will keep the tab bar at the top but shifts the bookmark star button, reload button, address field, and other mutual controls to the application bar at the end.

Back at the initiation of the project, approximately 18 months ago, Mozilla HQ appeared determined on pushing down anticipations. Mozilla’s Brian R. Bondy announced the development strength, called it “a very large project.”

Project Manager Asa Dotzler made it clear that running code was still far in the future: “I do not expect that we will get beyond a late stage Beta” before the end of 2012, he forecasted.

That is supposing, of course, that there would not be any more postponements. Given what we have perceived till now, we won’t be amazed to perceive an ultimate stable Metro version roll out in 2014.