Firefox has a reputation for being a memory hog, but the new version of the browser, currently available for download, has been designed to perform faster by using less memory resources.

According to Mozilla, the new Firefox is faster at opening new tabs, clicking on menu items and buttons on websites. Heavy Internet users will also enjoy enhanced performance when lots of tabs are open and during long Web browsing sessions that last hours or even days, Mozilla added.

New tools in Firefox make it easier for developers to build Web experiences for users. A new version of hardware-accelerated Canvas speeds up HTML5 animations and games in Firefox. This allows developers to build interactive Web experiences like Angry Birds or Runfield.

The new Firefox also supports the W3C navigation timing spec API so developers can measure page load time and website navigation against bandwidth speed, website traffic and other factors. This API allows developers to test user experiences remotely and easily optimize websites and Web apps for different types of users.

To help improve future versions of Firefox, users can opt in to Telemetry. Mozilla says that Telemetry is a tool built on Mozilla Privacy Principles that allows users to provide anonymous browser performance data in a private and secure way that they control.

For those interested, a long list of technical release notes is available here.