Database Users

Any Alternate Browsers?

As the subject says are there any alternate browsers available ?
Ive checked Mozilla web site and they dont seem to cater for mobile devices. Opera has a version available for smartphones but not PPC
So has anyone any alternatives to suggest ? I loathe IE, its dead and buried on all my PC's and would love to replace it on my phone.
Unless of course some enterprising soul has found a way of porting Linux on to the phone

RE
Of course, search the net and you can find either Netfront or the upcoming Opera.
But why deplete your precious memory when IE is available? The installation of an alternate browser is good unless you are able to totally remove IE so as to recover the memory.
I'm happy using IE for my browsing.

Well, if you're looking for free browsers, you can try MiniMoCE which is short for Mini Mozilla CE.
Version 0.008 is out here...
http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/dougt/archives/008751.html

Thanx for the tips, will have a play with these

Opera is available for PPC when you install it with the Midi Applet on your PPC, check this thread for info on installing: http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=27138&start=50

Thunderhawk might be the best but also most expensive browser for PPCs. It has periodic costs for its use and supports full scaling of internet pages through a proxy.

Web Browsers

Just wondering what people are using to browse the web (other than the default browser) ?
I've tried Opera Mobile but it seems to play around with some of the text on the input area and screen (odd).

hi, had the same problem with opera. browsing seems fine in terms of speed but the language is distorted. i read the support page of opera, though it supports windows mobile 5.0 they said if you can't find your mobile phone in the support list then it's not compatible. they're suggesting opera mini instead but i haven't tried it yet.
currently im using netfront v3.3 which is so far the most stable for my atom. and browsing is so fast unlike PIE (sucks!). you should try mini-mozilla too.

for opera got funny character in input text. just copy the font arial.ttf from your pc window to atom /windows directory. and soft reset.

What do you know ... copying the font over work .... thanks Mazam.
Just out of interest, how does Opera compare to the others (Netfront etc.), are there really any major differences ?

No, don't use Opera. It's writen in Java and have good support for smartphone. Too bad. It's not really for PDA.
You can try Minimo - Firefox for PPC. Here: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/minimo/
One of the Minimo's good side is it show web pages with java script perfectly. Unlike Opera. Maybe Minimo load slower Opera little bit but it good enough for me.

hhck1986 said:
No, don't use Opera. It's writen in Java and have good support for smartphone. Too bad. It's not really for PDA.
You can try Minimo - Firefox for PPC. Here: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/minimo/
One of the Minimo's good side is it show web pages with java script perfectly. Unlike Opera. Maybe Minimo load slower Opera little bit but it good enough for me.
Click to expand...
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what do you mean opera is java platform.. that is opera mini, what i'm using is opera for mobiles...
u can go here http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/products/winmobileppc/

Opera mini 8.5 is bar none the best browser, especially when used with the 'fit to screen' option. After using it, netfront, pie, and all the others feel 'broken'.

best webbrowser for the wizard?

today at the university I tried out the wlan capabilitys of my device and it was a great experience sitting in the cafeteria and surfing at some news sites with that little fellow when all the others used big laptops occupying all their tablespace :lol:
I used the internet explorer first and then tried out the mozilla minimo browser. IE was "ok" and minimo just sucked with the handling and speed. I also know there's an opera version but I never tried it online. any other good browsers out there? any favs? :wink:

A lot of people seem to agree that Opera 8.6 is a really good browser. It's not free though. You get a 30 day trial, but after that you must pay for it. It's 24USD I beleive.

Try Thunderhawk. http://www.bitstream.com/wireless/

I've been using Thunderhawk ( http://www.bitstream.com/wireless/index.html ) with great success. I absolutely love it. They route all traffic through their servers and software so you end up with the web page designed for your desktop rendered nearly perfectly on your Pocket PC.
The methods they use reduce all graphics to a size managable by our devices without any drop in quality. Pages load extremely fast and I'm just using my T-Mobile internet connection. Between it and IE, just isn't even a contest.
I have not used Opera though, so I can't comment on it. But I highly reccomend trying Thunderhawk.
I don't have the Screenshot program installed on my device, but here are a couple of pics I snapped so that you can see the layout. First is DrudeReport.com and I'm sure you're familiar with the second. :wink:

B**tard! You beat me to it!

but thunderhawk is not free!
I use PIEPlus, which is very nice.

Thanks guys I will check out both, thunderhawk and pieplus. But actually pieplus doesn't seem to be free either.
Let me extend my question at this point
Which cool and usefull internetrelated software do you use on your wizard?

Also give Netfront 3.3 a trial though it is not free.
I am using it and am very satisfied with it. Specially if you surf the web with a fast WiFi connection then sites with flash animations really turn out great. It is the only WM5 browser with flash support.
Regards

Opera 8.6.
I used others but this one allowed me to run java scripts that PIE couldn't.
I can use it on my banking sites and other secured sites that other have had trouble or simply don't work.
It is worth the money. IMO.

thunderhawk vs Opera? Anybody?

Opera Mini 2.0
It's a Java App. and it's free.
Go to mini.opera.com on PIE and download and install.
To me it has the fastest and best performance when compared to native WM browsers. I use it daily... the only time I don't use it is when I want to look at an animated radar image. That is about the only limitation to Opera Mini... no animated images. You can still download files, and save images from it. 8)

To be honest I have stuck with PIE. Opera does format a little better but considering you now have to pay for it I will stick with PIE.

IE vs Picsel vs Opera

MODS: If this is not the correct forum feel free to move.
I have been using IE with the pocket plus features like tabs, smart scrolling, etc. but have been hearing a lot about the other browsers. I put Opera on for a couple days, but I think I was doing something wrong. Here are my questions:
1. How much space do they all take and can IE be removed if I go with one of the others?
2. Which is better on speed (any proof, or does it just feel faster?)
3. Do Picsel & Opera both have thumb scrolling & extra tabs without 3rd party app?

I would add NetFront 3.5 in this comparision as well.

Ghost26 said:
MODS: If this is not the correct forum feel free to move.
I have been using IE with the pocket plus features like tabs, smart scrolling, etc. but have been hearing a lot about the other browsers. I put Opera on for a couple days, but I think I was doing something wrong. Here are my questions:
1. How much space do they all take and can IE be removed if I go with one of the others?
2. Which is better on speed (any proof, or does it just feel faster?)
3. Do Picsel & Opera both have thumb scrolling & extra tabs without 3rd party app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) IE can be removed, but some of the files are used by system programs, and it is minute anyway.
2) PIE is the slowest, and the least accurate at page rendering, although I haven't used Picsel that much so I can't comment... Opera Mobile is brilliant! (Opear Mini, the one that runs in Java is great for not eating your data allowance).
3) Opera Mobile has thumb/finger scrolling, and tabs, not sure about Picsel though... Opera mini doesn't have tabs, and may not do thumb scrolling although I don't use it that much...

Out of those three, Opera Mobile is probably the best, but NetFront 3.5 SMOKES Opera Mobile.

yeah but netfront uses to much resources. if you even have it minumized it would slow down your device

what are the differences between opera mobile & opera mini?
Can they be used effectively without esmertec java [over 2MB] ?
For the record I did read the wiki on web browsers, but I had some more specific questions that I cant find the answers to and you guys have always been helpful

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetFront <---
&
opera mini == a java applet which is made to run on all phones with java
from nokia to htc phones with touchscreen
opera mobile is a native windows mobile application which only runs on that platform
native apps in general are better intergrated with the os and is often faster
pie is in the rom and if one removes it one have to cook a rom without
it and as said other programs depend on the files being there
and removing stuff from the dedicated rom space dont give more storage

Netfront CPU issues have been resolved with build 519, just redownload from the Access Website. PIE is the slowest and renders the worst, proof is in the testing done by the great Menneisyys here
You should read up on all his articles and Bibles, there's so much information he offers. Btw, trash Picsel. Just trash it.
Take your pick between Opera Mobile, Opera Mini, NetFront, and possibly SkyFire .
In general
Opera Mobile - high CPU usage, good compliance, speed varies greatly depending on device (so you'll have to try it for yourself). Grab the MAXSD cab of build 1126 to test.
Opera Mini - FAST. Can't do stuff like select text. Must use through a Java Manager (using Jbed, you can create a direct link to Opera Mini, so it's okay.)
NetFront - Even with the fixed CPU usage of build 519, still a memory hog. This one versus Opera Mobile is a pretty close race, it's up to personal preference.
SkyFire - Perfect rendering of everything (even YouTube videos), but that's because this is essentially a VNC app, meaning everything is rendered somewhere else, and you're just viewing a constantly refreshed image of a webpage. I don't like it, personally, but some love it.
They are all scrollable with your finger (pagepan), although only Opera Mobile and NetFront have flick-scrolling.

aahh yeaah opera mini also go passed opera's server which compress stuff and pass it on to the devices
which is why it is fast
but guess if opera's server goes belly up as does it
i personaly use opera mobile but then on pc i also use opera so ..

Azimuth21 said:
Netfront CPU issues have been resolved with build 519, just redownload from the Access Website. PIE is the slowest and renders the worst, proof is in the testing done by the great Menneisyys here
You should read up on all his articles and Bibles, there's so much information he offers. Btw, trash Picsel. Just trash it.
Take your pick between Opera Mobile, Opera Mini, NetFront, and possibly SkyFire .
In general
Opera Mobile - high CPU usage, good compliance, speed varies greatly depending on device (so you'll have to try it for yourself). Grab the MAXSD cab of build 1126 to test.
Opera Mini - FAST. Can't do stuff like select text. Must use through a Java Manager (using Jbed, you can create a direct link to Opera Mini, so it's okay.)
NetFront - Even with the fixed CPU usage of build 519, still a memory hog. This one versus Opera Mobile is a pretty close race, it's up to personal preference.
SkyFire - Perfect rendering of everything (even YouTube videos), but that's because this is essentially a VNC app, meaning everything is rendered somewhere else, and you're just viewing a constantly refreshed image of a webpage. I don't like it, personally, but some love it.
They are all scrollable with your finger (pagepan), although only Opera Mobile and NetFront have flick-scrolling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you very helpful. I have read almost all that stuff and it is good info, but i like to have it confirmed. sometimes there is so much hype that a better option gets downplayed because it isnt as cool. All I have been hearing about is skyfire. Is it out yet?

Skyfire and Opera Mini 4.1, those are the two best ones I've come across.

Is there a way to get opera to download files other then mpeg ones? I can download avi's or almost anything else for that matter...or is opera just a browser in the literal sense?

Rudegar said:
aahh yeaah opera mini also go passed opera's server which compress stuff and pass it on to the devices
which is why it is fast
but guess if opera's server goes belly up as does it
i personaly use opera mobile but then on pc i also use opera so ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know OperaMini goes through opera servers, but the difference is Opera servers compress the webpage, which is then downloaded onto the phone. With Skyfire, the webpage is never downloaded, so it is constantly using data to view the webpage being rendered on a Skyfire server. Therefore, Skyfire wins initial draw speed of a webpage, but loses during any interaction with said page (it must load when you zoom, for example.) Personally I use Opera Mini for the pure speed, but Opera Mobile when I must do something secure (logging into emails, PayPal, etc), because it never passes through a separate server.
@bartybet
I don't know why you can't download anything else with Opera (i'm assuming Opera Mobile), since Opera Mobile's download capabilities are very powerful. Check Menneisyys and his blog, he has a post about mobile browsers and their download abilities, with Opera Mobile topping the list.

So it sounds like it is between netfront and opera mobile.
would you recommend opera 8.65 or the 9.5 pulled from the diamond?

Skyfire id the best to me. That's the only one that you can play videos in.

Ghost26 said:
So it sounds like it is between netfront and opera mobile.
would you recommend opera 8.65 or the 9.5 pulled from the diamond?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
9.5 all the way... way nicer to use, faster, supports flash...etc..

dieKatze88 said:
Out of those three, Opera Mobile is probably the best, but NetFront 3.5 SMOKES Opera Mobile.
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Click to collapse
Lol you funny netfront sucks opera 9.5.1126 owns it

Rudegar said:
aahh yeaah opera mini also go passed opera's server which compress stuff and pass it on to the devices
which is why it is fast
but guess if opera's server goes belly up as does it
i personaly use opera mobile but then on pc i also use opera so ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, cant wait for the bookmark sync thing to work, Opera Link or something....
On a slightly different note, do you think opera will
a) Update the diamond to the newest version of opera for free
b) Ask Flar to take down all links to opera beta cabs.
These are both if/when a proper version is released.
Rory

ChInEsE ChIcKeN said:
yeah but netfront uses to much resources. if you even have it minumized it would slow down your device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The CPU usage bug is stated to be fixed in the new (current) version.

steb0ne said:
Skyfire id the best to me. That's the only one that you can play videos in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you have a lot of alternate, REALLY superior means of playing back videos - see my YouTube Bible.

Anyone using Opera Mini ?

I've just installed Opera Mini on my Jade and I have to say, it's pretty nice.
Unlike Opera Mobile it is very fast and the zooming and display is better for a small screen like the 320x240 Jade screen.
Since the websites and images will be compressed by the Opera servers, the traffic is lower and the speed higher. Of course, I won't use the browser for sensible data, because the data runs through Opera proxies. But for normal browsing it's great.
The only problem: I can't switch to fullscreen, because the fullscreen can only be enabled by a key combination which I don't have on my Jade. Maybe someone knows how to fix this.
But it's still a nice browser.

Yes agree, I must say the speed is pretty impressive compared with the Op Mob even by setting graphics to high. btw is is there any method to launch it direct without launching jBlend first ? Am I missing something ? Cheers.

Here is a very useful overview of the features the most popular JVMs have.
As for the direct shortcut, my jade came with esmertec jbed, here is a description how to invoke opera mini (or any other midlet) directly from windows.
The problem is there's no description how to do that with jblend (why don't you use the preinstalled jbed, anyway?)

Mine is pre installed with JBlend. I've found the direct shortcut command i.e. \Windows\JBlend_AMS.exe -R 0.jar (0 is where your Opera Mini is in \windows\java, depending on your other installations.)
Thanks.

azahidi, would you highly recommend using opera mini or the stock opera browser?

Hi !
Yes Opera Mini is Very Fast ! That Good but i have the solution for your problem !
When you are on Opera Mini go to :
Setting => Full screen
that very simple but i don't know if you want that or an other "full screen"
Bye
DarKSniper

xtremez said:
azahidi, would you highly recommend using opera mini or the stock opera browser?
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well, for me I prefer the stock opera mobile. still sticking to it. it depends on how comfortable you are with the functionalities

azahidi said:
well, for me I prefer the stock opera mobile. still sticking to it. it depends on how comfortable you are with the functionalities
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For me the same: I find it important that the browser is fully integrated in the operating system (Windows mobile). Opera mini as a java-applet only has limited connections to the other functions of the phone (example: direct dial of telephone-numbers listed on web pages).

MvBoe said:
For me the same: I find it important that the browser is fully integrated in the operating system (Windows mobile). Opera mini as a java-applet only has limited connections to the other functions of the phone (example: direct dial of telephone-numbers listed on web pages).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Talking about java-applet. How many of you are using Jblend? I tried today installing those 3D games that supposedly work with Jblend..but failed miserably in doing so...need help!

There is only a java version now, no PPC version. I don't like java programs.