I don't like the sluggishness and jerkiness of the stock browser. Is there a better third party browser that you particularly like? Is there anything that uses multitouch gestures?
eaglesteve said:
I don't like the sluggishness and jerkiness of the stock browser. Is there a better third party browser that you particularly like? Is there anything that uses multitouch gestures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've settled on Skyfire. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've found.
MacGuy2006 said:
I've settled on Skyfire. It's not perfect, but it's the best I've found.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try out everyone that you guys recommend.
Skyfire has at least one advantage over the ****ty native browser - it supports file download other than apk file, whereas the ****ty native browser can't even support file download. I can't believe how crippled it is, and wonder if that **** is from Google or Samsung.
With Astro filemanager the native (google!) Browser is able to do that too.
bayerischbeer said:
With Astro filemanager the native (google!) Browser is able to do that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this info bayerishbeer. Will get Astro filemanager right away.
How's opera mobile on the Galaxy S?
drleospaceman said:
How's opera mobile on the Galaxy S?
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Click to collapse
Is Opera mobile available for Android? I can't find it in the Market Place.
theres no mobile, only mini, and its not that great, dolphin is pretty good tho
soraxd said:
theres no mobile, only mini, and its not that great, dolphin is pretty good tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have used Opera mini on iPhone. It's really really lousy.
Will try out dolphin. Thanks!
edit: is it Dolphin Browser HD? or Dolphin Browser? What's the difference? I see.... HD is for Froyo.
The browser is bad? I'd always thought the Android browser was one of the best mobile browsers.
I never liked Skyfire on Windows Mobile - it's actually sending you screen grabs from rendering happening on their servers, so it was always laggy and slow to pan and zoom for me. Opera Mini is good if you don't have 3G data, since it's preprocessed and sent in a compressed form, but because the phone is rendering this custom preprocessed data and not the original HTML it doesn't support dynamic features.
Mithent said:
The browser is bad? I'd always thought the Android browser was one of the best mobile browsers.
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Click to collapse
By iPhone standard, it is.
Mithent, are you using the stock browser? You've explored most of them I presume?
The stock browser works best for me. I've tried Dolphin, Opera and Skyfire and they all seem sluggish... Steel is good too.
Skyfire is sluggish, stock browser works great, no need to change it and it download all you want just learn how.
No problems with the stock browser here. It flies compared to Skyfire and works just as well as Dolphin.
Opera Mini 5.1 along with "Make it Default Browser"
Why?
- Opera is clearly the fastest in loading/displaying pages. Absolutely no contest
- 90% of the time I'm no under HSDPA coverage or Wifi, so moved megabytes matter
If only Opera Mini would get pinch zoom, then it would be perfect for me.
I don't need Flash or in-browser JS, which Opera Mini lacks.
For those occasions when in-browser JS is required, I use the built-in browser. Much better than Dolphin HD, which is very sluggish.
Try xScope. It works for me and somewhat better than Dophine.
I'll try all of them. So, the new ones that just cropped up are:
- Steel
- xScope
- Opera Mini (I hope it is not like the one on iPhone).
Thank you guys.
eaglesteve said:
I'll try all of them. So, the new ones that just cropped up are:
- Steel
- xScope
- Opera Mini (I hope it is not like the one on iPhone).
Thank you guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've taken a look at all these, and the one that I like the most is xScope. It is very similar to the Atomic Browser that I use on iPhone. The things I like about this browser are:
- I think it is faster than the stock browser and smoother too.
- One quick gesture to reveal the web address bar, and autotically hide it when page is loaded to give as much real estate as possible to the user
- One stroke gesture to move from tab to tab, exactly like what I was having in iPhone.
- Multitouch zooming, one finger zooming, as well as double tab to zoom in and out.
- Able to download more file types, although still not covering as comprehensively as what the Atomic browser for iPhone could.
- Able to open link in the background by long press. This usually is the way I consistently beat Opera Mini in terms of loading speed. In a forum like this, I open all the links that want to visit first, and buy the time I finish reading the first tab, the others are already fully loaded waiting for me to read. That means zero loading time effectlvely for all the links. Opera Mini can't do that.
- I wish there is a gesture (such as double finger swipe down) to close the current tab like what Atomic browser could do.
- Coupled with the higher resolution and bigger screen size, I feel that it is even more enjoyable surfing on Samsung Galaxy S than my 3GS.
I'm pretty happy with it for now, and would make it my main browser, until better one comes along.
One question: What is the difference between the free and paid version? What additionally benefits are there going to the paid version?
eaglesteve said:
Mithent, are you using the stock browser? You've explored most of them I presume?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've not had much personal experience with it - I still have a Windows Mobile phone at the moment, but will be getting a Galaxy S soon (will be as a carrier upgrade next month). The opinion I had of the stock browser was what I've seen of it when compared to the iPhone's Safari and Opera Mobile on WM (IE isn't worth thinking about), so was just a little surprised and wondered if it wasn't so great in real-life use. I didn't know you had to go through hoops to download things with it.
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with other options for Android, but I've tried Opera Mini and Skyfire on Windows Mobile. Given the nature of those applications, I doubt they're very different on Android.
Related
Now available on the market for free.... its pretty decent, worth having imo....
If this has already been posted I apologize and mods please delete...
i just saw that on cnet. i was wondering if anyone has used it yet, and what the verdict was, in comparison to dolphin
timothydonohue said:
i just saw that on cnet. i was wondering if anyone has used it yet, and what the verdict was, in comparison to dolphin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very, very, very fast server side processing browser... not as rich of an experience as the stock or dolphin, but much faster and does a pretty darn good job. Lots of extra stuff, like good bookmarks and cached browsing.
Great option.
FAST browsing. Great homepage/bookmarks , great tabs.
I always like having a secondary browser. Opera IMO is the best secondary browser and if you can deal with jpg compression and alot of "mobile" looking pages its a fanstastic primary browser.
I just wouldnt use it to show off the beauty of the phone.
Its about the same as the windows version and yes Hella fast... and has the option to upload pics or files unlike the stock or dolphin, and download files that are not supported on the device....
Is there a way to zoom in/out in sites? (maybe it's just too late and I can't figure it out).
Anyway, the hebrew is all messed up unlike the stock / Dolphin / HTC Desire browsers - so I'll have to skip that one.
It is a very nice browser i must admit. For the next few days I will be using it to replace Dolphin. Just as a test drive.
I don't like it.
Reasons:
A) When you scroll down a page (that's already "fully" loaded), the pictures show really nasty puke-colored placeholder boxes.
B) The full-screen mode still shows the notification bar. It's not really "full screen" then is it?... (That is by far my favorite feature about the Desire Rom.)
C) There's no way to fine-grained zoom in to how you want. Double tap is either zoomed FAR out, or zoomed to 1 specific point. Why can't I choose my own zoom level?
Very fast browser & lite on memory. Will be playing more with it next few days...
Not bad for a first release.. I'm impressed.
Looking forward to future updates.. multi touch etc.
Pretty good, especially when you are getting weak signal.
having to flick between 4 different browsers on my phone as not one of thems really any good....
opera 10: looks nice and sharp, quick but is well and truely let down with the default screen image size and zoom options, no pinch to zoom and vids wont play.....useless
opera 9.7: looks good with nice default screen size. has pinch to zoom but is pretty dreadfull to use, you do the finger motion and you end up nowhere near where you need to be. again, vids wont play.....useless
skyfire: looks ok but its pretty jittery and nowhere near as fast as opera. no pinch to zoom and the zooming options are nothing to write about but at least it plays vids.
ie: hardly ever use this one as its so slow.
appart from browsing i think the phone is pretty sweet, its just a real shame using the internet is (for me) becoming a pain. whats your thoughts guys....?
I think Opera Mobile is amazing. I couldn't fault it in any way. Why does everyone complain about no pinch to zoom when a swift double tap works better.
with Opera 10 you only have to tap once to zoom in!
its so smooth, the scrolling is as smooth as butter and its so fast.
sure not playing flash is a pain, but its not essential, especially if youre complaning that you cant watch youtube on your browser when youve got an app for just that
Opera is gorgeous, fast, so fast... and completely flawless.
I'm using the 9.7 build that comes standard on the T-Mobile USA model. I also tweaked tons of the Opera cache settings, page loading, thumbnail, and zooming functions as well.
I think your alone on this one bud.
opera is badass by its self. opera 10 is freakin sweet.
btw ... why so many complaints about a sweet ass phone?
each to their own bud. its just a useful feature. on opera 10, when i tap to zoom its still sometimes hard to hit links or page numbers as it still too small. altering the zoom is hit an miss as if you make the zoom bigger it ends up too large for the screen. if i had pinch to zoom could make links and what not just a bit bigger.
i dont like the fact i cant play youtube vids on opera either, my phone from 3 years ago could do it........
opera 10 runs very slick but has major flaws, just my opinion.
Reignzone said:
Opera is gorgeous, fast, so fast... and completely flawless.
I'm using the 9.7 build that comes standard on the T-Mobile USA model. I also tweaked tons of the Opera cache settings, page loading, thumbnail, and zooming functions as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you say what you have done tweak wise? i never seem to get a browsing experience to match my mates iphone...which im sure you can understand is annoying
IE seems pretty damn fast to me. I accidentally made it default and was shocked at how usable it was.
Opera 9.7 - not jittery, but i never use the pinch to zoom...ever. but I do use it because it launches and runs more snappily for a quick browse. it's lighter in resources.
Mobile 10 - my default. it takes longer to load than 9.7 and no pinch, but flash plugin works, double tap to zoom with reflow usually works. rendering good. fast, speedy. and page rendering without checkered boxes as in 9.7 or IE. Fab. Not perfect, but pretty damn good.
Never even needed to install skyfire after mobile10.
Why not try iphone instead? Or Android? I hear their browsers are even better
Just remember, technology is always work in progress. No browser, even on the desktop, is perfect. And I'm surprised they ALL work as well as they do on winmo - browsing is better on winmo than iphone and android. That was one reason that swayed me to winmo.
What do you suppose the better alternative is?
The iPhone browser?
I have an iPhone and its browser has nothing on Opera 10...even with pinch to zoom.
At least you have options. Flash isn't even an option on the iPhone!
I guess that I'm in the minority but I like IE best. The zoom on the Opera just isn't as easy to use as IE's slider control but maybe I just havn't used Opera enough. I also have an iPhone 3GS and while I like the browser and touchscreen response better, in every other category the HD2 wins hands down.
donwhann said:
having to flick between 4 different browsers on my phone as not one of thems really any good....
opera 10: looks nice and sharp, quick but is well and truely let down with the default screen image size and zoom options, no pinch to zoom and vids wont play.....useless
opera 9.7: looks good with nice default screen size. has pinch to zoom but is pretty dreadfull to use, you do the finger motion and you end up nowhere near where you need to be. again, vids wont play.....useless
skyfire: looks ok but its pretty jittery and nowhere near as fast as opera. no pinch to zoom and the zooming options are nothing to write about but at least it plays vids.
ie: hardly ever use this one as its so slow.
appart from browsing i think the phone is pretty sweet, its just a real shame using the internet is (for me) becoming a pain. whats your thoughts guys....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you using the Latest Stock WWE 1.66 ROM
Opera Browsing here is second to none!
Maybe Opera Mini 5 is a good choice for you. Blazing fast, though no flash.
BTW: Opera Mobile 10 does support flash: settings - enable plugins - ready and IE also, to a certain extent, supports flash.
jigners said:
are you using the Latest Stock WWE 1.66 ROM
Opera Browsing here is second to none!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah im using the latest rom bud. dont get me wrong, opera 10 is very fast and slick but just seems set up wrong for the screen size.if there was a zoom slider like in ie that would be sound enough. as it is, opera10 seems unfinished. also, not been able to view embedded videos on most sites is just complete madness. I know some people are saying "well hd2 already has a decent youtube app, use that", but what goods that when the video I might wanna watch is embedded in a page that wont allow me to view it....?. it all just seems like such a wasted opportunity on such a quality device. its the phones biggest downfall which is mad given this screen was made for viewing the internet on.......
IE is the only one (other than skyfire but that looks rubbish) that plays flash videos on site like bbc news, so I'm always switching between using Opera 10 for speed and IE for video.
Count yourself lucky that you can install whatever browser you want on WM, Apple still hasnt approved Opera mini on the ****phone
DMAND said:
IE is the only one (other than skyfire but that looks rubbish) that plays flash videos on site like bbc news, so I'm always switching between using Opera 10 for speed and IE for video.
Count yourself lucky that you can install whatever browser you want on WM, Apple still hasnt approved Opera mini on the ****phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah its pretty good that you can install other browsers, its just a pity the fastest and best looking one doesn't function that well. hey, these are just my opinions guys and im happy your happy with it lol.......
I don't mean the opera mini available in the market, but the full Opera Mobile like the one we have in winmo. It runs circles around the android webkit browser, like a Ferrari vs a schoolbus
Only news I've found was last December when they released it to oems, but I haven't seen any phone that has it yet. I wouldn't even care if it comes in 40mb package like firefox, just as long as I get it.
Anyone has any new info or insights?
opera10 doesnt support flash like webkit does though...although, it was very responsive and fast.
id rather use opera mini for fast browsin w/out flash content. and den use webkit for flash contents.
Well actually after 2 months of repair I switched from winmob ro android and Im missing the tab function - imho I dont surf so often on websites with flash on my HD2. Greetings
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Yeah flash is not a big deal to me either. It's nice to occasionally open a video, but it's much smoother to load it in a youtube app.
I understand the hold up is probably because Opera doesn't want to use the android native code for their browser, just hope they come up with something soon.
Go to Android Market, install Adobe Flash, then install Dolphin Browser. It doesn't get any better than this! Tabs, pinch to zoom, gestures, it has everything I need and it is blazing fast.
I do like Opera Mini, other than the fact that it does not support Flash. As far as Opera Mobile goes, I don't know when we will see a version of it for Android, I have been waiting too, just like everyone here.
HTR
like someone suggested. try dolphin or dolphin hd browser for tab functions.
We have a few browsers to choose from, stock, Dolphin HD, Skyfire and the upcoming Opera Mobile and Firefox Mobile
Stock browser is not the fastest according to some tests, the champion goes to Skyfire
Dolphin HD beats stock over functionality from my own use, but is the slowest among the three
Opera Mobile is known to consume 80% less data, but user comments are not so positive
Firefox mobile is now available for G2, haven't try yet
So whats your pick?
Almost every site I would go to has an app so there is no need for my browser, so I stick with stock since its not used often...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
o>c said:
Opera Mobile is known to consume 80% less data, but user comments are not so positive
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me clarify:
Opera Mini is browser, which compresses data - when I was using Galaxy i7500 it was the fastest browser (not only in downloading pages, but in rendering too).
Opera Mobile is normal browser, not compressing data. I did not test it, but comments aren't very good.
I been using Dolphin HD. I like the side bar bookmarks, and the gestures. Plus it is faster than the default, IMO
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I am digging dolphin HD too on the g2.
I tried dolphin when I had a slide and it was HORRIBLY slow (even overclocked to 844mhz). It's smooth like butter on my g2 clocked at 1.497 and flash works great.
I have been loving the Firefox, get all my bookmarks synced without any other crap app. The Beta2 release is a bit better than the first, but little things still dont work correctly. For me the only thing not working properly are the shift and alt keys of the physical keyboard. They work but you have to hold them down while pressing the other key. Not a biggie, and the browser runs smooth as glass for me.
i use skyfire in desktop mode for facebook and everything
Love Dolphin HD for the plugins like desktop mode and speed dial. Also I'm digging the gestures and themes. And of course the tabbed browsing with thumbnails available is fantastic! Best over all experience if you have good data speeds.
I did numerous speed tests using a stopwatch with Dolphin versus stock on very large pages. It was basically a tie with flash either enabled or disabled.
Opera Mobile is VERY fast! Great card style thumbnails for window switching (stock neeeeds this). But no flash, desktop mode, and doesn't render the whole page at once. The partial rendering adds speed but if you scroll quickly its annoying. Still has a few kinks. I recommend keeping Opera handy for super slow connections.
I have Firefox, Opera and Stock installed. And honestly I use the stock more often than any other browser. It seems that the other browsers are terrible at compatibility when browsing non-optimized sites. I use forms a lot and they are awful.
In Firefox each time I typed something into a form-box or selected something from a drop-down menu it had to reload the page. Frustrating to say the least. At least in Firefox they work; in Opera, the forms work half of the time. If I can't log in, what's the point?
Stock may be somewhat slower at rendering, but its compatibility saves me a lot of time.
I've been testing the default, Skyfire, and Dolphin HD for 4 weeks and I typically choose Dolphin now as my GoTo browser. Here are the three main reasons:
1. I need the ability to Toggle between Desktop and Mobile on various sites
2. I tweet about a lot of Websites and the Dolphin Tweet plugin actually grabs the Title of a page while simultaneously shrinking the URL, yet still allows me to edit.
3. I also read a lot of pages and if they don't have a mobile version, I use a plugin for Google Mobilizer to strip away formatting and make it easy to read.
Since I have a G2, I use Menu+S to pull up Share options with Dolphin Tweet. I also use Menu+M to use Google Mobilizer. Keyboard shortcuts are handy.
As for speed, they are all pretty comparable. I still use Skyfire on Flash Video sites.
Hope this helps!
Ghostcreamy
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
why are you leaving out xscope? its a perfectly legitimate browser which is the fastest by far.
Firefox is a little late! Dolphin was firefox to me when I had the G1, firfox should just but dolphin and change the name.
ms93 said:
Let me clarify:
Opera Mini is browser, which compresses data - when I was using Galaxy i7500 it was the fastest browser (not only in downloading pages, but in rendering too).
Opera Mobile is normal browser, not compressing data. I did not test it, but comments aren't very good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone know if the Opera mobile will the same kind of forum posting that mini can do? I HAVE to use opera for posting online for school as no other browser will handle the way it works.
Anyone that wants a quick browser should check out the new Opera Mobile.
It runs absolutely fantastic on the Epic, it now supports flash and a lot more HTML5 than the previous version.
A few tests/benchmarks (using Syndicate @ 1.2ghz, desktop is a Core 2 [email protected]):
Google V8 benchmark:
Mobile Browsers
- Opera Mobile 11: 310
- Stock Browser : 214
- Dolphin Mini: 256
- Firefox: Would not finish
- Skyfire: 223
Desktop Browsers
- Firefox 4: 4335
- Chrome: 9606
- Opera: 3981
Sunspider Benchmark:
Mobile Browsers
- Opera Mobile 11: 2953.1ms
- Stock Browser: 5260.1ms
- Dolphin Mini: 4896.9ms
- Firefox: Would not run
- Skyfire: 7181.0ms
Desktop Browsers
- Firefox 4: 216.2ms
- Chrome: 246.4ms
- Opera: 232.2ms
BrowserMark:
Mobile Browsers
- Opera Mobile 11: 31769
- Stock Browser: 39319
- Dolphin Mini: 42571
- Firefox: 50421
- Skyfire: Would not finish
Desktop Browsers
- Firefox 4: 389649
- Chrome: 741616
- Opera: 728651
Html5Test.com
Mobile Browsers
- Opera Mobile 11: 234
- Stock Browser: 182
- Dolpin Mini: 192
- Firefox: 235
- Skyfire: 192
Desktop Browsers
- Firefox 4: 255
- Chrome: 293
- Opera: 234
Opera may not have better scores in all tests, but it "feels" much smoother with less lag (especially when scrolling/zooming).
One of the major enhancements with Opera compared to other browsers (other than Firefox) is how it displays images.. It shows animations in gifs and will show the full size image for nearly any size image with no compression (i tried 12mp photos with no problems) all other browsers I tried other than Firefox (which was slow in comparison) would show a low res preview even if you zoom in.
It is about time someone released a proper browser for Android that feels nice and smooth while scrolling on nearly any site, and that supports most of the web standards.
Finally, thanks for the heads up im downloading it now.
I can say, this thing feels good! Like the iPhone browser, the graphics is very GPU accelerated! hehe i know that phrase been used a lot lately, but now we have it!
jakmai said:
I can say, this thing feels good! Like the iPhone browser, the graphics is very GPU accelerated! hehe i know that phrase been used a lot lately, but now we have it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it sure does feel that way.. Not sure if it actually is GPU accelerated though.
Does this new Opera support Flash Player? I tried watching shows online and they wouldn't load with Opera 10.
Overstew said:
Does this new Opera support Flash Player? I tried watching shows online and they wouldn't load with Opera 10.
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Click to collapse
Yes, as I mentioned in the original post.
However, text and interacting with Flash seems to be a bit broken.
tbob18 said:
Yes, as I mentioned in the original post.
However, text and interacting with Flash seems to be a bit broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I'm tired, didn't notice it.
I'll give it a go because Opera was by far the fastest mobile browser when I had it. Since it supports flash, no reason to say no now.
I still love the look and feel of Miren Browser, but I'll give this one a shot, thanks.
Opera Mobile served me very well on Windows Mobile... but that interface is just huge, now. I'm not usually the minimalistic type, but too much, Opera, too much!
My only complaint with Opera Mobile was that you couldn't share pages
Epic 4G on Tapatalk
Been relying on the DOLPHIN HD browser. I played with the beta of this a few months ago, seemed heavier... will try it again. Thanks for the benchmark stats!!
Epic | CyanogenMod 7 Alpha 1
thanks for the numbers.
Opera is indeed smooth, but it still couldn't load some of my favorite websites, like huffingtonpost completely. Dolphin mini seems to have a higher rate of compatibility, although it scrolls slower.
k0nane said:
Opera Mobile served me very well on Windows Mobile... but that interface is just huge, now. I'm not usually the minimalistic type, but too much, Opera, too much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Settings > Navigation Bar Off and Status Bar Off
This helps clean it up a bit.
futureprospect said:
thanks for the numbers.
Opera is indeed smooth, but it still couldn't load some of my favorite websites, like huffingtonpost completely. Dolphin mini seems to have a higher rate of compatibility, although it scrolls slower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that is strange. It never seems to finish loading all the images.
Dang its fast! The only thing that bothers me is it continues to load even after the page clearly is showing everything. But that doesn't slow it down! I'm having way better results than Dolphin HD!
Edit: the loading annoyance only happens the first time you view a site
Sent from my Epic 4G
How does it compare to skyfire? I've been using that browser for a while and love it. I didn't see it.mentioned in the tests. Anyway op you can test this browser? Thank you.
Sent From My Evo Killer!
Thanks !, always been a huge supporter of the opera browser team.
Sent from my frozen epic using XDA Premium App
I'm on wi-fi at home, and Opera is much slower than any of my other browsers (firefox, dolphin, and stock). And I'm loading a generic web page, nothing fancy. www.drudgereport.com - maybe it performs better than the others on 3g?
So far Dolphin has been my favorite browser, but I have issues with it not text wrapping when I zoom in. Opera does have very good zoom. Not to mention perfect options in the settings menu.
Thanks for the heads up on this browser, I will give it a legit shot. I have been looking for a single winning browser for me so I can clear all the others off my phone.
Opera 11 bent over my intranet web pages and threw the fist to them without any lube.
Kcarpenter said:
Opera 11 bent over my intranet web pages and threw the fist to them without any lube.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was going to give it a try, but this does not sound like much fun. LOL!