Is there an easy way to make all pages 'think' that the browser is a desktop? Like if I go to google.com I want it to take me to classic instantly, and any other sites that automatically adjust to mobile sites if it detects a phone.
If you use Dolphin Browser you can set the user agent to desktop and it will load all pages that way.
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How does dolphin compare to the stock browser?
Dolphin HD is slow in my opinion, you could also try opera mini 5.1.
I still prefer the stock browser.
here is a trick to always view your favorite websites in desktop view. I don't know how to make every site open as desktop, just your most frequent ones.
Go to a website.. such as www.google.com
it will auto open mobile view...scroll down in the website and click on desktop. once desktop view opens.. set this page as a bookmark... now everytime you access the pg via bookmark, it will go to desktop view.
another option, if you want to set google.com desktop as your homepage.
again click desktop, when desktop google comes up, copy the link, paste this new link as your homepage. and your phone will automatically go into desktop google everytime you open your browser.
you can bookmark many webpages, so just set up your most favoritely frequented sites to be bookmarked as desktop view. simple!
There is a code you can enter into your browser that gives you more settings. One of those is the ability to make your phone appear as a desktop, not a phone.
However, I tried this and my browser crashed and I had to delete all data and cache to get it to work again. This DID work on the Nexus One when flash came out (allowed us to watch hulu.com)
The string is about:debug, then go to web settings. Last option is ua string. Change to desktop. Again though, I DO NOT recommend doing this.
s15274n said:
There is a code you can enter into your browser that gives you more settings. One of those is the ability to make your phone appear as a desktop, not a phone.
However, I tried this and my browser crashed and I had to delete all data and cache to get it to work again. This DID work on the Nexus One when flash came out (allowed us to watch hulu.com)
The string is about:debug, then go to web settings. Last option is ua string. Change to desktop. Again though, I DO NOT recommend doing this.
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Can't seem to find this option :S
I don't know about everyone esle but i like SKYFIRE browser from the market: allows you to choose between Android, Desktop or Iphone i think as your default loading method. It's very speedy to load in desktop mode. Try that out
stepinmyworld said:
I don't know about everyone esle but i like SKYFIRE browser from the market: allows you to choose between Android, Desktop or Iphone i think as your default loading method. It's very speedy to load in desktop mode. Try that out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, this works well. A few pages still detect the presence of a mobile browser, but 9 out of 10 pages load the desktop versions.
I always experienced Skyfire on other phones as laggy. Does it run as fast as Android stock browser?
I've recently received my DHD and noticed that the internet browsing experience is slightly different than what I used to with Opera on Windows Mobile (HD2).
One of the specific annoyances I had was trying to force the full site to load rather than mobile versions of sites (eg. Engadget vs. Engadget Mobile).
Even choosing to view the "Full Version" of certain websites I am still redirected to view mobile versions - not presented with the versions that would appear on a Desktop browser.
I have done some searching in XDA (and the web) and the only thing I was able to find were references to WindowsMobile to change the Custom User-Agent under User Prefs (In Opera Browser type, "Opera:Config" -> User Prefs -> Custom User-Agent). I have changed this but it does not appear to work.
I came across http://www.zytrax.com/tech/web/browser_ids.htm but am not sure which Browser string I should try to use.
(Have tried IE settings as well as identifying my current desktop browser setting - Chrome - and inserting that) Additionally, I have also attempted to change the User Agent ("Opera:Config" -> User Agent) by incrementing the number and that does not appear to work either.
Attempting to connect to "About:debug" (in hopes of seeing some other settings somewhere) tells me that it failed to connect to the debugger at the default address/port.
I'm a little stuck as to where to go from here.
Has anyone else experienced this or managed to amend successfully?
Well, after further searching I still haven't been able to have the Opera Browser default to show me a Desktop view of web pages that seem to aggressively divert you to mobile versions of their sites.
However, I did download Dolphin Browser HD from the market and the settings page listed this as an option that works very well.
Based on my short experience with it, I actually think DolphinHD is actually a much better choice of browser for Android.
Tired of the about:debug hopefully a fix is coming soon....
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
TheWh0leTruth said:
Tired of the about:debug hopefully a fix is coming soon....
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understand its up to the developers of websites to differentiate between "Android" which is tablets, and "Android Mobile" which is phones.
Dolphin is the bees knees on my xoom I love the side to side features... all ready uninstalled the stock browser
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
martonikaj said:
From what I understand its up to the developers of websites to differentiate between "Android" which is tablets, and "Android Mobile" which is phones.
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You are correct, but isn't that a little ridiculous? I mean the other browsers deliver us a desktop experience with no problem. I guess I understand the desire for the browser to be recognized as Android-specific, but relying on websites to change their code ultimately results in a less-than-ideal experience for the user. I don't know what a website's motivation would be to change their code. From their standpoint, I think it would seem like we are expecting them to make changes so that our substandard app will work. The websites will probably catch up, but meanwhile, shouldn't the stock browser be able to bring us as satisfying an experience as a third party app does?
nbowes said:
The websites will probably catch up, but meanwhile, shouldn't the stock browser be able to bring us as satisfying an experience as a third party app does?
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The websites would never catch up if that was the case. Right now the best way to deal with it is write to page owner that have this problem and complain.
Why not just change the user agent? Am I missing something?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Magnesus said:
The websites would never catch up if that was the case. Right now the best way to deal with it is write to page owner that have this problem and complain.
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Click to collapse
You make a very good point here. And I guess the sites in question are actually the better sites that redirect a user to alternative content (low-res video or non-Flash pages) based on the browser's signature. Since they already consider that, they may be more likely to respond to user requests and feedback and change their code. Our browser type should begin to show up in their web traffic reports, too. But I think it'll be a slow-going change because in the whole lineup of browsers, we're a minority. Personally, I'll be more apt to open Dolphin to view a page that isn't displaying in desktop mode, long before I would hunt down a webmaster email address and send a note. I'm not even sure exactly what to ask for in the note. If anybody would care to provide a post with some proper terminology, that might help the cause.
ChongoDroid said:
Why not just change the user agent? Am I missing something?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
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Click to collapse
As I understand it, we can select "desktop" as our user agent, but that identifies our browser as "android" which a lot of sites interpret as "android mobile" and redirect us to mobile content anyway. I have also read where some folks can't get the setting to stick through a reboot.
nbowes said:
You make a very good point here. And I guess the sites in question are actually the better sites that redirect a user to alternative content (low-res video or non-Flash pages) based on the browser's signature. Since they already consider that, they may be more likely to respond to user requests and feedback and change their code. Our browser type should begin to show up in their web traffic reports, too. But I think it'll be a slow-going change because in the whole lineup of browsers, we're a minority. Personally, I'll be more apt to open Dolphin to view a page that isn't displaying in desktop mode, long before I would hunt down a webmaster email address and send a note. I'm not even sure exactly what to ask for in the note. If anybody would care to provide a post with some proper terminology, that might help the cause.
As I understand it, we can select "desktop" as our user agent, but that identifies our browser as "android" which a lot of sites interpret as "android mobile" and redirect us to mobile content anyway. I have also read where some folks can't get the setting to stick through a reboot.
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Desktop is not android. Android is android just like iPhone emulates an iPhone... about:debug or dolphin browser? Cmon
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
ChongoDroid said:
Desktop is not android. Android is android just like iPhone emulates an iPhone... about:debug or dolphin browser? Cmon
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
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When I select "desktop" in the stock browser, it gives me a very different experience than when I select it in another browser, such as Dolphin. I am under the impression that selecting "android" would tell a website that I am on an android phone, and it would render the mobile version of the site. I don't want that, so I selected "desktop" but still often get directed to mobile versions of sites. I thought I read that the reason for this is that selecting "desktop" identifies the browser as "android"...as opposed to "android mobile." I guess sites aren't coded to recognize "android" as being different than "android mobile" and render the mobile version.
The suggestion has been to notify site owners of the problem and ask them to update their code. I think to do that effectively, I need to fully understand the issue, and I'm sorry but your reply didn't help me with that.
Android user agent is for tablets. Desktop is for desktop. Not many sites are setup to render pages for a tablet that's why you get the mobile version when set to android.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
But...I'm getting mobile versions when I'm set to desktop.
Thank you for your replies. I think Chongo has made a pretty solid case for the Dolphin browser.
Dolphin is one of the best alternative.
I am using the Dolphin Mini on my Nexus S just because of this user-agent issue, plus tabbed browsing, quick bookmarks, etc.
It is not as fast as the stock one, but the speed is still fast enough to enjoy the experience.
I read that Dolphin is still not good enough on Honeycomb. They have updated it, but still choppy.
We can hope that the developers are hard work to bring it up to speed with Honeycomb, better stability, faster with hardware acceleration. Certainly, this will be realized quickly as I read Google developer posted detailed information about hardware acceleration on Honeycomb:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2011/03/android-30-hardware-acceleration.html
nbowes said:
But...I'm getting mobile versions when I'm set to desktop.
Thank you for your replies. I think Chongo has made a pretty solid case for the Dolphin browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Btw, anyone can really catch the stock browser user agent string?
I am interested to know "exactly", the exact string text, what is the user agent string of the stock browser, default setting and when set to desktop via about:debug.
And also from the Dolphin set to "desktop".
Thanks if you can do this for us.
nbowes said:
But...I'm getting mobile versions when I'm set to desktop.
Thank you for your replies. I think Chongo has made a pretty solid case for the Dolphin browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to type ' about:debug' every time you reboot and in some cases after clearing your browsing history or after the browser stops. In other words, 'about:debug' does not stick. But your settings are remembered, so you won't have to keep changing your user agent, you'll just need to keep typing 'about:debug' in your address bar. The easier way to tell if you're still in debug mode is by clicking the menu icon and seeing if you have expanded options or not.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
gogol said:
Btw, anyone can really catch the stock browser user agent string?
I am interested to know "exactly", the exact string text, what is the user agent string of the stock browser, default setting and when set to desktop via about:debug.
And also from the Dolphin set to "desktop".
Thanks if you can do this for us.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://my-addr.com/ua
For me, Safari is listed when in both desktop and android mode. When in android mode, platform shows as unknown.
With Dolphin in desktop mode, the agent is Chrome and the platform is Win7.
I don't have Xoom, so I cannot test that
But, I tested using my Nexus S, and here is the result:
Dolphin in Android mode:
Browser name: Default Browser
Platform: unknown
Operating System: Linux, Smart Move!!!
User Agent: Safari
Dolphin in desktop mode:
Browser branch name: Safari 3.1
Browser name: Safari
Browser version: 3.1
Platform: MacOSX
Operating System: Mac OS X
User Agent: Safari
Stock browser in Android (default) mode:
Browser name: Default Browser
Platform: unknown
Operating System: Linux, Smart Move!!!
User Agent: Safari
Stock browser in desktop mode:
Browser branch name: Safari 5.0
Browser name: Safari
Browser version: 5.0
Platform: MacOSX
Operating System: Mac OS X
User Agent: Safari
They are all using "Safari", no word "Android" mentioned.
nbowes said:
http://my-addr.com/ua
For me, Safari is listed when in both desktop and android mode. When in android mode, platform shows as unknown.
With Dolphin in desktop mode, the agent is Chrome and the platform is Win7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One good thing about being automatically sent to the mobile version of a site?
Gizmodo.com
The mobile site is vanilla and plain but DAMN it's better to look at than that new mess of a website they've put up the last couple of months.
/rant
I think the issue here is why can't the Stock browser settings stick when you change the user agent. Dolphin seems to work perfectly fine after rebooting or after a browser crash. If the Stock browser did the same thing, after changing it to desktop, I don't think anyone would have an issue.
FYI Google addressed why this happens in their Android Blog:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/12/android-browser-user-agent-issues.html
Basically, the browser reports itself as Android, but not Android Mobile (as someone else suggested).
Websites currently sense if you are using Android and assume its a phone (because it always used to be), but now they should key of the word "Mobile" instead.
This does have drawbacks, but from an engineering perspective, it is the "correct" way to do it. Hacking the user agent is bad practice - its important for web admins to know if a lot of tablets are accessing their website, for example, so they can make sure the site works well for them. If Google set it to spoof a windows desktop, web admins would never know how many tablets were being used, and may be serving their users with a less than optimal page for tablets without realizing it.
So it will take some time for web admins to fix their sites, but unfortunately, this is the right way to do it. It would be great though if the about:debug settings were sticky. It might be bad practice for Google to design the tablet to spoof the user agent, but its fine if an individual user decides to.
-Taylor
It seems like the best option is to complain to webmasters who do not allow the option of leaving mobile mode on their sites.
If the option to view either mobile or full site is given then there is no need to spoof the user agent and the device would be properly tracked by whatever software the host is using. We need to complain more to the web admins if we will ever see the compatability that the ipad users currently have when browsing the web. At the same time the web admins need to know that enough of our devices are out there before they will see a need to create an alternative browsing experience. This is why I am against changing the user agent.
Edit: Perhaps Google had the same thought in mind and this is the reason the user agent setting does not hold after a reboot.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App
Google is Your Friend. I googled it and Here Is the Istructions. I Tried it and It Works Perfect. After These Steps Opera Will Open Full Desktop Web Pages. Opera is One of The Only Browsers That has like NO Typing Lag so This is Very Useful (To me Atleast) Here it Is:
1. Install the Opera Desktop browser on a computer (opera.com)
2. In Address Bar Type opera:about
3. Copy the exact user agent onto a piece of paper (Or Notepad)
4. Install the Opera Mobile browser (from android market)
5. On Tablet Address Bar Type opera:config (In Opera Mobile Browser)
6. Go to User Prefs and Find Custom User Agent
7. Copy the Opera Desktop User Agent you wrote down onto The Custom User Agent Box
8. Push Save and Restart Opera Mobile.
Now All Web Pages open In Full Desktop Mode. Enjoy. Flash Still Doesnt Work but This is Still the Fastest Web Browser for HC Tablets Atm.
Edite : This is just the steps I took. Other User Agents should work fine too i.e Internet explorer or Firefox. ***
To those lazy people, just input some random useragent and it should work fine for 99% sites out there (with the exception of some that ONLY accepts a certain browser (mostly IE only)). This will cause statistic collection to have weird entries of browsers being used depending on the useragent you pick
All browsers for all devices tell the web server what they are and what platform it's running on.
When I am on a website the Galaxy Tab (non-rooted, supplied browser) shows as the browser to be Safari on Linux.
If I change the User Agent in the browser to "desktop" (using the debug mode) the browser reports that it's Sarafi on Mac OS 10.
I used my company's web site to gather these statistics but you can easily see this on Facebook by digging into your settings.
My question is this: Why does Android do this? It creates misleading statistics showing that Safari is getting a much larger share of web page hits than it really is.
My company uses these statistics for marketing and web page development efforts and now has to rethink it knowing that some Android devices don't report themselves as Android browsers.
my guess would be because of webkit. however, there are some websites that identify browsers and devices properly, such as html5test.com
Jay Rock said:
my guess would be because of webkit. however, there are some websites that identify browsers and devices properly, such as html5test.com
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Click to collapse
When I go to HTML5Test.com while the UAstring is set to desktop the site says:
"You are using an unknown browser that imitates Safari 5.0 on Mac OS X 10.6.3"
TabGuy said:
When I go to HTML5Test.com while the UAstring is set to desktop the site says:
"You are using an unknown browser that imitates Safari 5.0 on Mac OS X 10.6.3"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well isn't that what changing the UAstring is supposed to do? Imitate another browser in order to get a certain format from a page?