I want to make a (more recent) comparison of web browsers available to us on the ASUS TF101 and TF201 tablets, something that is useful. In my experience we don't have all that many threads that are Really Good on this subject, that don't get bogged down with noise and opinion drowning out the signal after a while.
The browsers, web sites, and procedures I will use for testing are being collected HERE as they are written.
I am open to suggestions of things to test as long as they don't cost me $$$, are legit, and hopefully widely used by communities of people in general. If it has issues with the stock browser in HC/ICS/GB/Froyo in fast/simple usage, like crashy crashy! Then I am more likely to test a suggestion.
Note for mods: this is cross posted in the forum for both tablets.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
One test i would like to see is which browsers you can put into desktop mode and fool HULU with.
Neither. Hulu knows it's an android because you're running an android version of flash.
Joey563 said:
One test i would like to see is which browsers you can put into desktop mode and fool HULU with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, its the Flash version that matters.
In the Apps forum there's a hacked Flash plugin that works with Hulu.
@topic
Great idea. Looking forward for the results.
The things that i'd like to see reviewed are the rendering speed and image quality while browsing.
Speed will be noted somehow but I really don't know how to scientifically do image quality, past "Looks ...." to me, lol.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Lifehacker is a good website to test. See if any browser can reproduce the two different scrollable objects properly, like it would be on a browser in Windows or Mac. A lot of browsers will simply choose to lock the two scrollable columns into the page, such that if you try to scroll one, the other follows.
I'd suggest testing a website like Verizonwireless.com, specifically the Explore, Shop, My Verizon, and Support buttons. On a computer, a mouse-over shows a drop-down menu, and a click takes you to the next page. The iPad does this very smart where tapping once on "Shop" for instance will bring down the dropdown menu, tapping it once more will take you to the webpage it links to. So far, the Android browsers I've tried have an awkward execution for this mouse-over effect where you have to hold the button like "Shop" for around half a second and then swipe away your finger to avoid going to the link it points to. See if you can find a browser that works mouse-over in a similar fashion to Safari.
+1 for lifehacker/deadspin/gizmodo sometimes (usually) first load is a blank screen and I have to hit reload. After reload its marginally functional, but not 100%
Also try facebook in desktop or iPad mode... Some stuff works well... Other stuff is total fail, like inviting people to events.
I'll post more as I remember them. I've actually been thinking of making a list like this, but you beat me to it.
Edit: thought of one more: google docs... Word processor, spreadsheets, the whole lot of them...
Spidey,
One thing I find very helpful in web browsing on my Transformer is the ability of a browser to scroll using the scroll wheel on a bluetooth mouse. I've noticed some browsers will scroll with the mouse, and some will not.
If possible, during your testing, you might want to add that as a yes/no feature, it would only take moments to test and include in your results.
Thanks for taking this on, I'm looking forward to your results/conclusions, and the inevitable "discussions" that will follow, either agreeing or disagreeing with your results.
Hi!
Can you test logmein.com as well? In stock and Dolphin it is not working.
I know there is .apk for Android, but it's costly.
@ERamseth gdocs is on my list and whenever possible I'll be testing desktop versions of sites. Can't say that I use Facebook very deeply though so a grain of salt may be needed..
@dm36415 Sorry, don't have any bluetooth mice to test with but great suggestion!] If the Windows box doesn't get pissy maybe I can try yanking my wired one off the desktop, but I can only test that on the TF101 as my Prime won't be getting a dock for a while :-(.
@stenc55 my word that site pissed off the stock browser, just trying to scroll the front page. Not sure how much I can test it but I'll try. Out side of Opera/Firefox, everything will probably barf at it though, and those two might as well lol.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Are you just planning on testing rendering quality/performance, or are you going to sum up some of the other UI features that get mentioned (how tabs work, gesture support, how fluid/laggy scrolling down the page is, is there an incognito mode, etc)
How easy/difficult to import bookmarks from a PC browser, with or without folders.
Most browsers use the same back end as the stock browser, i.e. they do about as much work as Maxthon used to do. So the most use on quality/performance I can give versus the stock, I'm sure will usually be load times and usability. Opera & Firefox are the only two that I know of who bring their own magic for the back end. Unless I get something like native libs in the app data to suggest they included their own rendering engine, I'm marking it as "Stock".
I've been testing the Prime's stock browser, Angel, and Boat for part of the day in between taking care of my mother. Current data that I've recorded:
App name (in launcher, usually), market page, version tested, demographic (mobile, tablet, ...), rendering engine, approximate start time and page load times, exit method (menu, closing last tab, etc), available user agent settings, bookmark storage, sync, and folder support, gesture support, quick control support, plugin support, password remembered, speed dial support, max # of tabs, and "Editorial Remarks" like what I've written for Angel Browser:
My remarks on Angel Browser said:
Has a handy sidebar on the left, similar to what you can do in Opera Desktop; quick controls interfere with sidebar.
You can configure what toolbars are visible.
You can configure by pattern, what app handles what URL.
You can configure by pattern, what UA is given for what URL
You can configure the heck out of what clicking stuff does.
You can configure where most data is stored.
You can configure quick controls, UI, and most everything.
Bookmarks UI can have ads unless you purchase the Angel Browser License app.
Handy scroll down button (by default).
Has "Notes" and "Read Later" features.
Good alternative to the stock browsers UX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For websites tested, App/Site/Load Time/Rendering/Date and Editorial remarks are also being made for websites, like this one for the stock ICS browser on the Prime:
Prone to crashing and input lag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For rendering, it's mostly focused on does it look/work like the desktop site and is it usable? For example, mail.google.com is gitchy in Boat browser and may give you a seizure.
Try editing a document in Google Docs (right now in every browser I tested it's almost impossible and does really strange things).
Note well: I no longer have a TF101 available so tests off TF201 by me are scrapped. People seem to have settled down post Chrome on ICS enough that I may just scrap it totally. If someone would like to pick up on TF101, PM me with your Google Docs address.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
Zooming, text reflowing and hardware acceleration.
The most important aspects of a browser, and the only browser that does these properly on mobile, is Opera.
Related
DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS NEW BROWSER, A MUST FOR PDA OWNERS WITH DATA PLAN:
www.SKYFIRE.com
Watch The Intro On The Home Page
It's kinda nice, but it's another of the page through a proxy as an image browsers. The page is reformatted on their servers and then sent to the phone.
This has been around. It is in a Beta right now that you have to sign up for and be invited to. Been waiting months for the invite and basically giving up. Getting mixed reviews.
This is kinda old news. I have the beta of skyfire, it actually works fairly well. I have several wishes/bug fixes that I sent to skyfire, but overall it is fairly fast and pretty much plays any website you can navigate to.
I still use opera for most of my daily browsing, but I hope that skyfire gets better after the beta testing.
Skyfire
i got the skyfire download but everytime i've tried to browse..it keep saying that the network was lost eventhough i have data plan, i can browse internet with opera mobile 8.5
thanx
I didnt like it....will stick with Opera and PIE+
Meh, I just got the beta2 today. I'm not too impressed with it so far. There's lots of great things incorporated into it, but when you try to flow through pages you just can't do it. When a page loads, you have to zoom into it before you can enter text into any field.
I like to get online, do what I need to do, and get off--bam--finished. This new beta makes it very hard to do that. I've looked for ways to fix it this in its menus, but I just can't find anything. If someone knows how to fix it, let me know .
The things I love about it most are you can get on java based sites, watch embedded video, and hear embedded audio.
All in all, I'd have to say this is just a so-so browser. Great for the casual user who is multi-media focused.
I have the beta as well and I'll stick with opera 9.5. Plus I'd rather not do password work through a proxy server.
I use mini more. But sky is nice for some things. Mini is faster for me....beter syncing. rss. better rendering. better ui. sky does flash.
I just downloaded Sky today, I was let into the beta. And I will say that it's a little harder to use then the other browsers, but in making up for that. It actually delivers on what it says. I can't watch youtube on PIE or opera. I can on Sky, once flash is in the other browsers, Sky will have nothing, but until I find a browser that can play flash.. This rocks for all kinds of things, last.fm, and youtube are great, though I hate the zoom, and it needs some kind of volume control built into the browser.
Opera mobile when it is fully released will have flash. Last.fm plays better with pocket scrobbler. Hit me up over IM and I can send u a cab.
I actually like skyfire, but i noticed I can't go to any .Net sites. Whats up with that? Anyone?
Just got the beta this weekend
Good:
Renders pages well
Plays flash movies
Bad:
Stupid long startup time
Retarded "First you need to zoom!" UI concept. Just awful. Really awful
Text doesn't go into textbox, pops up for input.
Pretty much zero configuration
They should just rename this this to what it is: Streaming online pron viewer.
If they cut the start up time in 1/2, eliminated the need to zoom first (Start in desktop view, tap + hold to bring up the zoom box), and let you customize the way the interface works, they could have a winner. As it is now, Im suprised they consider this even a beta. It has nothing more than core funcitonality, which is more alpha to me.
anybody else get the feeling that even though the page load itself is pretty quick the browser on the whole sorta lags
I downloaded it tried it uninstalled it. it was a memory hog, makes you sign in every time (why can't it remember user information?), it's another one of those we reformat the web for you portals.
Crashed on my device almost immediately.
Got my E-mail yesterday and it works great. It uses a lot of memory though. But so far I like it.
another browser that will require money
I don't get these browsers, instead of updating HTML tags via the W3C we get these browsers that reformat pages before delivering them to the PPC.
I installed this, tried it, had it first complain about memory issues, then crashed when I tried to open the crosswords link on the NY Times page, and uninstalled it.
What exactly are the memory requirements for this thing?
Some specs would be nice.
It's not something I'm going to use.
emkorial said:
Just got the beta this weekend
Good:
Renders pages well
Plays flash movies
Bad:
Stupid long startup time
Retarded "First you need to zoom!" UI concept. Just awful. Really awful
Text doesn't go into textbox, pops up for input.
Pretty much zero configuration
They should just rename this this to what it is: Streaming online pron viewer.
If they cut the start up time in 1/2, eliminated the need to zoom first (Start in desktop view, tap + hold to bring up the zoom box), and let you customize the way the interface works, they could have a winner. As it is now, Im suprised they consider this even a beta. It has nothing more than core funcitonality, which is more alpha to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROTFLMAO, streaming online pron viewer. BWAAAWBWAAA
I love this program. It's awesome. It does have some limitations others have noted, but if you're looking to stream media, or view a page as it's shown on a PC it's the way to go.
If you're looking to USE a webpage, read, etc, I'd rather use pIE. But I like having both.
I love that it can play ANY streaming media I've thrown at it and look / sound great.
If you haven't already, check out this streaming media site: http://www.hulu.com
It has full episodes of many online shows, with very limited ads, for free! No signup! it's sponsored by NBC and FOX and it's 100% legit. It works GREAT in Skyfire!
Finally
A browser that does all. Opera+PIE+Skyfire. I can now with all three do everything I need to lol. Lets see if firefox can integrate the three. or someone.
So, I've just installed the new Chrome browser from Google and first impressions are that it's a good match for the Shift. Seems pretty fast and the tools bar etc doesn't occupy a lot of screen real estate.
I'm starting this thread as I'm interested to hear other peoples experiences with this browser on the Shift.
Regards,
Dave
It seems pretty snappy, but I'd forgotten how many ads there are are the sites I regularly visit, and it makes me realise how well the AdBlock Firefox extension works.
I just did the first tests too...
I like to flick with the stylus over the screen for scrolling up and down...doesn't work on chrome
also i used the plugins firebug and smart bookmarks bar on FF, which aren't yet supported on chrome.
Should you/we be sending these requests back to google so they can include functionality? Cheers
Hi,
my impression is that it is much faster than IE and FF, but missing add-ons so far. For example, Google's own toolbar. I use it for synchronizing bookmarks.
S.
As far as I know ....
As far as I know it's jet too early to install Google Chrome in a pc......
http://www.webnews.it/news/leggi/9046/chrome-ed-e-subito-vulnerabilita/
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30983
...vulnerabilities in Chrome...
We all take risks every time we visit a new site, or click on a link in an email. The simple fact of the matter is that the only truly safe way to browse the internet is on someone elses machine, and not to use any kind of internet banking or any other site where personal details can be obtained and compromised!
There are vulnerabilities in *every* mainstream browser, most of which are yet to be found, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't or can't be used.
Each to their own of course!
Regards,
Dave
Yess...
We take risks everyday but, why to use well known bugged browsers?
Regards
Simply because if someone doesn't, future bugs will never get found and fixed. This particular bug has already been fixed in the current version of WebKit and therefore I'd expect to see a new release from Google based on the latest (or later) version of WebKit within a fairly short order.
Yes, this version of Chrome has a number of vulnerabilities, but then again so will IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari - so take your pick!
Thus far though, surfing the web using Chrome on the Shift is proving to be a far more pleasant experience (for me at least) than IE or Firefox.
Regards,
Dave
I absolutely agree....
...but in the meanwhile I prefer to use broswers whose bugs are often fixed allthough it's clear that there are unknown or not jet discovered vulnerabilities.
But it's still just my opinion.
Best solution would be to keep an eye on what happens on some sites like securityfocus.org.
Best regards
Hey all,
I just wanted to let you know that I have a mad a quick video review of what I think is the best browser on the Android Market.
Any questions feel free to comment on the video or here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0LQyOX0fqw
Hm another browser with annoying useless software buttons which wasting space when you are in fullscreen mode. I want to see web page and no some useless buttons...
Not recommended, dolphin is still the best.
ranwej said:
Hm another browser with annoying useless software buttons which wasting space when you are in fullscreen mode. I want to see web page and no some useless buttons...
Not recommended, dolphin is still the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In full screen mode it has 1 software button which is for quick access to some good features. id hardly say its a downside.
Nice little review op.
All buttons hide in full screen mode apart from two which hide after a few seconds to give you the full browsing experience
So cool. Thanks robifis. It' really helpful. I'm so in love with this Boat Browser. It's much quicker than Dolphin HD. Also the voice command feature is pretty good.
Nice work.
Not bad but i like xscope more.
Sent from my GT-I9100
rauschkugl said:
Not bad but i like xscope more.
Sent from my GT-I9100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
.........
I had using it for a while...loving it, and had uninstall my stock browser and solely using this as my default browser
Other browsers like X-Scope don't need this permission:
READ SENSITIVE LOG DATA
Allows an application to read from the system's various log files. This allows it to discover general information about what you are doing with the device, potentially including personal or private information.
I say no thanks
chch said:
Other browsers like X-Scope don't need this permission:
READ SENSITIVE LOG DATA
Allows an application to read from the system's various log files. This allows it to discover general information about what you are doing with the device, potentially including personal or private information.
I say no thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I was about to post. I downloaded it, didn't use it then posted a 1* review highlighting this for others.
Greedy devs information harvesting.... No thanks...
Hi All
Please bear with me, as this post might get a bit long. But I'd like to provide as much info as possible in order to get the best help (hopefully).
So why'd I get the Nexus 10? Well I was eyeing it out for a few weeks but it was out of stock. Finally we went to John Lewis to buy me a Nexus 7 for my birthday, but while there, we tried the Galaxy Note 10.1. I absolutely loved the Polaris Office and the handwriting recognition. So I foolishly thought this was stock on all Nexus and when I checked online, the Nexus 10 32GB was back in stock. So I bought that instead.
So when I got the tablet I was understandably excited But the more I used it, the more disappointed I got. From trying to setup the email to searching for apps. So I am now on the fence about keeping it or sending it back because just about everything I want to do is just not simple and straight forward and productive. BUT I love the screen and the build and the spec. So I'm here desperately trying to find the tools to get the best out of the tablet so I don't have to send it back
I think now is the time to say, this is not an Android bashing or Android vs iOS/iPad argument. I want to stick to my Nexus 10, but I just need to get the best out of it.
So what do I want to get out of it?
* reading eBooks. I think I've finally found a suitable reader in moon+ reader. I've tried all the other free readers and either they don't zoom images or the options are rubbish.
* browsing the web - I've tried all the popular browsers, Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Dolphin, Puffin, Boat, Ocean, Maxthon. All except Chrome are missing the function I need the most, the ability to have all my tabs still open when I go to launch the browser again. Chrome is the only one that does this, but it has crashed SEVERAL times already in the last few days. To the point of causing 100% CPU (according to cool tool and lack of responsiveness). I'd also like an "almost" or as close to desktop browsing experience as possible. There's no point having the larger screen if I just keep getting redirected to the mobile versions of sites.
* Email - the built in email client is pants and incomplete. I need to have access to my Gmail and to my exchange mailboxes, which I do. But I can't access any of my sub folders in my exchange mailboxes. The other problem is you can't archive gmail emails and for some stupid reason, deleting mail from the gmail mailbox moves the email into an "Imap/deleted" tag, rather than the Gmail bin. Even the stock iOS mail app does this and I'd have expected something on Android to be even better. Using the Gmail app is not an option as it's slow and I'd rather use one app. Oh! My other problem with the default mail app is that when you open an email in landscape, it only uses about 2/3 of the screen for the actual email. What's the point in that? Oh, and when you setup the email account, you get the option to sync tasks, but I can't see a tasks app. It also seems to "wrap" text at 80 characters, but it wraps by cutting part of the words, rather than wrapping an entire word.
* RDP - I need to access my work PC using RDP and without having to install some other "host" software which most/all of the apps I've tried so far require. 2xClient seems ok, but Zooming in causes all the font to be grainy. iTap seems good, but is not free.
* Editing word and excel documents - I've only found Kingsoft Office, as all the others aren't free. But Polaris Office looked SOOOO much better.
* Notes - no built in notes app. Any recommendations?
* SSH, Ping, Traceroute - TBH I haven't searched for these apps as I've spent a load of time searching for the other apps. So suggestions are welcome
I'm sure I could possibly overcome many of the issues with the stock ROM by installing one of the custom ROMs, but the reasons I haven't done this so far are:
1) I don't want to change the ROM and invalidate the warranty
2) I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the info (even though I'm a pretty proficient tech). I used to load custom ROMs on my windows mobile and I've jailbroken my iphone in order to get other useful tools like the activator and bitesms etc.
3) I just haven't looked long enough to find a good custom ROM. Most of the ROMs threads don't have screenshots and "feature lists"
Anyway, I said this post would be long Thanks if you've read this far and thanks in advance for any help/advice.
Version info
Android: 4.2.2 (updated OTA after receiving)
Kernel: 3.4.5-gaf9c307
Build: JDQ39
OK as far as readers I just use Google books. For browser look for chrome beta as it is muuuuch better than chrome. Office wise king soft is the best you're going to get for free. I personally use office2012 text maker. RDP you can search vnc also. There is one app that is decent but I'm blanking on the name works with vnc and rdp. Notes there is ever note or there is a "floating" note that was developed on xda but again blanking on the name. Finally for ssh etc I say terminal ide has from ssh to vim or for a simpler try connectbot . for ROMs I prefer aokp with kt's kernel visit the forum on a browser not the app theyll usually have screenshots etc. Or check just features of aokp/cm as most are based on those. hope any of that helps
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
iamikon said:
For browser look for chrome beta as it is muuuuch better than chrome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It "was" much better than Chrome. They're both on-par for now (Chrome got the engine updates that Beta had recently).
iamikon said:
OK as far as readers I just use Google books.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. Google books looks great, except it doesn't allow you to add your own books (at least I couldn't find the option).
Also VNC isn't an option for accessing my work computer unfortunately. It's just not as flexible or secure as RDP. I'll have a search for the SSH clients you've mentioned. I've been looking in this forum for the ROMs, maybe I'll just have to go through each of the threads.
espionage724 said:
It "was" much better than Chrome. They're both on-par for now (Chrome got the engine updates that Beta had recently).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah didn't know haven't used it at all as of late.
I only mention vnc because the client I'm thinking does both. I looked it up and is called pocket cloud. It asks you to install host stuff but is not necessary to use either rDP or vnc. I haven't actually tried adding my own hah so not sure on that. I prefer terminal ide since it includes a lot of tools. Most useful for me is vim. As for ROMs I suggest Mr Robinson or bigxies aokp pub or task650 aokp or eos or carbon, lots of people also really like rasbean
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
Try 2X Client/RDP Remote Desktop for your RDP needs...
iamikon said:
I looked it up and is called pocket cloud. It asks you to install host stuff but is not necessary to use either rDP or vnc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had downloaded pocketcloud but then deleted it because I thought it needed the desktop software. I've just tried it and the free version is alright though it doesn't scale too well in the free version. I've tried 2xclient but it makes Outlook 2013 really blurry when zoomed in. I now have to decide if I'm going to spend the money on the pro version of iTap or Pocket Cloud or Jump Desktop or AccessToGo or the free RemoteToGo. Either way I think I have some good choices/options now
iamikon said:
I prefer terminal ide since it includes a lot of tools.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just installed this and had a quick play and it looks almost perfect. I think it will be perfect once I've rooted.
iamikon said:
As for ROMs I suggest Mr Robinson or bigxies aokp pub or task650 aokp or eos or carbon, lots of people also really like rasbean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I also saw ParaAndroid (hopefully spelt that right) and I am working up the courage to change the ROM
I also discovered UC Browser from one of the other threads in the Apps forum and I must say I am actually liking it so far. It has gestures, is quick and smooth and it remembers all the tabs I had open. It also has a very nifty floating button/toolbar which is customizable and gives me the option to scroll to top (something that iOS provides by clicking on the toolbar in any app - I use mouse gestures in Windows so this is something I personally use).
I also discovered (albeit by mistake) that the stock email app does indeed show/support subfolders in exchange accounts. You simply need to double click the folder and it will expand the sub folders. Joy! It's now good enough to do the job and I can get used to the other differences/quirks.
Thumb keyboard does indeed look good, but it's not free. I don't really want to spend money on something I may not like. I am currently trying FloatNSplit which is similar but doesn't seem to have all the features of Thumb Keyboard.
I think with a custom ROM and a few more tweaks, I may actually start to properly enjoy my Nexus 10.
Thank you for everyone's help so far. I'm still open to more suggestions
As far as keyboard goes I recommend kii keyboard its a split and has lots of features
Sent from my Nexus 10 using XDA Premium HD app
If you don't mind paying for it - Touchdown is like Outlook for Android
bigmatty said:
If you don't mind paying for it - Touchdown is like Outlook for Android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'll have a look. Hopefully they have a trial. But I watched a video of the Galaxy Note 10.1 mail client and it seems to have all the features that the stock client in Android is mssing. Is there any way of getting that client for free?
I am still torn between keeping my nexus 10 because of its great screen and specs or to send it back and get a galaxy 10.1 for its awesome S-Pen & productivity features/tools
krash_control said:
Thanks. I'll have a look. Hopefully they have a trial. But I watched a video of the Galaxy Note 10.1 mail client and it seems to have all the features that the stock client in Android is mssing. Is there any way of getting that client for free?
I am still torn between keeping my nexus 10 because of its great screen and specs or to send it back and get a galaxy 10.1 for its awesome S-Pen & productivity features/tools
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, at work, I rely on rules in Exchange to route messages to different folders. Then, I assign different sounds to the different senders/folders. I also need to be sure my message notifications are always being pushed to the phone, no matter what folder they land in. Touchdown allows for all of this. Its expensive at $19, luckily I was able to expense it to my work. But after using Touchdown there is absolutely no way I could go back to the stock versions of email, etc..
Hope you enjoy the device!
While looking for something completely different, I stumbled across this and thought some people might find it interesting:
Turn an old eReader into an Information Screen (Nook STR) – Terence Eden’s Blog
shkspr.mobi
I wouldn't fixed NST to a wall and think that I have read here about app used here to do that job. Either someone is gonna fix TLS issue or maybe if we assume using NST as display it could be possible to use home Wi-Fi router or mobile phone as secure server or part of VPN that will negotiate TLS issue for NST. I always doubted slightly that NST can offer full internet browser experience but something in line of htttp web grab in reader mode might be good enough for some application. News (RSS), weather and I believe that maybe EPG TV guide are not impossible to accomplish. Only question about this remains will NST embedded HTML browser will be good for the job of showing the grab from web pages or is Opera in reader mode better for such job. Time to look up for a good web grabber...
SJT75 said:
I wouldn't fixed NST to a wall and think that I have read here about app used here to do that job. Either someone is gonna fix TLS issue or maybe if we assume using NST as display it could be possible to use home Wi-Fi router or mobile phone as secure server or part of VPN that will negotiate TLS issue for NST. I always doubted slightly that NST can offer full internet browser experience but something in line of htttp web grab in reader mode might be good enough for some application. News (RSS), weather and I believe that maybe EPG TV guide are not impossible to accomplish. Only question about this remains will NST embedded HTML browser will be good for the job of showing the grab from web pages or is Opera in reader mode better for such job. Time to look up for a good web grabber...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Curl can often bypass SSL checks and grab web content. It runs on the NST. I've used it in a few of my apps. Whether the data it gets can be used by the app the blogger mentions is something else.
@nmyshkin that is nice idea! And seems exactly in line of what I wrote. I do not know is curl accessible from Android layer. I pondered the same thought more in line of trying to use port of Lynx to Android I have seen someone did although who knows is that possible to do on this version of Android?
I've written a status app (that I never use).
It polls two different servers for JSON info and displays it using regular Android graphics stuff.
It uses Retrofit for polling.
And one more! (although this one uses a Sony PRS-T1)
Reusing my ebook reader – Fluffyelephant
Hmm, you got me thinking about this stuff.
There's the whole let the Nook poll some data service and display it on a web browser sort of thing.
I don't really need or want that.
I was thinking more of like as a status output device for a headless Raspberry Pi.
No, not as a terminal, more like status for a solar/home/whatever system.
The Nook doesn't poll anything, it just sits there waiting for text or graphics.
But here's the part I like, you don't use any WiFi.
You just plug your Nook into the Raspberry Pi.
Of course it has adb.
You can get adb for Raspberry Pi: sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb
Now you can set up port forwarding:
Code:
[email protected]:~ $ adb forward tcp:6666 tcp:6666
Then all you need is something on the RPi to connect to port 6666 and spit out stuff.
On the Nook you need an app to serve port 6666 and do display stuff.
I've already made a clock as proof of concept and it works fine.
You could just use text fields or compose a whole graphic frame on the RPi and send that over.
Heck, if you send whole frames you wouldn't even need to run the Android subsytem.
I could probably get that working on a Kobo.
A very sophisticated example follows.
It allows you to individually update separate fields.
These could be in tables with borders or labels or whatever.
Edit: Okay, a better screenshot.
You know, the thing I like about this is that the NST is the server.
It's a bit like running X11, but much more lightweight.
And if you want you can still run this over WiFi instead of ADB forwarding.
This electric sign app is really close to something I'm looking for. What I'd like to do is, instead of a screenshot of a URI, to take a screenshot of what I've got open in the device.
I'd like to use this with Google Calendar, and Opera Mini surprisingly seems to work with the HTML version. I think Opera Mini keeps the calendar updating with AJAX or something, so all I'd need an app like this to do would be to, when it's running, take a screenshot of what's on the screen right before sleeping and set that as wallpaper, then wake every X minutes, screencap what's there and go back to sleep with that as the new wallpaper. The end result should be an always-on, low power Google Calendar.
EDIT: For anyone looking later, I was wrong. Opera Mini does not keep updating Google Calendar, you have to refresh it manually, which makes this slightly more complicated...
jptiger said:
This electric sign app is really close to something I'm looking for. What I'd like to do is, instead of a screenshot of a URI, to take a screenshot of what I've got open in the device.
I'd like to use this with Google Calendar, and Opera Mini surprisingly seems to work with the HTML version. I think Opera Mini keeps the calendar updating with AJAX or something, so all I'd need an app like this to do would be to, when it's running, take a screenshot of what's on the screen right before sleeping and set that as wallpaper, then wake every X minutes, screencap what's there and go back to sleep with that as the new wallpaper. The end result should be an always-on, low power Google Calendar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somewhere on the site there is a discussion of a setup that copies the current screen into a screensaver folder so that, for example, a map remains visible when the device sleeps. Search for it.
Edit: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/q-fridge-calendar.3057759/#post-59527882
Edit: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...uestion-o-noob-friendly.2941262/post-57216860
Eh, I'm not fond of browser-based anything,
For plain HTML stuff you could throw something together with Webkit instead.
For the adventurous you could use the Google Calendar API
Renate said:
Eh, I'm not fond of browser-based anything,
For plain HTML stuff you could throw something together with Webkit instead.
For the adventurous you could use the Google Calendar API
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tend to agree with you. As I already wrote above something akin to Pocket/ReadItLater and similar might be accomplished using simple web grab I presume and offline HTML browser. I have thought that it looks odd that beside "hidden" (and sadly for us practically unusable) browser NST have another HTML viewer. Reason for that might be it was intended to be used for B&N "browsing" through their shop that they periodically download to NST or maybe for presentation of e-book material of older type that was for all intents and purposes just web archived HTML page or perhaps for viewing magazines purchased through B&N.
In essence even epub use elements of CSS/HTML but that is another story. Maybe it could be possible to make some poor man Pocket like offline browser if we somehow find the way to cobble together parts of some RSS, bookmarks syncing, e-mail listing, forum/blog viewer and approach that me or nmyshkin proposed here. In my opinion hardest part if some web grab is possible would be to render it in usable form for this device. That mean turning of ads, flash/video, loading pictures only on demand (or better in on/off way) and show only text information. Now what "browser" is suitable for this is yet to determine. I know that very old Opera could turn off animation an pictures but as I remember it did that in such way that it didn't download them at all to save bandwidth. Maybe it could be somehow set to load web archives in such manner? Think about it as giving an command that some web page be "printed as epub". It might be to large task to accomplish. Pocket worked if I remember right in such way that selected page was sent to dedicated server which did the trimming part for user and allowing him/her to download that content on other device to be read later on. Here I think that if we could sync for example one of bookmark folders from a computer with NST and achieve web grab of those links in usable form we might have something. It is a matter for the debate isn't Opera mobile and style management already wrote on here in forum same or even better. Problem would be that page reformat/rendering would be tasked to NST itself and I am not sure if it is up to the task or am I capable to cobble such thing alone for that matter. Something flashed in my mind didn't Calibre had some news reader? If it does then I am inventing the wheel here. Still it would be nice to be able to have some even limited ability to open a link to a news story from RSS feed or a forum/blog we follow or e-mail listing etc.
For Calendar I hope that some kind of dedicated app combining Calendar, planner and to do list can be found to already exist for this device.
Did anyone inspected this option? https://greycoder.com/a-list-of-text-only-new-sites/ It might be interesting
SJT75 said:
Did anyone inspected this option? https://greycoder.com/a-list-of-text-only-new-sites/ It might be interesting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for these! The ersatz Google News is amazing in that even the external links are text-only! It makes my Google News app obsolete! Great with Opera Mini. Many, many things to look at there
nmyshkin said:
Thanks for these! The ersatz Google News is amazing in that even the external links are text-only! It makes my Google News app obsolete! Great with Opera Mini. Many, many things to look at there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am glad that I have contributed with something useful. As have already guessed from mine posts in this thread I have contemplated heavily about what could be more useful for NST some text-only browser akin to old trusty Lynx or some rewrite/redefinition of working Opera. One thing lead to another and at first I thought to maybe open and disclosed source for firefox readability extension/addon ported for working version of Opera somehow is a way to go but as I always check all aspects of mine quirky ideas I stumbled upon this. It is poor man solution but as I remembered that you follow NPR and they have text mode only site felt obliged to mention it here.
In line with nmyshkin's idea of using curl if some information display akin to the one linked in the first post is needed does something like cron from Linux can be run on NST?
"Print as epub" exist as web form. Here is the result of that one. https://dotepub.com/ I tried to use online form there and results were mediocre but as I understand they also offer their API to developers etc. That I presume might draw attention from someone on xda.
In defense of the intended idea for using NST as info screen arguably touch technology it uses is best for those screens. Mine guess is that its deemed as such because it is most easily scalable from the currently available techniques. This also raise the question why B&N did not already made readers of much larger format like A4 paper size screen. Is the display cost really that high and prohibitive? On the other news rumors have spread that they have partnered with Lenovo not only for the new generation of tablets but also for new e-readers. Has anyone find some leek about possible specifications?
SJT75 said:
... rumors have spread ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Say, what? After my buying a Poke3?
Edit: See https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no...ovo-barnes-noble/1139012795?ean=9780594080503
1200 x 800 for a 10" = 144 DPI, not drop dead impressive.
I agree. Cheap bastards! I can't say is that 149DPI good for LCD screen but is sub par for e-reader. They obviously targeted minimum resolution comparable to low resolution printing and hope to get away with it. Considered that I expressed criticism to level of development of current color e-ink technology being bellow resolution of NST by about 60% you can bet I find this to little question is does it comes to late for B&N. Still I am more interested about e-ink display device that rumor say is also planned but nothing is revealed so far.
Renate said:
Say, what? After my buying a Poke3?
Edit: See https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no...ovo-barnes-noble/1139012795?ean=9780594080503
1200 x 800 for a 10" = 144 DPI, not drop dead impressive
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing to report that is mine work now still in the spirit of this thread I want to post few links with things people did with e-ink screens that might be done with NST also.
1. Raspberry Pi powered news scrapper - something Renate might like as she as I understood work on something similar
https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/ksgomp
2. Weather display that I believe was made using software already mentioned somewhere on forum
https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/lcyos9
3. Something completely different! Device made as platform to enable development many things e-ink made. Link shows RSS implementation.
4. In the old days when e-readers were unobtainable on my location I was in desperation contemplating the idea to convert available photo frames to a e-reader. This is as you guess the other way around.
https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/liadda
5. Someone developed site for games for e-ink screen as I understood browser only
https://e-ink.club/index.php There is in my opinion plenty of room for some sort of games on e-ink and this is not comprehensive list but it is nice someone started a dedicated page/project for that.