Database Users

Netfront 3.5 tech preview out

http://www.access-company.com/products/netfrontmobile/browser/35_wm_tp.html
been trying it out for a few minutes on x51v -- it's pretty darn fast! It loads up Engadget in its entirety in around 10 seconds and is fully surfable after that.

I've goten it too and set it to my default browser. I defineatly like it but it is a memory hog. The only problem about this is if I leave it open in the background it errors saying not enough free memory.
Other than that it loads up in about 3 seconds on my titan andloads most big sites in about 10-15 seconds.
One issue is that sometimes while scrolling it seems the page has to refresh and keep up.

i am really liking this tech preview. i installed it last night and it's really zippy, although one time i got an error saying that it did not support javascript (even though it does elsewhere).
other than that one instance, everything works perfectly, and it renders web pages really quickly with the "Full Browsing" mode. (don't bother with Rapid-Render, it's actually slower than "Full Browsing"). also, for anyone that's used 3.4 tech preview, this 3.5 beta has working visual bookmarks, meaning it makes the thumbnail based on the part of the page you're viewing. it's great
My "Browser View" settings are (in order):
Full Browsing
Normal
75%
640x640
Medium
and with those settings, it is just flying.
A couple questions:
1) Does anyone know how to get the "External Tools" to work? I added .flv to work with TCPMP, and i went to YtPocket.com to test it out, but nothing happen. ytpocket sends flv format to TCPMP, so I don't know what happened. any ideas?
2) What is the difference between "Full Browsing" mode and "Simple Browsing" mode? they both render the pages as we would see on the desktop, and i can't see much speed difference.

this blows skyfire out of the water. i keep getting the memory error.

I tested netfront 3.5 for a few hours. It seems to me that it is faster than opera mini. However, I am waiting for opera mobile 9.5. I heard it will a lot better than skyfire and netfront 3.5

They finally come up with an update after all these years! (alright, well months...) and obviously, it still doesn't do it.
sounds like a lot of WM browsers around here. PIEPlus has been stuck at 2.2 for as long as I've been using WM, but I'm waiting to see what Opera's next attempt will be like.

rzanology said:
this blows skyfire out of the water. i keep getting the memory error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You keep getting the memory error with which program? And could you give us more of an in-depth comparison since you've tried both?

For me it seem to take forever to download a website.
Like cnn.com take a good 3-6 minutes to download when using IE take less a minute.
But once downloaded it scroll the page very fast but I do notice if I use my finger to scroll the page around it keep opening up my battery status setting apps.
I was no where near the battery icon which does that when you touch it.
Bill

its decent, it doesnt support youtube or any other video site... in addition to that, there isnt a dedicated back button lol, which is crucial. ill wait for opera... itll own all the other web browsers, bar none.

Hehe
i wil keep ma fingers crossed and jus wait for the new Opera 9

well...skyfire feel too unpolished. even though its fast...its just not ready yet. there is no mobile few. im a fan of mobile few...meaning...i like the browerser to org everything in on coloumn so there is no need for scrolling to the right or left. how ever.....netfront does a good job of the zooming out and zooming in. so i can live with that. its also faster than skyfire. but i still find myself needed to launch up opera mini....for my myspace and facebook needs...as well as general browsing like gizmodo.com and engadget....opermini offers the best experence. but netfront really isn't bad. im looking foward to trying the new opera...as i didnt really care for 8.5 or 8.6 what ever it is.

Guys, Some questions.
I have never had the need to install 3rd party web browser.. due to the fact that I think the more apps you install, the slower your device will be... so, I always keep my apps to minimum...
Now, is skyfire/opera much faster than PIE? (how much faster?)
What makes you guys think that it is necessary to install 3rd party apps?
What makes you guys "hate" the default PIE?

joseph.sapri said:
Guys, Some questions.
I have never had the need to install 3rd party web browser.. due to the fact that I think the more apps you install, the slower your device will be... so, I always keep my apps to minimum...
Now, is skyfire/opera much faster than PIE? (how much faster?)
What makes you guys think that it is necessary to install 3rd party apps?
What makes you guys "hate" the default PIE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
even though pocket ie has gotton better...it just isnt up to snuff. you should really try opera mini...you're in for a treat.
um...the more you install on your phone doesnt really make it slower. but it is good practice to keep your 3rd party app to a minimum....to the device atlease. i install everything to the storage card.

TechBill said:
For me it seem to take forever to download a website.
Like cnn.com take a good 3-6 minutes to download when using IE take less a minute.
But once downloaded it scroll the page very fast but I do notice if I use my finger to scroll the page around it keep opening up my battery status setting apps.
I was no where near the battery icon which does that when you touch it.
Bill
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It takes me a good 3-6 minutes to load up CNN as well, in fact most sites PIE opens up faster. :/

I just timed cnn.com opening and it only took 44 secs on AT&T 3G connection. In fact, Im replying while on Net Front right now. So far Im really liking this browser, besides the fact that it burns through my battery with incredible speed.

I've been playing with this browser a lot over the weekend, and so I'm here to post sort of an explanation of it.
1) MEMORY HOG, wow that is my biggest issue. In Task Managers, it's only using up about 1.4 mb of RAM, but seriously, if i just open the browser (not even opening a webpage), then go to PointUI, every single animation is slowed down. That's just an example, but everywhere else, the device is slowed. Well, except for the browser itself.
2)I figured out the little differences between the Browser View Settings.
Browsing Mode
Full Browsing: Desktop Mode. As you see the site on your Desktop. My favorite by far.
Text Browsing: All Text. Pretty Straightforward.
Simple Browsing: Basically all text, except for some small images. For example, loading up the "Development and Hacking" here on Xda loads as all text, no formatting, but shows the little thread ratings stars, the little paperclip, the little thumbtack, etc.
Rapid-Render: Pretty annoying, from my tests anyway. Loads up the page as all text, then goes back and loads all the formatting so it ends up as a Desktop View. Seems good in theory (get the speed benefit of "Text Browsing", and you still have the option to wait for the full formatting of "Full Browsing"). HOWEVER, your reading is always interrupted because the screen refreshes itself and goes blank when it goes from Text to Full. I tested, and it takes the same amount of time to get to full formatting of a webpage whether you use Rapid-Render or Full Browsing, so I prefer to avoid that screen refresh.
Display Mode
Normal: Normal. Duh.
Just-Fit: Shoves everything into one screen, messing up all formatting.
Smart-Fit: Resizes web page tables and stuff to fit on the screen. Better than Just-Fit.
Zoom - It's obvious. Kinda annoying how NetFront reloads the page when you change zoom levels, though. I leave mine at 75%.
Virtual Canvas - Changes the screen size. Think of it like the size of your desktop monitor. Best setting for me is 640x640, because anything bigger shows tons of blank spaces on web pages (since NetFront auto resizes text to fit in one screen), and the "Disable" option doesn't allow you to double-tap the screen (or double click the Action Button) for the zoomed out screen.
Text Size - Obvious. I leave mine on Medium. Along with the 75% zoom, I am able to read text comfortably, as well as maximizing the screen area.
Whew.

Azimuth21 said:
I've been playing with this browser a lot over the weekend, and so I'm here to post sort of an explanation of it.
1) MEMORY HOG, wow that is my biggest issue. In Task Managers, it's only using up about 1.4 mb of RAM, but seriously, if i just open the browser (not even opening a webpage), then go to PointUI, every single animation is slowed down. That's just an example, but everywhere else, the device is slowed. Well, except for the browser itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is because it is a CPU hog. This is the best browser on memory I have used so far, especially on Simple Browsing mode. I have to close the browser when I am finished using it because it uses about 80% cpu when minimized. But it is so fast I don't mind.
I think everything else you have said is spot on.

Netfront 3.4 didn't use up any noticable CPU when in the background, 3.5 uses up a huge amount, since it's obviously something they changed/added, hopefully they fix it before release

i already posted this in another thread about netfront, but this thread seems to actually have people viewing it
after putting this browser through multiple speed tests, it continuously produced slow results...especially in comparison with IE
when connected to wifi, i tested multiple times, and heres about the averages i would get with the browsers
IE-1.7 mbps
Opera-800 kbps
Picsel-1.0 mbps
NetFront- 300 kbps
the only reason i wanted to speed test was because netfront felt slow, and according to those tests, it was alot slower than my other browsers...
i LOVE the browser, the wordwrapping to fit on screen works great, i like the scrolling, tabbed browsing, and everything.....featurewise, its better than opera, speedwise its terrible...
EDIT** i have been speed testing at www.mobilespeedtest.com

lupes5 said:
i already posted this in another thread about netfront, but this thread seems to actually have people viewing it
after putting this browser through multiple speed tests, it continuously produced slow results...especially in comparison with IE
when connected to wifi, i tested multiple times, and heres about the averages i would get with the browsers
IE-1.7 mbps
Opera-800 kbps
Picsel-1.0 mbps
NetFront- 300 kbps
the only reason i wanted to speed test was because netfront felt slow, and according to those tests, it was alot slower than my other browsers...
i LOVE the browser, the wordwrapping to fit on screen works great, i like the scrolling, tabbed browsing, and everything.....featurewise, its better than opera, speedwise its terrible...
EDIT** i have been speed testing at www.mobilespeedtest.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this... so basically, PIE is still the best in performance?

Whats your choice of browser?

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.

[Q] REQUEST: Closest browser experience to the Sense 5 browser?

Just like the title says, i'm looking for a browser that functions as well as the Sense 5 browser and its silky smooth scrolling, instant text re-flow, fast page loading, and even it's pleasing visual design. I own an HTC One and while I do enjoy it, I choose to carry the Nexus 4 most days because of better battery life and my preference of Google's stock UI. I've accepted that the Nexus is going to have some short-comings compared to other devices, but the browser experience has never been a factor for me and now it is. I've always used the AOSP browser and it wasn't until Google began packaging Chrome as Android's browser that I realized just how much I liked the AOSP option. I've tried several times to like chrome as it' my desktop preference, but it's just a terrible mobile experience for me I purchased an HTC One first for my Wife and the day she received it I feel in love with the browser after using it. I compared it side by side with the AOSP browser and also Dolphin browser and it seemed to well outperform both. I've done some Googling and confirmed that I won't be able to pull the APK and get it running on a device that doesn't have the Sense framework, or at least not in any simple or straight forward way.
So does anyone that has used the HTC's browser know of any comparable alternative? I've gone to the Play Store and installed at least 15 or so of the most popular options, and some less popular but highly rated browsers, and nothing seems to compare. Dolphin or Dolphin Beta have long been my secondary browsers and they are far superior to anything else available but still fall a little short in my opinion. I run into trouble sometimes with secured site log ins, embedded video bugs even with flash installed & enabled properly, and its lack of force enabled zoom which is problematic when visiting any mobile site because I have very poor vision and the text on many mobile sites is often unreadable for me. The AOSP browser has seemed to develop it's share of compatibility issues with certain pages as well, and one of those often issues is the page turning blank & reloading continuously when I either zoom in or select a field to enter text in, but it only happens on desktop sites and not mobile. I believe it's probable lacking support,updates, and security since Google dropped it quite some time ago?
So I'm sure it's clear that I'm frustrated jumping between two browsers just for casual web surfing. I understand a secondary browser is pretty much necessary on almost any platform, but it shouldn't be required to alternate constantly just to browse my bookmarks and catch up on the news.
I feel it's unlikely that there's a solution in the Play Store for what I need, but with all of the app development and testing here on XDA I'm hopeful that someone has come across a browser here that's close to what I'm wanting in performance and features. I can't imagine that I'm the only one frustrated with lack of a high quality browsers on mobile, I just never realized it could be so much better before using HTC's.....Sigh!

Best internet browser for the XTZ

I have tried them all and by top 5 is the following:
1- Next browser - fast loading pages, reliable and smooth, lacking some sync
2- Chome - fast loading pages, reliable, amazing sync, but sometimes sluggish
3- Dolphin browser - slow loading pages, reliable, but sometimes sluggish
4- Opera - slow loading pages, reliable, but sometimes sluggish
5- UC browser - fast loading pages, unreliable and sometimes sluggish
What about your experience?

miguelsantos1979 said:
I have tried them all and by top 5 is the following:
1- Next browser - fast loading pages, reliable and smooth, lacking some sync
2- Chome - fast loading pages, reliable, amazing sync, but sometimes sluggish
3- Dolphin browser - slow loading pages, reliable, but sometimes sluggish
4- Opera - slow loading pages, reliable, but sometimes sluggish
5- UC browser - fast loading pages, unreliable and sometimes sluggish
What about your experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also prefer Next browser and think it is the best so far. UC Browser seemed very fast though. Some sites had trouble and the lack of google sync seemed to suck.
What lack of sync do you experience with next browser? With the newest version it syncs all my bookmarks and folders from PC chrome wich is great.

hello you should try Naked Browser Pro its still the fastest browser with full flash support i had never a crash. it just looks simple but has alot of configs and it shows pages in real tablet ui and not in phone ui like the others. Its worth a try. There is no other browser with such a flash support and it works very good with adaway.

I just can't tear myself away from Firefox on the desktop (far and away the best there, IMO), so as much as it feels a bit sluggish sometimes on Android, I still stick with it on my phone and tablet because it syncs nicely.

My experience so far :
Chrome - Would be nice for bookmark sync (I use it on my PC) but no flash support - so I tried...
AOSP : basic but fast - but Flash support seems to be getting troublesome, causing broswer FCs, so I tried...
FireFox : Looks good, can use Flash - but I had problems with :
slow-rendering of pages (text would be blurred for a while as you scroll)
inputting text in text boxes - the number of timmes I was prodding the screen trying to get a text input cursor...ARGHH!
"selection" buttons not working on many websites (would work fine with AOSP / OPERA)
Shame, I liked it for a while. And finally...
OPERA : Quite liking it seems fast, most things work, but no Flash ...so I may try....???? Naked Browser ???

if you want opera im using opera mobile 12.02 wich still has flash support and real tablet ui but its not the fastest but its ok for me. il use it for daly browsing and for flash videos i use naked browser its the best for flash.

I've always had very good luck with Dolphin. Maybe not the fastest, but fast enough for me and reliable. I value stable over quick. Interface is minimal and clean. Gestures rock. Flash works. Love it.
I do, however, use Firefox for work. I keep all my work bookmarks sync'd up.

I was a chrome/dolphin user before but after seeing this thread a few days ago and trying out next browser, it's officially become my default.

chrome beta is the best 100% full desktop web site still few bug but I have been using this for a long time.... but no flash support

There is only 1 browser that has real desktop rendering its called opera classic or an old version of opera mobile.
i tried every browser and none of them uses real desktop website even if switched on not even chrome.
you should remember that the screen resolution is 1920 x 1080 and websites shouldn`t look like balloons.
here is a screen of real desktop ui from opera

Does Opera classic have flash support? Flash is as much as importance to me as with Stable rather the browser being quick
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

The best browser I had so far is Naked Browser / Naked Browser Pro.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fevdev.nakedbrowser&hl=de
Its EXTREMELY lightweight, fast and stable. It supports mobile and desktop mode. It does what its supposed to.
The app icon is ugly, ui is minimalistic and handling is straight and smooth. Surely it does flash. Very few Permissions.
I use(d) it on HTC Sensation XE, Sony Xperia Z an Tablet Z.
My browser search has come to an end.
The Pro version is worth every cent. Just try the free app first.

Tried probably every single browser available but finally settled on this one as the best. Boat Browser Tablet. I think its new - try it!!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boatbrowser.tablet

I used to use Dolphin, but on later versions and on some of my favorite sites, it got soooo slow. Eventually I settled on Next browser, which does most of what I need except Flash.
I used CHrome a bit too, but it also had some smaller performance issues, but is my second browser on the tablet.

TempestDK said:
I used to use Dolphin, but on later versions and on some of my favorite sites, it got soooo slow. Eventually I settled on Next browser, which does most of what I need except Flash.
I used CHrome a bit too, but it also had some smaller performance issues, but is my second browser on the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next does flash

Chrome with ad blocking [No rooting required!] Buttery browsing

Hi,
As the normal chrome really started to lag due to ads mostly, I switched to UC browser, which has been awesome. Tho I'm stilll used to Chrome and for anyone else wanting to have smooth chrome:
Check this out:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-nochromo-wild-browser-appears-t3130776
Install Arm-32 version.
If you sign-in, it'll sync etc.
Have fun

Uc Browser have faster scrolling and fast pinch to zoom etc, but it has slow rendering, chrome has faster rendering.
What UC does it fools you a little, it takes longer time to load the page which give it more time to load into memory..
Once the page is finally loaded it will appear the browser is faster because of superior scrolling and pinch to zoom which is very smooth..
Compare side to side.. do not confuse faster scrolling with faster rendering.. to me the rendering is more important especially noticable on heavy sites like androidauthority
Otherwise I agree... the lack of ad blocking is really..bad in chrome.. luckily chromium is now totally open source 100% which means it easy for other browser to use the code.. Opera did recently jump on the train... Hopefully we will see more chromium based browser but with ad blocking...
Especially on phones add blocking does slow down the phone a lot..
Chrome does atleast block pop up..that is atleast something..

Try "Adblock Browser for Android"
This adblocker browser based on Firefox, it is actually very fast, and faster scrolling and pinch to zoom..
Block ads so it makes pages less heavy it is especially good for us M7 users who have only 2 gb ram..
This browser was released just a couple of days ago..