Hi all, just wondered what people's thoughts were on the best browser? I stopped using stock Sense because I preferred to swipe away multi tabs rather than closing them down by tapping the x; I know it sounds simple but I always found it annoying, particularly when I'd tap the x but end up missing and bringing up the page I was trying to close.
Anyway, have been using Chrome and that seemed ok but also wondered if people had any luck using stock android?
I downloaded an apk from an article in Modaco regarding stripping down sense and it seemed to work ok (I'm not rooted or anything, just installed the apk as regular).
I think I find stock android quicker than stock sense but not sure if it's just me wanting stock android to be quicker? In any case, there's not much between all 3.
Anyone else had experience with different browsers or even using stock android on their one?
My opinion:
atm the best browser for me is Chrome, for sync with pc and the speed.
The new HTC browser is optimized very good, i like it! Because the older in sense 4+ on the One X was very terrible.
Dolphin is good, is speed and no prob!
I don't like opera so i can't give a feedback
However, maxthon browser is nice too
Guich said:
My opinion:
atm the best browser for me is Chrome, for sync with pc and the speed.
The new HTC browser is optimized very good, i like it! Because the older in sense 4+ on the One X was very terrible.
Dolphin is good, is speed and no prob!
I don't like opera so i can't give a feedback
However, maxthon browser is nice too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, haven't tried those; Am giving firefox a run for today, so far, I'm actually quite impressed....
I tend to use Boat Browser now https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.boatbrowser.free
Mainly for the fullscreen ability.
I've had my HTC One for 7 days now
Been switching back and forth between Sense5 default, Chrome and Firefox and to my great dissapointment, all three browsers are mutually exclusive good at something.
Default: Text warping for better reading - really really useful feature that i've wanted all the time i've had iPhones (last 5 years)
Chrome: MUCH better tabbing experience ! - fastest browser...
Firefox: Best search feature... multiple search engines in the same time, by pressing the right button...
however, i tend to use Chrome more than the other two ..
The new Opera browser just came out today !
Has Text warping and coverflow-tab browser...
is built on WebKit, so its just as fast as Chrome...
check it out
I agree with those using Chrome. I loved it on my iPhone and now that Android is my life, it seems as much integration I can get with Google products the better. I especially like viewing desktop Chrome bookmarks on my phone. Also, if I leave a page (or 5) open on my desktop I can also view them directly on my mobile Chrome app.
For me
-Dolphins and
-Firefox
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I was using the sense browser, but I can't stand how when you open a new tab you are immediately taken to it.
Now I am trying Firefox. I just downloaded it last night, and so far so good. Give it a try.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
I'm using the stock browser at the moment. I tried a few others (though not chrome), and like it best. I use it in fullscreen mode, and with the quick controls pie navigation to maximize my screen real estate.
Related
I just do not like the address bar and some display problems.
Basically I do not need multi-touch. The one from HTC Magic or Loccy's Better Browser is fine for me.
Is there an alternative for Hero or Hero ROM ?
you can try steel ...
http://www.cyrket.com/package/com.kolbysoft.steel
telee said:
I just do not like the address bar and some display problems.
Basically I do not need multi-touch. The one from HTC Magic or Loccy's Better Browser is fine for me.
Is there an alternative for Hero or Hero ROM ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Loccy's Better Browser works almost perfectly on my Hero. Flash is missing but that only slowed down the browser and the search button brings up a normal address bar rather than a search bar. Just install it as per the instructions for installing on the G1.
I am playing with Opera Mini 5 that runs under Java. Loads pages faster than the normal browser but running inside Java slows the touch response down. It also doesn't use the standard keyboard which is a pity. I guess it can't really since this is running under Java.
Just a thought... you would have thought that android (developed by google) would have at least a mobile browser in the format of Chrome available... or does this seem unreasonable!
AshtonBRSC said:
Loccy's Better Browser works almost perfectly on my Hero. Flash is missing but that only slowed down the browser and the search button brings up a normal address bar rather than a search bar. Just install it as per the instructions for installing on the G1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you manage to get Better Browser working on your Hero? I tried installing Better Browser on my Hero and just got FCs.
seanyowl said:
Just a thought... you would have thought that android (developed by google) would have at least a mobile browser in the format of Chrome available... or does this seem unreasonable!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very strange thought considering the browser is available. It's just that OP doesnt like it and wants an alternative.
lsim001 said:
How did you manage to get Better Browser working on your Hero? I tried installing Better Browser on my Hero and just got FCs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try uninstalling the original browser with adb uninstall com.android.browser first then installing the Browser.apk with adb.
seanyowl said:
Just a thought... you would have thought that android (developed by google) would have at least a mobile browser in the format of Chrome available... or does this seem unreasonable!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both Chrome and the standard Android browser are based on Webkit (FWIW so is the iPhone browser), so in essence you can almost think of the Android browser as being "mobile Chrome". Much of what makes Chrome different (separate address spaces and processes per tab etc) would really be applicable on a resource limited mobile device anyway.
However, at some point in the future, I'd expect Google to release a "Chrome branded" version of the standard browser for Android.
Regards,
Dave
there is a new browser released, no multitouch but the rest seems to be okay.
name: Dolphin
Opera Mobile
I heard rumours that Opera Mobile 9.7 was coming to android fairly soon.
Would be great to have it as the turbo mode is so useful on a slow connection.
anyone knows something about that mobile firefox?
The mobile FF was branded Fennec, I've not seen an Android build, but I didn't get on with the Beta in win-mob.
Still, it's nice to have options and I'll be checking out the various borwsers suggested in this thread.
Great discussion!
Loccy's Better Browser works on Hero ROM.
I can replace the Browser on MyHero 1.1.3.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=551119&page=51
Incorrect
Actually the Dolphin browser as well as the default browser on the Android G1 does have multi touch and pinch zooming if your phone is rooted.
Mine does all of this with just about every Rom I have flashed..
Firefox Mobile release candidat ready for Maemo. Guess Android have to wait a while.
I really like Dolphin.
cbanbury said:
I heard rumours that Opera Mobile 9.7 was coming to android fairly soon.
Would be great to have it as the turbo mode is so useful on a slow connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Opera Mobile 9.7 is out-of-date
Opera Mobile 10 is coming to android, but for OEM's to install on the phone only. So if AT&T or any carriers want to put a browser on the phone and chooses Opera, we can rip the APK out
Opera Mobile 10 will not be avail for consumers to download.
jaded17 said:
Actually the Dolphin browser as well as the default browser on the Android G1 does have multi touch and pinch zooming if your phone is rooted.
Mine does all of this with just about every Rom I have flashed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone's not rooted and they both have these. I still use the stock browser simply because of the flash integration, though I like Dolphin's tabs better. Anybody know of a way to make Dolphin use HTC's built in flash app?
Am I the only one who just doesn't find any of the other browsers to be worth using?
and before everyone tells me to try Opera, I don't get why everyone likes it.
To me, it looks sloppy and unorganized and I don't see an advantage over webkit.
Company Loves Company
I Am Marino said:
Am I the only one who just doesn't find any of the other browsers to be worth using?
and before everyone tells me to try Opera, I don't get why everyone likes it.
To me, it looks sloppy and unorganized and I don't see an advantage over webkit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you are not the only one. I used Opera and Dolphin previously, and after flashing multiple ROMs, I find that the stock browser does everything I want and need just as good as Dolphin or Opera.
I've tried several browsers, but the stock browser is just fine for my uses.
Stock is less bloated too.
i'm still waiting for my first android tablet thus cannot provide an answer, but what problem does the stock browser have? I guess it must be pretty good being probably I guess (?) a derivative from google's chrome, or not?
I use dolphin hd because of bookmarks to sd and lastpass plugins.
Sent from my NC
I have been experimenting with all the others, I just keep going back to the stock browser--It just Works!
I am playing around with Firefox now.
I like the stock browser but the ability to Titanium Backup a 3rd party browser 100% intact with all my bookmarks, settings, saved browsing history, passwords etc if I need to wipe and re-flash Android is extremely helpful.
Along with whatever features using a 3rd party browser brings, this simple ability alone makes it worth it for me to use another browser.
I know you can use Titanium Backup with the Android apps but that it can also cause instability and other issues, so that's why I don't do it.
I mostly favor the stock browser too. I can't stand Opera, it's fast but the text rendering is terrible and the interface is sloppy. I've been using Dolphin Mini over the past few days and so far I'm liking it, but I'm not about to commit to it by removing the stock browser.
Stock does do pretty much everything with no fuss, but I'll say Dolphin Mini's interface is clean and the tabs are nice. I can't afford to give up the screen space for tabs on my phone's 4 inch display, but it's not an issue on the Nook.
I've tried a bunch of other browsers as well, and so far Dolphin Mini is the only contender to replace stock.
Unless I'm missing some setting, I feel like tabbed browsing is very poorly implemented in the stock browser. Its an easy enough fix to add it to the address bar so that you don't have to click through menus.
Opera and Dolphin HD also feel (subjectively) faster to me. Dolphin HD has gestures which is nice...especially the page up and page down.
Being able to jump to the top of a page by taping the top of the screen like in Safari iOS would be nice. Scrolling is kind of a pain in the but on all of the Android browsers I'd tried.
I have Dolphin HD as a secondary browser but I still think stock is so much cleaner.
I use Opera and love it. To be fair, I never really gave the stock one much of a shot because I didn't see an easy way to use tabs (which apparently, there is.)
Opera's UI though is great IMO and it is pretty damn fast. That and syncing with my desktop is nice.
Where is the option for tabs in the stock browser?
I Am Marino said:
Where is the option for tabs in the stock browser?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Menu > windows
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
henhowc said:
Menu > windows
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that.
I meant like actual tabs like desktop browsers or Dolphin?
I Am Marino said:
I know that.
I meant like actual tabs like desktop browsers or Dolphin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. The stock browser for Android < 3.0 does not have tabs. Only in Honeycomb.
Paul22000 said:
Nope. The stock browser for Android < 3.0 does not have tabs. Only in Honeycomb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't think so, someone said something so I had to make sure.
Is there any way to port the Honeycomb browser over by any chance?
i really like opera esp once you set it to desktop user agent....
nolook said:
i really like opera esp once you set it to desktop user agent....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock browser can be set to a number of different user agents, including linux desktop and mac desktop, and ie6 (shudder).
LinuxParadigm said:
The stock browser can be set to a number of different user agents, including linux desktop and mac desktop, and ie6 (shudder).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Mac desktop, liking it personally although most differences are subtle at best.
The stock browser is my favourite too. The rest have all the bells and whistles that I don't need, which clutter up the space. If I need to access more than one website ata time, I just open another window.
Good to know I'm not the only one.
The standard thread question...
I didn't see any prior topics about this. I use the CM9 nightlies.
I've tried the following:
Browser (I haven't really used this much)
Chrome (I get a lot of crashes when I scroll quickly on sites with heavy coding)
Dolphin (Don't like how the address bar disappears when scrolling down)
Dolphin Mini (I like how the address bar stays, but this browser has limited features)
Opera HD (Meh)
Maxthon (Everyone says to use this one. While it's nice, I've found that you can't really open a lot of tabs with this browser without it crashing and/or freezing.)
What do you guys use? What should I try?
It doesn't look like you have tried Firefox, so that might be worth a go. It is a very personal choice, but I have stuck with the ICS browser for most use (also have Chrome, Dolphin and Firefox installed).
Dolphin. It's fast and fullscreen. I would've used Chrome (i like the sync with Google account), but it's laggy and adress bar and tabs are unhideable.
For now, I'm using ICS Browser+.
I have most of the ones mentioned installed, but use ICS Browser+ most of the time.
I've just been using the standard browser. It allows a desktop user agent, supports flash, has tabs and is pretty stable which is all i need.
Sent from my Touchpad using Tapatalk
I think opera mobile its more stable browser
I myself haven't found any reason to switch from the stock browser. I love the quick controls.
I like Dolphin HD for all my Andorid decices. I like having multipe tabs open.
*EDIT*scratch that, after a few days.of ok browsing with Dolphin HD, I can't even get it open without crashing. It's constantly asking me to send an error report. Gonna try uninstalling and reinstalling and see what happens.
[Sent from my *voided* HTC EVO 4G via Tapatalk 2]
The new Firefox is probably the fastest browser on android.
I still use the Firefox Nightlies because I like the gestures for closing tabs.
jask0 said:
The standard thread question...
I didn't see any prior topics about this. I use the CM9 nightlies.
I've tried the following:
Browser (I haven't really used this much)
Chrome (I get a lot of crashes when I scroll quickly on sites with heavy coding)
Dolphin (Don't like how the address bar disappears when scrolling down)
Dolphin Mini (I like how the address bar stays, but this browser has limited features)
Opera HD (Meh)
Maxthon (Everyone says to use this one. While it's nice, I've found that you can't really open a lot of tabs with this browser without it crashing and/or freezing.)
What do you guys use? What should I try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing about Dolphin's address bar disappearing when browsing, you can change the setting so its always showing.
[Sent from my *voided* HTC EVO 4G via Tapatalk 2]
I love the stock browser in CM9 on the Touchpad. The side swipe controls and the way it handles tabs is just awesome. Why this isn't part of Chrome mobile I can't figure out, the controls are perfection in my opinion.
Can I take the .apk and put it on my ICS phone and it work? It's an HTC Amaze, T-Mobile, rooted of course. Anything else I'd need to copy over ? Any chance this works or is this a pipe dream?
Thanks as always XDA world for your thoughts and suggestions.
xScope browser apk it has tabs and swype left to see previous pages. There is also a pro version in market.
adfurgerson said:
xScope browser apk it has tabs and swype left to see previous pages. There is also a pro version in market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, I'll check it out. I've tried a ton of the browsers, but never heard of this one. Thanks for the heads up.
Stock ICS browser is the same on all devices running ICS.
Sent from my aokp_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2
Well, that's not entirely true. My HTC Amaze has a stock browser with the filename "browser.apk", but it doesn't look or work anything like the stock browser in CM9, it kind of sucks. Most importantly it is missing the awesome side-swipe function buttons from the CM9 version, which I like quite a bit. And like Chrome, it can sync in your desktop bookmarks. Also, Chrome mobile sucks on this phone, very buggy.
I went ahead and tried using the CM9 stock browser in place of the stock browser in the HTC ICS version, it worked well and I can't find any issues.
Here is what I did:
- On the Amaze I renamed "browser.apk" to "!browser.apk!"
- I copied the "browser.apk" file from my Touchpad into \system\apps
- Reboot and done
Works fine as far as I can tell.... but I don't know if this broke something somewhere else that I'm not aware of yet.
Every time I launch Chrome browser (I'm sure I'm not the only one here!) it takes an age to be ready for me to type an address.
Even when the cursor appears in the address bar and the keyboard pops up, it's still not ready to type. When I impatiently start to type something the keyboard confuses presses for long presses, so I get numbers appearing instead of letters etc, a complete mess.
The wait is probably something like 20 -25 seconds, doesn't sound like a lot, but on a modern phone its aaaages! It's a shame, because the instantly-ready aspect is why I choose Chrome for Windows. Not so for the phone.
I have to say, the 'Internet' browser app that came with the phone is pretty instant, but does anyone have a recommendation for any other browsers that are pretty instant? I like the integration with my desktop that Chrome offers
Sorry guys - I guess I should have searched first!!
I'll have a look at Firefox, Opera, Dolphin, Boat etc!
Try opera and Next browser.Was using opera since my nokia N76 but this next browser is super fast and good looking.
P.S. chrome tends to lag a lot if you have it sync with desktop one.I guess it cant handle that many bookmarks or something.
Sent from my big and white LG refrigerator
Use the stock one
Sent from my LG-P880 using Tapatalk 2
try dolphin works great for me
Sent from my LG-P880 using xda app-developers app