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best browsing experience on touch pro

hey guys, i was thoroughly disappointed with opera mobiles performance.. it really sucked (for me at least). Page would take a long time to open, and the windows would move all over the place while the page was loading, etc. Anyways, i finally decided to download opera mini and its a world of a difference, its amazing! however to do it correctly, follow this guys advise:
http://mobilitysite.com/2008/06/running-opera-mini-41-on-windows-mobile-2/
dont just go to operamini.com and download the version they tell you, because then you have to agree to that message everytime you go to a page. if you do it the way this guy says, you only have to give permission the first time you open opera. he also shows you a way to have it as a program, eliminating the need to open the jbed java app to launch from there.
another thing i did, is because our device is vga, the font was small. i set it to extra large, and its very good. even the scrolling is much better on the mini version, and ITS MUCH FASTER!! i cant emphasize the last one enough. anyways, just wanted to let u guys know, good luck
ps: also, something that is huge for me, typing something into a webpage is also much better now. on opera mobile, i would have to try to fit the screen size so i can see what i'm typing; with opera mini, it opens a new window for you to t ype in, it's like your typing in word or something. makes a huge difference IMO
omar

I couldn't agree more.
Unless something is wrong with just my phone, I can't see how anyone would like Opera Mobile.
Just open any forum page here. Probably takes 20-30 seconds to load on Opera Mobile on a fast Wifi connection...and that's after it takes 5-10 seconds to just load up.
Do it on Opera Mini and it takes maybe 2 on a 1x connection, even.
Opera Mini doesn't have tabs, but you are saving so much time elsewhere, that's livable.
It also runs through a proxy, so I guess you could get stale pages or https stuff won't work great.
But, for 95% of the browsing I do, Mini works perfectly and is unbelievably fast and it's clear on the vga screen.
I also chose Extra Large fonts.
If you decide to use Opera Mini, here's a way to make it the "default" for opening links.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=384271

Have you guys tried the newer version of Skyfire? If so, do you like Mini better?

ya i use mini much more than mobile
btw just download this zip, extract cab and install it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=113596&d=1221663410
it will ask if u want to make mini default browser...also installs java if u dont have it.
i change my image quality to high and font to biggest settings

I'm using UCWEB6 and I'm quite satisfied. Fast enough, tabbed browsing, easy to use..

yeah, im done using opera mobile, mini works so good!
i also use piscel and sometimes skyfire if im next to an ac jack... ill use ie just as i do on desktop, BUSINESS ONLY!

I used Opera Mobile for about a minute....
Help: I am having a problem with Mini not fully loading pages and getting white screens. I have Jbed 2.1 (read it was better than the newest version) and the newest Mini. Any advise?

I love the speed of Mini (thanks for posting the download link), but even on extra large the text is very very small. Is there a way to make it show up bigger?

XL3N7 said:
I'm using UCWEB6 and I'm quite satisfied. Fast enough, tabbed browsing, easy to use..
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Click to collapse
Are you using the generic version? Seems like UCWEB6 was made for Nokia devices not HTC

Another opera mini fan here, the fastest browser I have used, that includes skyfire. Only issue is lack of tabs, but otherwise its great

hchavarria said:
Are you using the generic version? Seems like UCWEB6 was made for Nokia devices not HTC
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Click to collapse
No, I'm using this one. It says ppc2003 but it's working fine on all my devices, supports both VGA and QVGA

im using a mix of ucweb and operamini.. loving it. the only thing wrong with this phone is the lack of softkeys.. makes browsing with mini a little harder..

I've been using the "vga" version of skyfire since it came out, and I love it for its full browsing experience, speed, and ability to watch video in the browser.

Thank you for this thread!
I never used opera mini before and I was amazed by it's speed. It's not going to be my default browser (that's still PIE because I almost only view sites which are optimized for mobile devices) but it's absolutely perfect for viewing this forum for example!

XL3N7 said:
No, I'm using this one. It says ppc2003 but it's working fine on all my devices, supports both VGA and QVGA
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Click to collapse
This crashed for me. Whole device froze up.

Opera Mobile.. it's just CRAP compared to Opera Mini.
CONS Opera Mobile:
- load time (HTC/Opera cheat by preloading Opera at StartUp)
- lots of squares while dragging
- many times while you drag the stupid software cannot make difference between dragging and tapping
- if you drag the page and the page is still loading, you are dropped to other position that you are.. this is so annoying.. you have to drag again or wait until all the page elements are loaded by the browser
So, Opera Mini is very good on the majority of sites. (there are problem with the pages with many images, it cannot handle all of them).
I'm using a VGA version of jbed and I don't have problem with font size ANYMORE.
Big thanks to trueg. Get it from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2973176&postcount=23

if i'm not mistaken, the reason why opera mini is so fast is because the pages are actually cached or pre-processed by Opera servers and then sent to you. with Opera mobile, you connect to the website directly.

Lorrimer said:
This crashed for me. Whole device froze up.
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That's very strange. It works great on my Blueangel, Wizard, Universal, Trinity and Raphael with all the custom roms I have installed on them and with the shipped rom on the Raphael the first day I got it.
Try installing on the SD card or the device memory, whichever you haven't tried.

Still have to say yes
Anyone else having issues with still having to click yes every time you try and go to a site? If I exit and open, the first time I try to open I get this annoying request. Followed the directions exactly and had no problems?
Also can't seem to browse with this on wifi, anyone else having this issue?

cparkhorn said:
Anyone else having issues with still having to click yes every time you try and go to a site?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have the same issue. But since I just have to click ok once in every session it's ok for me.

Skyfire or opera mobile

This is my question
IS THE LATEST SKYFIRE FASTER,BETTER,SEXIER(lol) THAN THE LATEST OPERA MOBILE!!!!??????

bstylz911 said:
This is my question
IS THE LATEST SKYFIRE FASTER,BETTER,SEXIER(lol) THAN THE LATEST OPERA MOBILE!!!!??????
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Not for me
I´m with Opera!!

orb3000 said:
Not for me
I´m with Opera!!
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WHY??
skyfires startup time BEATS operas hands down
PLUS skyfire allows u to watch flash video and is flash enabled
unlike the newest opera which doesnt even support flash

Skyfire is QVGA, and looks quite bad on VGA. However, I haven't tried Opera Mini on VGA - can anyone comment?

bstylz911 said:
WHY??
skyfires startup time BEATS operas hands down
PLUS skyfire allows u to watch flash video and is flash enabled
unlike the newest opera which doesnt even support flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Also SkyFire's browsing & scrolling is absolutely far superior to Opera. The only thing SkyFire is missing is options - it only as about 6, while Opera has about 600. But it's only 1.0, those things will eventually make their way into the browser.

Skyfire for me is faster than opera mobile, and i use it for flash videos.
The only laggy thing i think is the scrolling, that in Opera is better.
However if you don't need to see flash content...skyfire is useless, i use UCWEB of NetFront

You should see Skyfire on HD ^^' Opera Mobile is better but no flash...
D'rath

D'rath said:
You should see Skyfire on HD ^^' Opera Mobile is better but no flash...
D'rath
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to try it out too. He he he... But from the supports page on their website it says it supports WVGA as well.
Are they telling us fibs. Can you post any screen shots of what it looks like on your HD?
Love to see flash videos (not just You Tube) on my WinMo.

well i did a test on both skyfire and opera on the loading times
skyfire took 14 sec. to load 1src.com
and opera only 10 sec. to load 1src.com
anyone else wanna test?

Opera Mobile, Opera Mini, Skyfire, Mach5, PIE
I have posted something similar somewhere else, however I think this is valid...
We have two different types of browser available
Client side (which means your browser on you PPC/HTC does all the work) or Server side (which means a fast computer somewhere does all the work and sends your PPC pictures of what is happening)
Client Side positives
You decide settings
You install all your favourite add-ons (flash etc)
You keep all you log-on settings
The rendering and compatability is what you install/set (also could be a negative if you aren't competent here)
Server Side positives
Your PPC doesn't need to install anything extra (flash etc), as it's all done on server side
All rendering is done by Server side, so it's simply plug n' play!!
And the negatives (which usually make the choice on such small devices as PPC)
Client Side
Usually takes up memory to install all plug-ins required to visit different sited on the web (eg, flash) (i.e, the more you have installed your PPC, the more compatible it will be with more web sites/pages)
Slows the computer, and takes up memory to render the page (everything needs to be downloaded and processed)
Server Side
You're at the hands of the server (is it set up for QVGA/VGA, how does it input text etc)
The fastest it works is by sending you pictures (whereas you may have a dedicated flash player, such as TCPMP etc)
Your log-on settings are kept by the server (someone else)
The rendering is only as good as the server
The server may be in a different locale to you
The connection takes the bottle-neck (i.e, the faster your connection, the better videos will be - you really need a contract/cost limit on your data downloads!)
So as for Skyfire is "Server Side". Skyfire renders as QVGA (even though it does work on VGA, it doesn't look any good).
Opera is Client Side. This means it really can't really be compared to Skyfire in the same way as, say, Mach5 could... but could be compared to PIE.
However, Opera Mini is Server Side - and I think there's some great advances are now there. Anyone comment on Opera Mini compared to Skyfire?

However, Opera Mini is Server Side - and I think there's some great advances are now there. Anyone comment on Opera Mini compared to Skyfire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have to say that opera mini is truly fast but i ALSO LOVE BOLT and UCWEB
BOLT- best feature is the split screen. good for large pages
UCWEB- has features like multiple tabs

Opera for me,...Skyfire looks terrible on my hd and is slow as heck,....+ I watch porn on my laptop as it has a bigger screen ;-)

jaxouk said:
+ I watch porn on my laptop as it has a bigger screen ;-)
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lol i was gonna say the extacly same thing but i was like naw lol
i tried watchin it on skyfire and the load time was really quick

bstylz911 said:
lol i was gonna say the extacly same thing but i was like naw lol
i tried watchin it on skyfire and the load time was really quick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, Ive tried skyfire a few times (different builds) but have never been impressed with it. It worked well on my n96 (about the only thing that did)

cocoaju said:
I want to try it out too. He he he... But from the supports page on their website it says it supports WVGA as well.
Are they telling us fibs. Can you post any screen shots of what it looks like on your HD?
Love to see flash videos (not just You Tube) on my WinMo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Screens in *.png aren't mine (I cannot make shoots of my Display) but you could see page rendering output.
On HD Skyfire is horrible... I use IE with flash: it's slow, few optimized but make similar PC...
D'rath

D'rath said:
Screens in *.png aren't mine (I cannot make shoots of my Display) but you could see page rendering output.
On HD Skyfire is horrible... I use IE with flash: it's slow, few optimized but make similar PC...
D'rath
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate. Wow! That is fxxking ugly man! Not going to touch that with barge pole. Saves from downloading it.
I guess I have to wait till IE6 comes out. Maybe that will be better contender?

HD
On my Touch HD i prefer Opera. I only use Skyfire for flash based sites. Even for YouTube i prefer the specific application rather than Skyfire. May be my comments are not so scientific but i feel Opera more smooth and nice looking overall.

Exellent explanation -Jonny-!!!

i could see sticking with skyfire if it wasn't so stupid
skyfire.com hosts all your bookmarks and history
wtf?!?!
having to load a browser page just to see my bookmarks
it takes forever...huge fail
flash is nice...but absolutely ZERO speedtest pages load
i must have tried about 20 on google search for speed tests - all failed with 404
other than that
opera mini - no text selection...and no flash...7mbps+
opera beta - no flash - navigating the zoom frustrates me often (turbo is fast)
i'm on a htc 6800 (mogul/titan)
having more than one browser installed is such a waste of resources
i wish someone could make something that simply works...
you would think a mobile browser would be something basic & simple
i just cant see why its so complicated...but i'm not a programmer
its obvious what everyone wants but each browser only has a few qualities
i find myself using ie more...an option you can always go back to with minimal letdowns
at least its problems i can deal with and dont make me want to hurl my brick phone into a deep river along with my body tied to it
i will keep trying new browsers i havent yet though i'm not expecting much:
ucweb
bolt
mach5
pie (what is pie i've heard it mentioned but cant find any info)
any info on these browsers appreciated if anything is not obvious like basic installation or source for program.

just wanted to bump this page

Is Opera really better than IE mobile 6?

Everyone seems to rave about Opera, but in my experience there are a number of sites that it doesn't work with properly, which IE 6 copes with fine. OK so IE doesn't have pinch to zoom but it's easier to double-tap anyway.
What do others think and is there an easy way to make IE my default browser?

wtf?! what opera are you using!?
the opera mobil 10 is brilliant and gets 100/100 in acid3. IE does not even start....
i dont know but ie is a piece of **** compared to the opera browser, on ANY website!!!!

brandi said:
i dont know
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Click to collapse
Got that part right! Who cares about acid test, unless that is the only site you browse that is...
To download google maps you need to use IE for example. And many sites (such as BBC low graphics) render better in IE. I do use Opera beta 10.2 on a daily basis but it does have its annoyances (put it in mobile view and watch your text run off the screen, but put it in desktop view and the text magically wraps correctly!) as does IE. Neither one works best for all sites.
Oh, and for Christ's sake, Opera can't manage bookmarks! My IE bookmarks sync perfectly to my PC and to MyPhone, that is until Opera starts to eat them...every time I flash I now have to add my bookmarks all over again (or paste back the file from Opera) instead of them syncing as they should.

Moandal said:
Everyone seems to rave about Opera, but in my experience there are a number of sites that it doesn't work with properly, which IE 6 copes with fine. OK so IE doesn't have pinch to zoom but it's easier to double-tap anyway.
What do others think and is there an easy way to make IE my default browser?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just go into options and set it as your default, should work fine (not testing it for you but I remember it working). If it doesn't work for the Sense page just turn that page off and put an IE icon in your quicklinks on your home page.

Skyfire
I have to admit, I prefer Skyfire myself.
Seems to work nice in things like BBC Iplayer, tvcatchup etc.
Works fine on flash 10.
Only thing I would like is pinch to zoom rather than double tap, but it seems nice and quick for me.

mkent_barbados said:
Got that part right! Who cares about acid test, unless that is the only site you browse that is...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why shout so lound when you don't know what you are talking about.
Do you even know what that test does? Opera Mobiles web performance is outstanding, and the rendering is so much better then in the stupid buggy IE...
Show me 1 website it cannot show correctly, but the IE can, and btw, I downloaded gmaps with my opera....

brandi said:
i dont know but ie is a piece of **** compared to the opera browser, on ANY website!!!!
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Click to collapse
Errrrrrmm if you can show me Opera 10 running flash videos on the bbc news website I will acept this comment,
BUT until then IE is still the best browser for watching flash video compared to opera.

Aside from decent flash support Opera is nice and fast, but it does crash a lot IME.

Stupid discussion. That's why you can have SEVERAL browsers on WinMo I use Opera for most sites and IE for flash content. Opera runs from Sense and IE from a shortcut on the home screen. And...yes, I also have Skyfire just in case on my HD2

i dont see any FREE app from microsoft is daily useable, MS give us all poor tools with 50% power, ex: office, note, IE, photo viewer, WMP, calculator... look like they stop the develop of MS Voice command
about browser, MS have a browser call Deepfish, but they kill it already.

SO what, no browser really plays flash!
Skyfire does a good job on it, but the experiance is still not really good!
And IE does not even show all image formats...

Opera 10 is much more usable in all view modes. IE6 in mobile view mode doesn't wrap pages as it should, so gets a 1/10 from me.

brandi said:
SO what, no browser really plays flash!
Skyfire does a good job on it, but the experiance is still not really good!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I beg to differ, in IE on the bbc site I can hold down and enable full screen flash and it plays perfectly in landscape too. Skyfire is too fidly to get it to fill the whole screen but I use it for tvcatchup.com
Although for other sites I use Opera 10.

Opera 10 Final

Just saw this thread in HD2 - General
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5895662#post5895662
Have yet to download myself and try but looking at Opera's site does seem to suggest its now fully availiable

Multitouch?
Else it's not interesting.

How does this work with the sense browser tab? does it still open in Opera 9 or defaults to opera 10?

Tried it.
But it is not supporting multitouch
So no Pinch & Zoom.
Totally useless.
Using it on the HD2 is a pain in the ass.
So, I removed it after 5 minutes

Works ok here, accelerometer works automatically now in any direction, even upside down.
eBay is still not working properly though, it just doesn't render correctly when viewing items in my eBay.
Will stick to Opera 9.7 and use v10 now and again, mainly as I miss the zoom bar in 9.7.

downloading it now

No pinch zoom. Sadly we'll have to wait for 10.1 version i guess.
I like it though. It's fast and easy to use even without multitouch support.

I'd be very suprised if they add multi-touch support to Opera 10. For 1 thing, it's not for the HD2, it's for all WM phones, and secondly, it doesn't have variable zooming - just zoomed and not zoomed. (Okay, you can change the zoom amount in settings, but it's still not the same as a zoom bar).
I really doubt you'll see it in Opera 10.

Flash Player
Hi All,
I can't get the flash player to work on mine. I am running the stock 02 rom. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

johncmolyneux said:
I'd be very suprised if they add multi-touch support to Opera 10. For 1 thing, it's not for the HD2, it's for all WM phones, and secondly, it doesn't have variable zooming - just zoomed and not zoomed. (Okay, you can change the zoom amount in settings, but it's still not the same as a zoom bar).
I really doubt you'll see it in Opera 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
John,
If you are right, then I consider Opera 10 to be a regression compared to Opera 9.7...
No variable zoom,
No multitouch.
What's the use?
I tested it, and it is really not a pleasure to navigate with it. Webpages are even to small (unreadable) or too big (unreadable)...
horrible...

tbh I havent noticed a need for variable zoom or multi-touch yet. Small shows me layout, and double tap re-flows stuff ok on the few sites I have looked at.
I am running however both 9.7 and 10.
But tbh 9.7 is pretty damn good too. I think that 10 adds a bit of speed though. but it's horses for courses. they are both good browsers. Then add opera mini 5 to the mix, upcoming fennec and skyfire and IEmobile and you are all set! you can never be disappointed.
p.s. I think they are all good browsers on HD2. i havent been disappointed with any of them. even IE mobile.

Font rendering seems to be better than 9.7.. I'm switching to 10.

Tried Mobile 10 for a while, but IMHO it's useless on the HD2, certainly compared to Opera Mini 5 and even Opera 9,7. So I will stick to Mini 5 (which I use the most) and occasionally 9.7. For flash/video, I use Skyfire.

No Pinch to Zoom yet :/
Same bug, like in beta, the text is not in the right form like the original page!
And very slow to load the page! Opera 9.7 is more faster!

flash isnt working for me. using stock tmobile rom. can anyone please direct me to where i download the plugins to make flash work?
many thanks

Does anyone know if opera 10 is client based or a server based browser?
Would like to know before I download it, as I do internet banking on my HD2.

The final version is not mutch better as the beta. so i will stick to 9.7

jackdow said:
Does anyone know if opera 10 is client based or a server based browser?
Would like to know before I download it, as I do internet banking on my HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both. There's a "Turbo mode" option, when on it goes through the server, when off it goes direct.

On O2 UK I have found mobile10 to render faster and just as accurately as 9.7...but of course YMMV!!!
I just think it is pretty slick. and has a nicer feel than 9.7. Got to say they are all rather identical.

doublepost.

Is UC the only browser that runs smooth on M7

After been trying most browsers for Android, my findings is that UC is really the only browser that takes good advantage of the weak GPU on mate 7. It is the only browser that runs smooth with flawless scrolling and pinch to zoom.. On all other browser there is visible stutter.
My conclusion is that if it wasn't for UC the mate 7 would had been a much more unsatisfying experience since my allergy to laggy browsing.

Try mercury browser.
Has ad block and runs smoothly.
With uc in desktop mode I found links were not clicking when pressing them like it was not using digitizer correctly.
No issues with native and mercury.
Edit: tried uc browser hd definitely is faster but same issue links not clickable in desktop mode. Have emailed them hopefully they fix it.

Have not tried HD version because it is made for tablet devices only not phones.

blackinfinity said:
Have not tried HD version because it is made for tablet devices only not phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hd version is very clean and contemporary and I am liking it in desktop mode.
The issue is with www.gsmarena.com in desktop mode links of news stories don't click for some reason. Could be the ad block is shifting the links not sure hopefully they fix it cause it's a very clean browser.

Uc is best and mercury browser is also good but UC is only best I find next is chrome and next is firefox

Scrolling and pinch to zoom is superior on UC browser. Rendering is not fastest but on heavy sites with a lot of ads UC Is typically faster. UC gui is much faster especially the super fast loading of previously loaded pages which is very useful. CM BROWSER have superior rendering time non-heavy and mobile optimized sites and not good for videos. Cm browser have slow scroll and zoom and mate 7.

Thanks for recommending UC Browser HD. I was look for a better browser and this looks great, it has a smaller ui than most browsers which is needed on such a big screen. I've not had any problems clicking links in desktop mode either.

Privacy nightmare
http://www.ucweb.com/company/privacy/
They track all your web traffic with injected cookies. I ll deal with a little lag.

gn0s1s said:
http://www.ucweb.com/company/privacy/
They track all your web traffic with injected cookies. I ll deal with a little lag.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll take that risk as the speed is superior than other browsers including native.
Also discovered with the gsm website to click photo on left of news story and link opens.
:good:

Am using normal chrome and no lag at all..

xlr8me said:
I'll take that risk as the speed is superior than other browsers including native.
Also discovered with the gsm website to click photo on left of news story and link opens.
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dl'd UC just to see the diff in speed between it and Chrome beta... and the way it loads in, its much slower for a full page load, than chrome or opera is. And the zoom in out isn't noticeably smoother, unless you zoom pinch zoom in and out like crazy, but who browses web pages like that lol. So not seeing any advantages to using it. Privacy not an issue, until your employer or bank buys a history report on you from a third party, that has browsing history and web habits bundled... then its a big issue.

I am using chrome too
Nothing worng with it so far

gn0s1s said:
I dl'd UC just to see the diff in speed between it and Chrome beta... and the way it loads in, its much slower for a full page load, than chrome or opera is. And the zoom in out isn't noticeably smoother, unless you zoom pinch zoom in and out like crazy, but who browses web pages like that lol. So not seeing any advantages to using it. Privacy not an issue, until your employer or bank buys a history report on you from a third party, that has browsing history and web habits bundled... then its a big issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realise that one ad blocks whilst the other does not.
Each to their own I guess but we all have different needs. :laugh:
:good:

I'm using CM Browser without any issues.Particularly likes the auto full screen and night modes.

Simona Simmy said:
Am using normal chrome and no lag at all..
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Click to collapse
Me too

nessqn said:
I'm using CM Browser without any issues.Particularly likes the auto full screen and night modes.
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Click to collapse
Same here, i like it, night mode, desktop, pop up, threats blocker ecc...Everything working smooth and fine, also very light! Love it!

Simona Simmy said:
Am using normal chrome and no lag at all..
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Click to collapse
Me too.

Opera has recently gone over to chromium on opera android platform since it is now open source for Android now. I was surprised how was opera has become totally superior or UC browser it is also faster then chrome because of less Google Bull**** under the hood.

vince_junior said:
Me too.
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Click to collapse
Same no lag on chrome for me
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-TL10

Try opera you will experience it to be faster