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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..
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

changing default opera 9.5 to opera 9.7b?

ok just downloaded opera 9.7beta and its sooo much faster then the stock opera 9.5
I was wondering if theirs a way to change out the default 9.5 to 9.7 on the TF3d tab?

samrozzi said:
ok just downloaded opera 9.7beta and its sooo much faster then the stock opera 9.5
I was wondering if theirs a way to change out the default 9.5 to 9.7 on the TF3d tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it should be in a registry key... search for that?

samrozzi said:
ok just downloaded opera 9.7beta and its sooo much faster then the stock opera 9.5
I was wondering if theirs a way to change out the default 9.5 to 9.7 on the TF3d tab?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question! I HATE when the OEM/Carriers burn these apps into the ROM, either preventing you from ever upgrading them, or forcing you to use or create cooked ROMs.
I personally find both the PIE and the Opera browsers that came stock with my AT&T Fuze somewhat lacking, preventing me from perusing a few of my favorite sites, and wish I could look for upgrades to them. Until I start fiddling with the actual ROM, though, I am stuck looking for alternative browsers altogether (Picsel, Opera Mini, etc.), and I find the available selections are not fitting my needs, either.
I wanted to wait a while longer before I started playing with some kitchens, but it looks like it might happen sooner than planned, at this point.
Anyone with an idea outside of cooking? Is there any way to install an upgraded Opera on top of the cr4p one that came with the device?
-pvs

Hmmm, Iris Browser v1.1.9 looks pretty promising!
Hi all,
FWIW, I just DL'd the latest Iris Browser (v1.1.9) this morning, and played with it on my commute into work, and find it's really quite good. I will need to play with it a bit more to figure out what it's true strengths/weaknesses are, but from the short test I did, I'm optimistic.
Text size gets a bit small, though, and if you increase the zoom, and you need to scroll around. It would be nice if there was a way to increase the text size and still have it fit the width of the screen, but I think I can live with this. It renders pages that IE and Opera choke on, and it does so quickly. It does tabbed browsing, the circle-zoom thingie, and is g-sensor-aware, so that's cool too.
It automatically stores its cache wherever you have IE Temporary Internet Files located, so there's no need to tweak that setting if you already have IE set the way you want.
It doesn't look like it supports flash or .FLV content, yet, so that's a minus.
But it's free for non-business use, so the price is right! ;-)
If interested, you can get it here.
Hope somebody finds this info useful.
-pvs

have you tried skyfire? it's free and it supports flash

koppee1 said:
have you tried skyfire? it's free and it supports flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have. it appears to only support two zoom levels, and those at qvga resolution only. I have a very hard time trying to read the pages it renders.
I sure wish someone would create a browser where one could lock the text size, and then the browser would render the text within the screen size. This zooming with the same gestures as panning is driving me crazy.
Thanks for your suggestion, tho.
-pvs

Any new opinions of Opera 9.7beta?
Anyone using Opera Mini? What do you think about that?

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
Click to expand...
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!!!!
Click to expand...
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.

Which browser is the best browser, in your opinion?

I personally think opera mobile (the newest version) is the best one out there. Absolutely zero lag. Compatible with everything I throw at it. I don't understand why people insist on hating it or not using it. It's the best one out there.

I like Opera but there are some things that bug me:
- Google always shows up in mobile view, its annoying to have to always scroll down to click classic.
- The tabs system is slow, I prefer the way the stock browser has them
- You cant always go back to the start page, most of the time you have to open a new tab instead of being able to use the speed dial.
The new Dolphin HD is nice but I don't like not having back and forward buttons, and that you have to scroll back to the top of the page to type in a URL. In the stock browser all you have to do is click the tab and the buttons show.

I don't like the blocks that happen in the stock browser when scrolling, but I really love the quick controls. It generally seems less buggy than the other browsers as well.

Opera actually almost is the best browser but on some pages they never load fully & on some pages even with flash enabled some things show up as a big arrow that would play just fine on Dolphin Hd.Opera is the only browser i can check my gmail just as i could on my desktop..Dolphin HD is lacking there.Opera needs another update to fix the bugs.Lastly why on earth does everything load on Opera halfway (for instance pictures).If you hold on the pic it will give you the option to "Reload image in full quality" !!! Wtf..how about loading that way in the first place lol...I'll stick with Dolphin Hd for now.

Toast95135 said:
I like Opera but there are some things that bug me:
- Google always shows up in mobile view, its annoying to have to always scroll down to click classic.
- The tabs system is slow, I prefer the way the stock browser has them
- You cant always go back to the start page, most of the time you have to open a new tab instead of being able to use the speed dial.
The new Dolphin HD is nice but I don't like not having back and forward buttons, and that you have to scroll back to the top of the page to type in a URL. In the stock browser all you have to do is click the tab and the buttons show.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird. Nothing has shown up as mobile view for me for a month now. I think you need to play around more with settings.

Toast95135 said:
I like Opera but there are some things that bug me:
- Google always shows up in mobile view, its annoying to have to always scroll down to click classic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can solve this by setting the User Agent to Desktop in Advanced settings.
---------- Post added at 09:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 AM ----------
Arun01 said:
Opera actually almost is the best browser but on some pages they never load fully & on some pages even with flash enabled some things show up as a big arrow that would play just fine on Dolphin Hd.Opera is the only browser i can check my gmail just as i could on my desktop..Dolphin HD is lacking there.Opera needs another update to fix the bugs.Lastly why on earth does everything load on Opera halfway (for instance pictures).If you hold on the pic it will give you the option to "Reload image in full quality" !!! Wtf..how about loading that way in the first place lol...I'll stick with Dolphin Hd for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look like you have Opera Turbo enabled, which means that Opera loads the pages though a proxy server which compresses pages for faster loading over slow connections. This will speedup your loading over slow connections, but if you've got a fast connection you should not use it.
You can disable Opera Turbo in the settings.

I find the Dolphin for Pad browser very good:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dolphin.browser.pad&feature=search_result

None
The day I can go to vimeo.com or youtube.com and play an HD 720p video without having to maximize the screen (without ANY stutter) is the day I'll name a best browser. As it stands, none to me are the best. They all have flaws with flash.

Argh nevermind the part about "reload image in full quality ".I see what it is now lol.Dolphin for pad needs an update bad!!!
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App

I like dolphin for pad. Opera is not bad, but for me it's a bit slow to start showing the site, and some site I use quite a lot has a little bug in the render. Also, I don't like the tab system.

You can go to the top in Dolphin HD by using the gesture button on the bottom left. Just make an upside down V and it'll bring you right up.
All the browsers need to add some better swipe gestures however...like Atomic Browser for ios. It has 2 Finger swipe left or right to switch between tabs or 3 finger touch to maximize screen. They're customizable as well.

Goodintentions why dont you put a poll on this thread of the top ten browsers?
Opera
dolphin
skyfire
miren
uc
mozilla beta
etc etc
Sent from my tf101 using xda premium 1.59Ghz

I have to say opera mobile hands down. Not to be confused with opera mini. They are 2 different browsers...especially in terms of performance. But yes, opera mobile is an absolutely fantastic browser both on my nexus s and transformer. Blows every other browser out the water. Very fast UI. Very smooth scrolling and zooming. Flash content etc. It must have deep gpu / hardware acceleration i think. It behaves like a dream. What every browser should be.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

Toast95135 said:
I like Opera but there are some things that bug me:
- Google always shows up in mobile view, its annoying to have to always scroll down to click classic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then change the UA to Desktop (you have Mobile, Tablet and Desktop) it's in the settings...
How card can it be?
---------- Post added at 11:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------
voyager_s said:
It must have deep gpu / hardware acceleration i think. It behaves like a dream. What every browser should be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does, and it's the only browser to do so (which is why scrolling is silky smooth on Opera and crap on everything else). Even the stock Android browser doesn't have it yet...
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2370756,00.asp#fbid=7tE7TmefXx2
The browser will be available for all versions of the Android OS. New features in this version of Opera Mobile include hardware acceleration and pinch-to-zoom. According to the company, hardware acceleration leverages the power of the mobile phone to allow for increased speed, faster navigation, and more fluid interaction with the phone. It also makes possible full pinch-to-zoom functionality for all sites.

CrazyPeter said:
Then change the UA to Desktop (you have Mobile, Tablet and Desktop) it's in the settings...
How card can it be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have it set to the desktop user agent, and Opera does the same thing on my phone. Typing a search in the URL or search bar always brings up the mobile version. I have gone through and changed the user agent in the about:config page without any luck either.

Toast95135 said:
I do have it set to the desktop user agent, and Opera does the same thing on my phone. Typing a search in the URL or search bar always brings up the mobile version. I have gone through and changed the user agent in the about:config page without any luck either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spoken like a true ipad user. Complain rather than try to find a solution.
The search bar is a mobile search bar, yes. Would it kill you to not use it? Just put google homepage (the desktop one) in your favorite and go there whenever you want to search for something.
Many of us have already written to opera about this. I'm confident they will fix this in upcoming updates.
To me, this is one drawback that is easily avoidable. With built in hw acceleration and functions... screw it.
Just don't use opera at all. If you prefer the lagginess of other browsers, be my guess. Don't ever try to go around anything. Just complain.

goodintentions said:
Spoken like a true ipad user. Complain rather than try to find a solution.
The search bar is a mobile search bar, yes. Would it kill you to not use it? Just put google homepage (the desktop one) in your favorite and go there whenever you want to search for something.
Many of us have already written to opera about this. I'm confident they will fix this in upcoming updates.
To me, this is one drawback that is easily avoidable. With built in hw acceleration and functions... screw it.
Just don't use opera at all. If you prefer the lagginess of other browsers, be my guess. Don't ever try to go around anything. Just complain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excuse me? Im complaining because I don't like a bug that lots of other people have reported? Ive tried every "solution" in the book to try and fix it but none work. I like Opera and have been using it for a year but it doesn't mean the mobile bug is any less irritating.

Toast95135 said:
Excuse me? Im complaining because I don't like a bug that lots of other people have reported? Ive tried every "solution" in the book to try and fix it but none work. I like Opera and have been using it for a year but it doesn't mean the mobile bug is any less irritating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already told you the solution. Its the same one I use. Just put Google homepage in favorite and go there when you want to search. How hard can it be?

I use the stock browser because it provides what I want (tabs, chrome bookmark sync) and performs reasonably enough for browsing; I still remember surfing at 3.4K/s .
Opera is what I use on my phone because it seriously kicks the Froyo stock browser to timbucktu on performance. I do think Opera Mobile's UI is much better suited to a tablet than the HC stock though.

Opera mobile is indeed faster and smoother in terms of scrolling compared to all the other browsers. UI response is also very quick. However, Opera has serious issues with Flash. Opera would crash on my TF for some flash content and flash videos are really slow to load and would stutter while Dolphin HD and even stock would play much smoother.
I like Opera, its my usual web browsing browser. But if I need flash content, I switch to Dolphin HD.