Currently our current doctrine is to be app obsessed, and to admit it, i am too BUT the more apps = less space, higher battery consumption, more FC, more browsing time, slower app market startup times, higher cpu strain and my personal favourite opening the process manager and clicking "kill all"
I suggest something different, Not new, many of you may already know this but still take some time to try it. web apps.
I found that by removing apps and using their mobile web app via the browser to be far more effective and efficient, as the browser is powerful, stable and is an amazingly easy program on that gorgeous 4inch screen. and i suplement the ease of access by putting these web apps on my desktop via the bookmark shortcut
Some examples
Google reader, (via igoogle)
Google mail g-cal and g-maps via igoogle (almost pointless as you cant really remove the pre installed apps , maybe with root)
ebuddy via their website, (only problem is background multi tasking)
i removed the xda app (gasp) in favour for just a shortcut link
google weather
i removed wiki droid and just used the website
i have noticed an increase in performance and my battery too but ill hold that verdict for about another week, but it helps as you actively close a browser window wen ur finished with it without leaving it running in the B/G
post some ideas and alternates you have found.
Its a fine balance...
exekias said:
Currently our current doctrine is to be app obsessed, and to admit it, i am too BUT the more apps = less space, higher battery consumption, more FC, more browsing time, slower app market startup times, higher cpu strain and my personal favourite opening the process manager and clicking "kill all"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well.. I would agree with you about the app obsessed part, when users tend to download all sorts of applications sometime multiple apps for the same purpose. I believe in the "Zen" philosophy (a la Zenwalk Linux), which basically means that you use a single *good* application for a single purpose, sometime select the more featured one which lets say lets you perform multiple features instead of just one... ASTRO file manager is a good example.
For the web part, I have mixed feelings... for example I tried several apps for reading my feeds on google reader, but ultimately realized that the best one was to use the web browser.
However, technically speaking an application (a well written one) should be more efficient than its web counterpart. Take for example Google Maps. Running things in a web browser is essentially adding another layer between you and your app isnt it? Plus, I really doubt that the web interface is expressive enough to allow for all kinds of application areas... background apps is one example.
So... I'm on the side of applications, although one has to take care to properly select them and avoid filling up your phone with crap. So far haven't had to use any task killers etc as I think Android manages that for you.
/j4mm3r
j4mm3r said:
However, technically speaking an application (a well written one) should be more efficient than its web counterpart.
/j4mm3r
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good argument, brilliantly written, and i do agree with you But look above you mentioned "well written apps" wel thats the big disadvantage of android, mass incompatibility, the amount if half assed apps ive installed is phenominal, even more surprising is that badly written apps are so common, its not unique to find the abbrevieation "FC" in the comments section of many apps due to the amount of time force closing occurs.
what im stressing is that the browser is strong, its stable, its sexc, complete that sometimes people shouldnt waste time or money on apps but to use a simple bookmark, THAT said there are plenty of apps that are brilliant and stable or dont have a browser alternative (games for instance)
YES astro is amazing, BUT and i hate to crAPPLE quote but there was a hack for the iphone where you could use the browser as a file manager / fttp/ssh/ bluetooth client etc so that would be cool to see on android.
Hi all, I'm new to the android world, with the nexus s being my first android operated phone maybe even my first smart phone, had a Nokia n97 previous although it wasn't quite the smartphone advertised but thats another story.
The title says it all really I'd just like to know what browser you would recomend and why. I used to use opera on the n97 however there wasn't the selection available there is for android. I see dolphin hd pop up alot around the forums.
So please share your favorite browser and you reassons why. e.g speed, UI, customise ect
Cheers for everyone who takes part.
Firefox or Dolphin HD for the add-ons
Opera for speed
Stock browser for all-round
Stock browser for speed (less lag)
I also like the stock browser but I'm also a big fan of xScope Browser.
I usually use the stock because it seems the best all around as one of the above stated but to save pages I use Opera and I've been testing out some others as well
Im really liking the Dolphin mini beta at the moment. I find it quicker than stock and still runs everything perfectly.
For me the stock browser is the best atm :
- Firefox : looks promising, but way too slow for day-to-day use, needs optimizations
- Opera : don't like the rendering, almost impossible to click on links (try browsing Google Reader...), not really faster than stock (with turbo mode off)
- Dolphin / Dolphin HD : too bloated for me
The stock browser has been impressive so far. I haven't run into any problems so far
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
The only thing that bothers me in the stock browser is the navigation through open windows. I'd love to have some proper tabbed browsing.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
nicholasbgr said:
The only thing that bothers me in the stock browser is the navigation through open windows. I'd love to have some proper tabbed browsing.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
(adding more for 10 char limit)
I've extensively used the stock browser, Opera Mobile, and FireFox (nightlies and latest stable). I primarily use Opera Mobile (not mini) for almost everything because of how ridiculously smooth its pinch zoom and panning is compared to everything else out. To see its advantages, simply go to an image-heavy page like Gizmodo and try panning and zooming on any other browser (the newest FireFox included). To me, its smoother/better user experience is important than the javascript speed advantages in FireFox.
I have run repeated tests on both my N1 and my NS and have found that in SunSpider, the fastest is FireFox by a healthy margin, followed by the stock browser, distantly followed by Opera. However, in my experience, page loading has always been similar across all three, meaning that js speed doesn't factor that much in rendering most pages.
Extensions are a big draw in FireFox, as is Flash in the stock browser, but I find that Opera does everything I need natively. Plus, flash support is supposedly going to be added (as well as to FireFox Mobile).
x scope 6 is solid its fast and all around just great I know its not free but I think its the best one out at the moment until firefox comes out of beta and adds flash it may be king
stock for me.
Dolphin HD has a lot of add-ons that I thought sounded interesting and installed on my Galaxy S and Nexus One, but I never really used any of them, so that's a pointless feature for me. I found Dolphin HD to be bloated and much slower than the stock browser on any of my phones, even without add-ons.
I've kept the NS on stock based on past performance with Dolphin.
seems like I haven't really gave the stock browser the chance it deserves, to be honest dismissed it almost straight away.
Back to stock for me to give it a real test. Although I'm hoping firefox lives up to it's desktop browser standards.
Also quick question which is non related but I don't see the point in starting a new thread. I need to return my phone due to the back button not lighting up. I was just wondering if there is a away to save all my data to when I get my new phone i can put all my data back on. E.g phone numbers, sms msgs photos angry bird progess, music ect.
thanks again for any help.
I prefer the built-in browser for everyday use. I have one website that I get from a real estate broker which has some fancy frames in it that doesn't render correctly in the stock browser, for this site I use Opera mini.
i'm still can't decide which one is best
using (in no special order):
Stock 2.3 Browser
Opera Mobile
Opera Mini
SkyFire
Dolphin HD
FireFox beta
they all have their Cons/Pros
SkyFire was my main Browser until they screwed it up, and now it has become as broadware as Dolphin HD
I like both Dolphin and Skyfire for their Flash & Video support but... they are slow and broad.
FireFox still has much work to be done on it
Opera Mini & Opera Mobile is identical in Android, but in WinMo they were 2 different apps
so it boils down to Stock 2.3 Browser being the fastest, but.. not so great on Flash / Video support
can anyone answer my question on a way to back up all my data as I'm returning my phone tomorrow due to the back button light not working.
Is there away to back up all data, apps, contacts,photos, messages, angry bird progress. live wall papers. Or will i need to start all over again?
Also how can I earse all my data in order to return the phone.
Thanks in advance
I have/had:
* the Ipad 1 32gb
* Motorola Xoom (returned)
* HP touchpad (sold after 2 months after alpha3 crap)
and now the transformer.
1st things first, this is the best of the android tablets.
I thought the HP alpha 3 made a good attempt, but it's nowhere in the realm of the xoom/transformer. The transformer seems almost a clone from the xoom, but with the keyboard dock, just is cooler to lug around. Plus the extras asus has done has helped a bit.
Main complaints.
Email, especially handling multiple accounts.
Web, browser is crap, with keyboard, even more.
weight. awkward weight distribution. I can hold the ipad in widescreen format with one hand, but this feels really unnatural with the asus.
Advantages vs Ipad
styling, keyboard dock style, rear camera, flash, widgets.
Minor complaints
Not really great software available for it yet.
Keyboard dock touchpad is too sensitive. I can't ever finish typing a long url without it going bezerk on me. Also, while android is good at freeing up memory, it does not appear as efficient as IOS5. When i run an app on ASUS that is running slowly, i have to go out and run a task manager to clean up the garbage to speed up the app. I never have to do this with IOS even when i have tons of things running.
Ipad advantages:
when i want to surf the web, i prefer the iPad. most sites now have html5 versions and those versions are usually faster loading and smoother than the flash ones for ASUS. For emailing, i prefer it's built in email to android gmail. This is strange considering i only use gmail. But Ipad apps have very intuitive ways for multiple accounts. whether for facebook or email, the multi user integration is just smoother on ipad.
For games like word with friends, it plays it vertically while the tablet one on ASUS is horizontal with smaller letters. There is also the fact that there are many many more apps i still use, like dragon lords, that i had used freely on my old iphone and they still won't make for android.
So for now, I find I prefer the Old ipad for surfing and emailing. And i'm basically using the ASUS for gaming.
ANyone else have an ipad and asus? what are your thoughts?
2 things. third-party browser, thumb keyboards.
as for the weight I hold it in one hand in landscape and portrait with no problem. maybe because I have big hand.
K9 email, free
Kaiten email, nicer multi-pane view, looks good on tablets
Neither do Exchange
Opera mobile or Dolphin HD browsers, much nicer. There's even a Firefox. And quite a few other alternative ones on the market. Opera mini is great for a phone as it saves tons of bandwidth with its pre-rendered approach.
Root your tablet and get the V6 Supercharger script. Here on XDA. Find the thread, go to first post and download the latest beta. Makes a huge difference to the way the memory management behaves.
Now that you're rooted consider a custom ROM.
Sent from my HTC Flyer P512 using Tapatalk
I "thanked" you both for your posts.
I want to make this my primary tablet.
I just got the facebook and ebay updates and was dissapointed to see it not be tablet sized like the ipad one.
I will try the other browsers. I've been trying the firefox and firefox beta and really don't like em much.
thanks.
orateam said:
Main complaints.
Email, especially handling multiple accounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
orateam said:
For emailing, i prefer it's built in email to android gmail. This is strange considering i only use gmail. But Ipad apps have very intuitive ways for multiple accounts. whether for facebook or email, the multi user integration is just smoother on ipad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What in particular? You switch accounts at the top-left part of the screen. I've never used an iPad though, so I don't know how "intuitive" it apparently is.
orateam said:
Web, browser is crap, with keyboard, even more.
weight. awkward weight distribution. I can hold the ipad in widescreen format with one hand, but this feels really unnatural with the asus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No such thing as widescreen on an iPad.
orateam said:
Minor complaints
Not really great software available for it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're either not looking hard enough, or not in the right place. Check out http://tablified.com for some good applications designed for Android tablets. And any app in the Android Market will work (that's hundreds of thousands of apps) on a tablet, it just might not be optimized for it yet.
orateam said:
Keyboard dock touchpad is too sensitive. I can't ever finish typing a long url without it going bezerk on me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a common trait with ASUS laptop/netbook keyboards, unfortunately. There's a handy button to disable the trackpad on the keyboard, the fourth key (from the left) on the top row. Use it and love it.
orateam said:
Also, while android is good at freeing up memory, it does not appear as efficient as IOS5. When i run an app on ASUS that is running slowly, i have to go out and run a task manager to clean up the garbage to speed up the app. I never have to do this with IOS even when i have tons of things running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's because iOS doesn't actually manage memory. Your programs aren't running in the background, they just get push services to make them appear like they're running. The apps actually close and restart (think about how a computer hibernates) with your old data still intact.
Android has true multitasking, which means apps are alive and running. It costs a little bit in memory, but modern Android devices have quite a bit of memory to use. If you root your tablet, you'll discover it's much easier to keep things in order, task managers in the Android market can't actually kill apps without root.
orateam said:
Ipad advantages:
when i want to surf the web, i prefer the iPad. most sites now have html5 versions and those versions are usually faster loading and smoother than the flash ones for ASUS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know you can turn flash off, or set it to load on click? Change the Enable Plug-ins setting in the Advanced settings on the browser.
orateam said:
For games like word with friends, it plays it vertically while the tablet one on ASUS is horizontal with smaller letters. There is also the fact that there are many many more apps i still use, like dragon lords, that i had used freely on my old iphone and they still won't make for android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know that you can actually contact developers and ask them to add features (like portrait mode, or auto-rotate, on WWF) or port their app for Android? Some developers will choose to do this if they see users asking for it, otherwise they think people [on Android] are fine without their app.
jordanjay29 said:
What in particular? You switch accounts at the top-left part of the screen. I've never used an iPad though, so I don't know how "intuitive" it apparently is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the gmail app does it nicely. But only for gmail email accounts. If the regular email program, which can handle multiple accounts like yahoo and work would work the same way, would be better. quick question here. In gmail, like ipad mail, there are 2 views: folder view and browse view. In folder view, you see your email folders (most only look at inbox) with only subjects and brief text on the right hand side. In browse mode, you see your email on the left with the full email with images on the right. When i'm in gmail and in browse mode and delete an email, it pops me out to folder mode. do you know any way to stay in browse mode? That's what i'm used to.
No such thing as widescreen on an iPad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure there is. it's just not as wide, but there is a landscape on it. It seems weighted to allow me to hold it in landscape mode with one hand. This is how i hold it.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
You're either not looking hard enough, or not in the right place. Check out http://tablified.com for some good applications designed for Android tablets. And any app in the Android Market will work (that's hundreds of thousands of apps) on a tablet, it just might not be optimized for it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, i'll try this
It's a common trait with ASUS laptop/netbook keyboards, unfortunately. There's a handy button to disable the trackpad on the keyboard, the fourth key (from the left) on the top row. Use it and love it.
That's because iOS doesn't actually manage memory. Your programs aren't running in the background, they just get push services to make them appear like they're running. The apps actually close and restart (think about how a computer hibernates) with your old data still intact.
Android has true multitasking, which means apps are alive and running. It costs a little bit in memory, but modern Android devices have quite a bit of memory to use. If you root your tablet, you'll discover it's much easier to keep things in order, task managers in the Android market can't actually kill apps without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That explains the performance issues a little. But when my now aincient Ipad seems crisper regardless of how many apps are 'running', it does show that android needs a bit better memory management. Perhaps not really mutli tasking like ipad does.
You know you can turn flash off, or set it to load on click? Change the Enable Plug-ins setting in the Advanced settings on the browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Havent' had any luck with this. I turned it off, but it didnt load the html5 version. Perhaps the stock browswer doesn't come with html 5? when i go to some of my fav sites like http://www.theonion.com on my old ipad, it loads up quickly and the page is super smooth. it's completely html5. when i load it on the ASUS, its flash, even when i turn off the plugins, and loads up with tons of ads that slow the page to hell.
You know that you can actually contact developers and ask them to add features (like portrait mode, or auto-rotate, on WWF) or port their app for Android? Some developers will choose to do this if they see users asking for it, otherwise they think people [on Android] are fine without their app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks again, i will do that more.
orateam said:
Yes, the gmail app does it nicely. But only for gmail email accounts. If the regular email program, which can handle multiple accounts like yahoo and work would work the same way, would be better. quick question here. In gmail, like ipad mail, there are 2 views: folder view and browse view. In folder view, you see your email folders (most only look at inbox) with only subjects and brief text on the right hand side. In browse mode, you see your email on the left with the full email with images on the right. When i'm in gmail and in browse mode and delete an email, it pops me out to folder mode. do you know any way to stay in browse mode? That's what i'm used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking in the Gmail settings, go to General preferences and then change the Auto-advance settings. Choose either to go to a Newer or Older conversation to stay in the Browse mode, setting Conversation List kicks you back to folder view.
I'm sorry to say I've never used the built-in email program since Android 2.x, when it got support for multiple Gmail addresses. So I have no idea how it works now, I suspect its drastically different than what I would be used to. Sorry.
orateam said:
That explains the performance issues a little. But when my now aincient Ipad seems crisper regardless of how many apps are 'running', it does show that android needs a bit better memory management. Perhaps not really mutli tasking like ipad does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's possible that ICS will resolve some of this, as it has a built-in task manager. Honeycomb is still a bit buggy, though, so this could be influenced by its bugginess.
orateam said:
Havent' had any luck with this. I turned it off, but it didnt load the html5 version. Perhaps the stock browswer doesn't come with html 5? when i go to some of my fav sites like http://www.theonion.com on my old ipad, it loads up quickly and the page is super smooth. it's completely html5. when i load it on the ASUS, its flash, even when i turn off the plugins, and loads up with tons of ads that slow the page to hell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's because the sites aren't loading different versions depending on whether or not you have flash. They're loading different versions depending on the user-agent that the browser displays.
I don't know whether anyone has modded the stock browser to do it yet, but I know that Dolphin Browser HD can change its user-agent string to the iPad version. It's possible that the Cyanogenmod team will do this for Cyanogenmod 9, but that would require rooting your tablet to do.
Welcome to android, where you are not forced to use a specific app for a specific function. We have tons of choices for everything you have been talking about. Browsers, task killers, mail programs, roms, kernels, etc....the choices and combinations are vast.
Also, it really bugs me when people say that the ipad multitasks or that apps are "running" in the background... They aren't, the ipad doesn't mt, they just developed yet another clever trick in fooling people, kinda like how they handle force closes... Sneaky sneaky apple. All crap aside, the ipad is a nice piece of equipment, but with android we have options...start using them if you want to unleash the true potential of these devices.
Try k9 mail program, I have several emails accounts I use for my business,i practically run my company from my email. when I first left apple for android,i noticed the stock email was pretty bad compared to the one on iphone 4. so I started looking around and after a day or so I found k9... Best email ever, better than ios and that says alot... Ios did their email good imo. Check it out, its a sweet app.
I like dolphin browser and opera, I use firefox on occasion.
I run revolver rom with clemsyn kernel, if you haven't rootes and flashed a custom rom, then you have not experienced what this tablet can do, it really turns it into another beast all together.
I hope you can make it work for you, it really is a fantastic tablet, and its strengths lay with the fact that you can change everything to how you want it.
Ps. I have owned an ipad1 and ipad2... The ipad 2 I bought for one of my techs...all my technicians use tablets for work... And when I let him go (fired) I kept it for a week or so to play with it, then I gave it to a friend. I prefer the versatility of android over apple. When people ask me about android vs apple,i sum it into one statement. "if you want a device that simply works well without to much fiddling around, grab an apple, but if you want a device that can be great, easily customized with some work then go for android." Everything I could do on an idevice I can do on my android devices... And then some. maybe not right out of the box, but there is a replacement for everything. In my experience, android does most things better and a few things worse than ios.
Sent from my Infuse... Love it!
so for the keyboard dock giving you issues when you are typing, you can turn off the touchpad by pressing the 4th button along the top row that looks like a touchpad with a line going across it. that way when you type, it wont click anywhere.
really great that asus put that button there
and as far as sensitivity, if i go into settings --> language & input, i can scroll down and theres a mouses and trackpad setting where i can change the pointer speed.
hope that helps you out with the dock
im running the latest revolver rom btw.
i havent used any of the other products on your list but i know that when people use my transformer and they come from galaxy tabs, ipads, or any other tablets, they are absolutely in love.
just bought it this black friday on sale and its alot more useful than i thought it was going to be :]
Opera Mobile is a full grown up browser and totally smokes both the built in Android and built in Apple browser.
Try it... It's really 5x quicker at most things, more HTML5 compliant.
It's worth also playing with the desktop/tablet settings in Opera Mobile, see which setting suits the sites you visit.
You might also try Opera Mini, but it's not really the same, it's designed for really bandwidth limited browsing.
I second opera mobile. Ive gone from stock to firefox to dolphin and I find opera to work the best for me
sounds like no votes for Google's browser or emailer program. Don't you think they should put more emphasis on getting those right instead of forcing people to pay for a better browser and emailer?
I've tried some of your suggestions, and will try more, but i'm finding i'm using the Asus less and less now. Still too slow on browser for my liking and that is what most tablets are used for.
I'm hoping that dolphin browser i have yet to use will be the trick pony.
You're screwed, it's going to be the same fundimental engine as the stock.
Oddly, the only time I find my TF (with Opera) too slow is if I don't already have it in hand. At work, it's practically the only way to get a decent browser speed because it's on a different (and much less croweded) network.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
This was on the xda homepage. It's an app called naked browser. I was using dolphin until I found out about the privacy issues it had and also after seeing the speed of naked browser. For me browsing the web on my phone had always been a laborious task. Pages took 10+ seconds to load. It wasn't fun at all. You guys should give it a shot. I'm perfectly willing to look past the ui. It does a great job at staying out of your way anyway. Naked browser showed me how fast this little old phone can scour the web.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1929663
Here is the post describing dolphin browser's privacy violations:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=18759486
downloaded it last week.
I can tell you this - it is fast.
But... UI is hideous. I prefer a slower browser over such an ugly browser, but maybe it will change in time.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but does Dolphin mini-browser has this privacy issues ? I think not.
My recollection is that Mini did not have the problem, but the company has violated my trust. I won't use anything of theirs again (same for GO products).
Using Boat right now, but happy to try something different. Based on stock webkit, so it renders a lot like the stock browser and so many others out there. Yeah, the UI is horrible, but at least functional. Definitely trying it for a bit.
Posted from my SGS4G, thanks to Team Acid development
It looks horrible. I use Dolphin Mino too. Didn't know about the privacy issues. I will give it a chance but it looks horrible. Hahaha Thanks.
I use chrome because I like the sync to desktop. All my open tabs on my desktop are automatically on my phone so I can continue surfing right where I left off. In all honestly, I don't surf much on my phone though, the screen is small and no browser is going to fix that. Maybe a 5.7" Note II screen would make it a bit better.
What about this one -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1423588 ?
sent from me