An issue with Chrome for Android that makes me want to move to iOS - General Questions and Answers

Hello
I wanted to write about an issue that I have with Chrome for Android which isn't an issue on Desktop as there are extensions and they can function in incognito mode, and Safari for iOS behaves exactly how I want, but iPhones are so expensive now, and the hardware is unsatisfactory compared to Android, not to mention the hassles with switching i.e Whatsapp.
I prefer to do my general browsing in Incognito mode for multiple reasons, for example I don't get adverts for sites I browse in other apps, links which can be opened in other apps such as Youtube, Reddit, Wikipedia etc, you're always given the choice to open in browser instead by pressing stay in incognito mode, the cache doesn't get as big, it runs smoother and faster etc, and I don't have to keep clearing browsing history.
The main problem is that whenever Chrome unexpectedly quits, I will have lost all my tabs, and there are many instances which can cause Chrome to unexpectedly quit such as the phone crashing and restarting, accidentally swiping away the app, running out of battery (rarely happens to me), or even just being unable to start.
With Desktop Chromium browsers, you can install an extension such as session buddy which will record all your open tabs so in the unlikely event of a power cut, your tabs are all saved, and can all be restored in Incognito windows. Unfortunately Chrome for Android doesn't allow extensions, and if I need to update my browser, there isn't even an option to bookmark all tabs or open all bookmarks in a folder, and I don't think you can even choose where to save your bookmarks.
By comparison, with Safari for iOS on my iPad, and this works for iPhones too, I have never lost any private tabs or regular tabs, even after system updates, accidentally closing the browser etc, they have always been there. Safari maintains all your tabs until you choose to close them, and you can close all private tabs by holding the tab button, and pressing close all tabs. For a mobile browser, I think this is the right thing to do as Mobile platforms are less stable than desktop although iOS is stable unlike Android, but your tabs including Incognito should remain open even after closing the browser until you choose to close them.
I have contacted the Google help forums in which the Google expert insisted this couldn't be done as Incognito session data is only stored in Ram, but I doubt this as when you have too many tabs open, you can see your incognito tabs being restored from somewhere, and I don't think lossless compression in ram alone could do that. Maybe Apple can do it because of their integration between hardware and software.
Another great thing about Safari on iOS is if you're in private mode and an external app opens a link, it'll open a private tab, whereas in Chrome, a regular tab is always opened, and sometimes this causes Chrome to lose all other tabs which is massively frustrating.
I'd rather not buy an iPhone as not only are that massively overpriced, but their hardware is behind Android manufacturers in design e.g the iPhone X only has a 1080p screen, and there are problems with transferring Whatsapp messages, there's also the headphone Jack and Micro SD card slot. I am starting to feel like I might need to buy my first iPhone.
Before I do so, I hope that there can be a last ditch attempt to create a Session Buddy equivalent for Chrome for Android where your open tabs are consistently recorded and which can save sessions, and restore sessions in Chrome. Even if Chrome had an option to Bookmark all tabs, that would help a lot as that app could record all the mobile bookmarks and move them somewhere else, but it wouldn't be able to open them in Chrome, at least not in Incognito mode.
I feel massively screwed over by both Apple and Google, it's wrong that their monopolies and have that much control over our lives. I understand the desire to make Chrome as simple as possible and there have been stability and performance improvements in the latest versions, but it's lacking essential functionality compared to the desktop version.

Related

Update internet explorer mobile?

First an foremost id like to complement all XDA-Dev staff for making such a helpfull forum.
next:
Im making a internet explorer mobile bizzness aplication for an industrial PDA
the motorola MC9090 with barcode integrated.
I allready made the aplication but tested it in a updated version of internet explorer.
My Q is: how can I update these 10 motorola machines with a newer updated version of internet explorer mobile without updating the whole windows mobile?!
Thankz in advance
never heard of any pocketpc inrom program like ie or wmp being updated by a cab
The easy way will just be to upgrade the roms, but you probably don't want to do that. I'm assuming they all have PIE 5. The newer versions of PIE are getting better (the initial PIE 6 betas were pretty bad, imo), but they're still quite beta in nature. I don't think you can use these, though, as they are built around WM 6.5. I suppose you could download a 6.1 kitchen with PIE 6 in it, then rec'mod (or whatever it's called) all of the PIE modules and make a cab file. I'm not sure it would work (pretty sure I couldn't get it to work, but someone else might be able to do it).
Long story short, it will be hard without flashing, and given that the new PIE's for 6.1 suck, I'm not sure it's worth it. I'd just go for a different browser, if you can use it. Check Meinnesys's browser review for a ton of info (he'll also say that PIE6 is crap, as I remember).
hmmmm maybe other browser then.
Yes that maybe right, Farmer Ted.
But, I've been searching and probably I will go for an opera browser or fennec.
This is a huge setback for development and if I use a proper browser the development time will be much shortened i just hope boss understands this.
Because he is pushing us to do it for pie. which makes no sense at as it is just a huge load of crap.
By the way is there a mobile browser that you recommend i take a look before deciding on opera or fennec?
Thanks for the reply and take care.
I personally use opera mini 4.2 v8 version. It's crazy fast, but may be too lite for business. Check out Iris, it's basically like PIE, but better.
I've never used Fennec, but from what I've read, it's very alpha. I'd suggest avoiding it for now.
Opera Mini and Skyfire both do their rendering on a proxy server, which makes them fast. I guess that security is lower in that scenario (although you can change the server in opera mini). They might be nice, though, for business because you could set up a single user account for all the devices, and if needed you could set up a library of bookmarks that everyone could access.
Iris is nice because it uses PIE's cookies (only browser I've found that does this), and it can import PIE bookmarks. You can set the Iris cache to the storage card as well in settings. (You can also do this with PIE, but it requires registry edits).
UCWEB6 is also fast (a little slower than opera mini), and you can import PIE bookmarks with it. It is also a light, mobile browser, and it does the rendering on your device, so I guess it's more secure than mini if less quick (in my experience).
I've been using Opera Beta 9.7 some recently. It is quite nice, and fits my tastes. I like browsers that quickly render pages in a single column. You can set it to do this, and it does so reliably. I don't care for the normal Opera, which renders pages beautifully like you see them on a desktop, but you have to futz around a ton to get it so you can read what's on there. This is all down to tastes, though, and a lot of people don't like the mobile-view. The beta version will work fine for you as long as you don't enable the 'Turbo' mode. Turbo mode is very beta, and it doesn't store cookies (or history, I believe). It's basically the same as Opera Mini, anyway, but not quite as fast.
If you find that none of the alternate browsers are suitable, I'd suggest making some registry tweaks to PIE to improve it. In particular, move the cache to the sd card, and also increase the # of connections or threads or whatever they call it-the tweaks are available in sk tools. Just max out all of them, and see if things work better.
Here is a cab that re-routes your cache to the storage card (it must be called storage card and not 'sd card'). It also sets the default download location to the sd card, increases the max connections per server to 8 and has a tweak to increase download rate. These are the actual keys:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders]
"History"="\\Storage Card\\Temporary Internet Files\\History"
"Cookies"="\\Storage Card\\Temporary Internet Files\\Cookies"
"Cache"="\\Storage Card\\Temporary Internet Files\\Temporary Internet Files"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Default storage location]
"All Files"="\\Storage Card\\My Documents\\My Downloads"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"ReadAllBytesThreshhold"=dword:00000400
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings]
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=dword:00000008
You can also increase the cache size; here is the setting for 20,480 MB. For some reason, it's not sticking on my fuze, so I didn't include it in the cab:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\Cache\Content]
"CacheLimit"=dword:00005000
You need to soft reset after installing the cab. Oh, and I posted this with Iris (over my mobiler). It was kind of a pain in the butt, but do-able.
Edit: What the heck, the second cab increases the cache to 20 MB. Only install if you have the cache on the storage card. And soft reset after installing.

Web browser woes... I need some help.

Alright... Here's the low-down. I'm using an AT&T Fuze with the updated official ROM. I am having more problems with web browsing than I ever had with my old device...
Opera Mobile: Randomly refuses to load images. I just get the empty box that says 'image' at the top. Reloading does nothing and the context menu doesn't appear. And when images DO load and I want to save them, I'm forced to save them in a folder on the root of either my device or storage card (i.e.: "/storage card/temp" but not "/storage card/temp/images") and am forced to go in later and organize the files into the correct sub-folders. Plus, I can't set the default save location to the storage card, so I have to change THAT every time I try to save an image, too.
Opera Mini: With the stock Esmertec Jbed, Opera Mini isn't allowed to save or read files from my device. Way to go, AT&T. We appreciate you trying to protect people from themselves, but you guys suck. I tried downloading another version of Esmertec Jbed from the forum here and OM is able to save images, but half the time they don't display fully (I get the blank squares that OM likes to use as place-holders while it loads the image). That, and OM locks up with that modified Jbed...
Skyfire: Promising, but why can't I disable javascript? I keep getting popups that are obstructing the screen and I can't get rid of. That, and it seems to be overly sensitive to screen taps. ("No, I didn't click on that! Go back! GAH! Stupid popups!")
IE: Well, it shows images that Opera Mobile refuses to, it lets me save those images when Opera Mini won't even think about it and, as opposed to Skyfire, it gives me no option to ENABLE javascript. It does, however, throw up all over itself if you try to view a page that wasn't designed for a mobile browser. Sometimes it even locks up as a result...
Which brings me to my question for you fine folks. Can anyone offer a solution or fix for ANY of the above problems? Any one of these browsers would be fantastic, if not for its crippling flaw. I've read a little on this NetFront browser, but I don't know how I feel about PAYING for yet another browser.
Oh, and MiniMo/Fennec drags my device to a crawl, so that's no good...
You could try Iris Browser: no flash support but it a good browser.
D'rath
PS: FEnnec is an alpha version
Thanks, D'rath! Iris works WONDERFULLY! All the nice things that Opera offers (tabs, 'flick' scrolling, accelerometer screen tilt) and it actually displays the images I ask for!
D'rath

Ten random questions about my TP2.

These are things where I searched but I can't find good fixes. Maybe my searching skills suck
1. Is there a better [and free] torrent program than wmtorrent? Mine has some bug where the torrent never starts, it's just stuck in queue forever. I have to reinstall it to get a torrent going. Sometimes more than once. Also it's really clunky.
2. I was hoping assign my back key to some other function. I found the setting for assigning keys to programs but the only key I can bind is the call button. I got hbutton and it also offers nothing except the call button. I also found the registry key where buttons are listed and same problem. How can I do this?
3. Occasionally I get compressed EXE's instead of CAB files to install something. I hate having to find a PC to unzip them and then transfer the cab. Is there a program that unzips these?
4. Sometimes programs seem to overload the phone and I can't even shut it off anymore. If I keep wmtorrent going for a couple of hours, for example, or the skyfire browser. The hang up key doesn't respond and I have to pop the battery out. Is there any trick to avoid this? Some memory management app or something?
5. Opera mobile is clean and fast and handles some flash, but chokes on e.g. flash streaming video. Also it has a setting (stupidly hidden in opera:config) to report the user agent as a desktop browser, which should give me the full version of websites, right? But the websites aren't fooled. They still send me the mobile version. Skyfire handles flash better and seems to fool websites better, but see #4. Also the keyboard is retarded, it either isn't offered where it should be or it's some custom keyboard instead of my usual (swype). So... is there a better browser that does it all correctly? Anyone got a real fix for the opera user agent thing?
6. I saw a custom rom with a task manager built into the corner. You could close the app or switch. I think it was the psyke rom. I would like something like this but without installing a totally new ROM. Right now I use hang up --> Task Manager --> then double tap the program I want to switch to. Alternately is there something where X-ing out of a program totally kills the process instead of just bringing you back to home screen?
7. I install every single program to my storage card, but still have low memory in my main memory. I got a warning recently on it. I found a big 35 meg file in google maps cache, anywhere else I should look? There an app to deal with this?
8. What's the difference between the weather and animated wallpapers? Both of them seem to animate a little. I'm not seeing any weather info on my home screen and some of these wallpapers seem unrelated to weather. What do I do to get weather going and do I really need to keep my wallpapers all separated? Also is there a format for the animated wallpapers? Are these animated gifs or what? Where should I get more?
9. How can I organize the start menu better? All I can do is long tap icons and then move to top. But what if I just want to move it up a bit but not to the very top?
10. What do some of the icons at the top mean? I have right and left pointing arrows where my wireless notification would be, does that mean I'm getting data? I've got all my processes closed but I've been seeing it for an hour. What's the tall triangle icon mean?
Also, I never got this answered but I'll throw in #11 anyway: any good tricks to preserving battery life? I wake up and by lunchtime my phone is done. That's nuts.

Most Useful & Productive Android Apps

So, I thought we could make a thread for what apps you find most useful, that let you accomplish the most throughout your day..
Apps which help you with your workflow from Work to Home
Apps that would make you feel hindered, slowed-down, or less productive if you didnt have them
Apps without which you'd feel you'd have alot more work to do, or have less hours in your day to get things done
Whether you're a Traditional Artist, a Digital Artist, a Graphic Artist, a Fashion Designer, an Interior Designer, an Architect, a DB Engineer, an IT administrator, a Program Developer, if you're in Marketing or Advertising, if you're a Business Owner, a Company Manager, Office Staff, a Landscaper, a Florist, or whatever job you have.. Please share the apps you find most helpful
It could include anything from your favorite Graphics or Sketch program, a Calendar or Contacts Manager, a Daily Planner, a Financial Management Program, a Employee Scheduling program, a useful Programmer's notepad, or anything else you'd like to contribute
This also includes apps which you feel make your Android itself a more effective & Efficient device, such as task managers, button manager, switchers, or you own app workflows, or anything else..
This is an attempt to compile a list of the most useful Android Apps out there, Free or Paid, that other people could try out, or that you think might help other people increase their own productivity throughout the day or week, using their Android Device
I think we could all use better time management and a bit more free time in our lives
-
Seems nice, but, why didn't you start?
hotpokets said:
Seems nice, but, why didn't you start?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heh.. I'm still looking for some
I currently use ES File Explorer for all my cross-platform File Browsing & File Transferring needs
& I use ES Task Manager for my Task Management.. u know, I've rooted my device, and I've tried alot of task & memory managers, but have yet to find something to tell me whats talking up memory when I get some malicious program that zeros out my memory until restart.. or suddenly occupies hundreds of MB which mystically goes unaccounted for.. I just feel there is still so much going on in my phone I have no control of and i havent found any solid program to give me that control
I use Adblock Plus, but it only works through a proxy, which stops me from seeing things through my Firefox browser... I still havent found a reliable way to block all ads. lets be honest, alot of those freeware apps wouldnt ever be bought even if they only had no ad paid versions.. it seems everything has ads now... and this isnt going to fix it
I use Floating Stickies for cross-app data transfer
I use Screen Off & Lock to conserve battery power & buttons
I use Swapps for fast app switching...Its great, but I'm still searching for something a bit better
I use Hackers Keyboard from Swapps just to switch between one of about 10 inputs I use
Touchpal X is currently my keyboard of choice.. but I dont like how it doesnt suggest most frequently used words.. and I.m not getting a full 26key keyboard for Pinyin either.. I'm currently talking to the devs about that.
I currently use Screenshot Ultimate, but still would like something with area capture, and expandable multi-line textboxes
I use Image Search for finding quick Photos to throw onto my social networking apps, mainly WeChat
and I use Floating Soft Keys for quick navigation, but I wish it would have an option to swipe to disappear off screen
but I'm still looking for a program which displays available memory, includes a list of running apps, end app & minimize app functions (i dont want android managing which apps to leave open or end).. with options to delete Cache of programs on end... also can free RAM, even from malicious programs that suddenly swallow over 200mb... and can let me add my favorite app buttons..
and I'm thinking of purchasing Softmaker for an Office suite, though it lacks Macro functionality and Wildcards in Find & Replace
I currently dont have many other programs, like calendar, time managment, etc.. I sorta recently moved from WinMo to Android. and I'm missing alot of my old WinMo apps to be honest.
-- Maybe a good question for me might be, what apps make you feel you have as much power & control as you had on WinMo, for the oldtimers here
-
There are existing threads for this sort of discussion:
[Discussion] Discuss your favorite app, tweak, widget, etc. (Least favorite OK too!)
[23.apr.2013] *COLLECTION OF THE BEST APP/GAMES FOR ANDROID* 165 apps - 200 games!!!

Upgraded from B521 to B820, missing apps and functions

Updated my Honor 6 H60-L04 from B521 to B820 (both british) and lost webbrowser, update app and seem to be missing many new functions such as dual window.
I don't care for dual window but the browser would be nice to have...
Anybody have apk of the browser from before B820?
Browser was deleted (probably because it made little sense to include both Browser and Chrome), but the other functions should still be there. Multi-window mode works, just launch a supported app (there's not a lot, you can pick Email or Notepad for example), then long press the square button. There's a lot of function in the Settings that were hidden in Advanced settings on the bottom, for example 720p resolution mode.
Well that sucks, as I found the included browser way better than Chrome. Also I had Chrome disabled as I don't like it. Have installed Firefox for now. Multiwindow IS working, although I wish I could disable it.
I now noticed that I can no longer access the memory card trough the USB, at least on Mac. I only have charge or internal memory. That sucks

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