Database Users

Browser wars

I am currently using Skyfire, i've used everything from the old beta of opera... stock, dolphin browser (hd), and such.... with the new opera browser coming out on nov. 9, and mozilla aka firefox also out with a new browser... what do u think is the fastest, best design, and such or might be?

Tried them all too and still give it to the stock browser. Works best for me, fast, stable and works great.
Firefox is not ready for primetime really, I find dolphin a bit slow and cumbersome, skyfire is ok but so so for me.
Waiting to see what Opera brings to the table.

whats so special about the stock browser? ive been using dolphin hd and it works pretty good for me. unappealing layout though. cant wait until firefox is out of beta and is working properly. im wondering if there are plans to bring chrome to android.

(Note, I am biased, I work for Mozilla)
With the latest set of changes to Fennec (Firefox Mobile) it is finally getting to the point that it is useful to me as my main browser. Biggest improvement was memory reduction. If you haven't seen the coolness that is Firefox Sync, you have to check it out. Being able to open a tab from your desktop immediately in your phone is great. Obviously, still beta, but I love it cause I don't mind beta software.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

fromchaos0646 said:
whats so special about the stock browser? ive been using dolphin hd and it works pretty good for me. unappealing layout though. cant wait until firefox is out of beta and is working properly. im wondering if there are plans to bring chrome to android.
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Well for one, the stock browser doesn't look like a pile of (insert most foul feces you can think of here). Also, the stock browser doesn't waste screen space with unnecessary nonsense, which Dolphin seems to LOVE doing.

I aggree with muyoso, stock is best option for me. Dolphin took up too much room. I do have skyfire also, but only use it for flash vids when needed. When 2.2 comes around ill drop it all together. Firefox is still very much a beta, and a huge ram hog.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Must go with stock as well. Anything the other browsers do that stock doesn't, they don't end up doing it well. Stock is fine and will be even better when F comes out.

thanks, all. i guess i didnt give the stock browser enough time. uninstalled dolphin and put browser back on and liked it immediatly.

DEinspanjer said:
(Note, I am biased, I work for Mozilla)
With the latest set of changes to Fennec (Firefox Mobile) it is finally getting to the point that it is useful to me as my main browser. Biggest improvement was memory reduction. If you haven't seen the coolness that is Firefox Sync, you have to check it out. Being able to open a tab from your desktop immediately in your phone is great. Obviously, still beta, but I love it cause I don't mind beta software.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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No text reflow, slow and laggy, no go. Sry.

FireFox
Just played with it... nothing worked. But damn! When its done... going to be awesome!
I want that more than flash/2.2 lol. Its nice.
Sent from my SPH-D700

I hated colors and design of dolphin hd and almost gave up. Until I found dolphin browser (not hd!). Much better design and layout, my default browser! I've used dolphin/hd/stock/fennec/opera/mini/miui. Miui is my second favority, google its apk. The baidu default is annoying though...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Xscope is what I use daily..love it
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Yup, xscope user here as well. It's quick, out of the way, tabbed browsing, file management, text copying, and an exit feature with clean-up.
Shame it went pay-only (the trial version really isn't worth it with the watermark), but the old pay version went freeware on the website, so people can still enjoy a quick, minimal browser that's well beyond stock's capabilities and well below Dolphin's system load.

josidhe said:
Yup, xscope user here as well. It's quick, out of the way, tabbed browsing, file management, text copying, and an exit feature with clean-up.
Shame it went pay-only (the trial version really isn't worth it with the watermark), but the old pay version went freeware on the website, so people can still enjoy a quick, minimal browser that's well beyond stock's capabilities and well below Dolphin's system load.
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What can it do that the stock browser doesn't?

Skyline is my favorite next to stock. The ability to play flash videos, plus being allitte faster than stock.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

I wouldn't mind stock if it could do adblock without rooting. As it is, the delays and text wrap changes to load ads really irk me.

Despite feeling the need to root and install custom ROM and kernel within an hour of using the phone, I have not felt the need to replace the stock browser... it seems pretty much perfect.

Dolphin hd for me. Blue theme add on installed as well. It is more flexible than stock browser too. Itd like stock android vs launcher pro.

I tried out FireFox a bit and its not too bad actually..still onyl tried it for a day and there is no flash support yet...also not used to the menu key not giving me an actual menu lol..there are a few minor bugs with it...
it loads pages faster but redraw is a lot slower..
Did an ACID 3 test for fun
Desktop FF 3.6: 94/100
Mobile FF: 97/100
Stock 2.1 Browser: 93/100
Would like to see them make a final release with flash and all the issues worked out.

Messed around with a few browsers. The stock one is deff nice/stable but opera mini picks up the slack in other areas. Opera also let's you download/play flash video. Both browsers and the stock videa player don't support any mpg format. Still working on finding a decent player compatiable with all formats like tcmp player. Download time are very close..pretty much even. Comming from the win mobile/tp2..when I was prompted to download to phone or sd card I could rename the file according to my liking..not so with either browser, could be an android thing. Figured Id give some detailed info on some specs of what each browser can do

[Q] dolphin hd the best browser?

Stock browser just cannot compete.
should I even bother downloading firefox?

Not a huge fan of Firefox, not all that great and way to big of an app for a browser IMHO

It's a shame that if you should use something else besides the stock browser, you can't change out the stock browser icon in the dock. It feels like dead weight to just have it there. Given Google's propensity for open-ness and customization, not sure why Android stock doesn't let you change these dock icons. Unless I'm mistaken?

Firefox for mobile(aka Fennec) is really slow for me right now. It might be great eventually, but right now it's super slow and has alot of bugs.
Dolphin Browser HD, to me, is like Firefox. Alot of extension, alot of addons, alot of enhancements but still kinda slow. Dolphin Browser Mini is more like Chrome in that it has a few extensions/addons/enhancements but it's extremely quick.

unremarked said:
Firefox for mobile(aka Fennec) is really slow for me right now. It might be great eventually, but right now it's super slow and has alot of bugs.
Dolphin Browser HD, to me, is like Firefox. Alot of extension, alot of addons, alot of enhancements but still kinda slow. Dolphin Browser Mini is more like Chrome in that it has a few extensions/addons/enhancements but it's extremely quick.
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gotta remember it has a Beta tag for a reason
its come a long way, from when it was a 60 meg install

slowz3r said:
gotta remember it has a Beta tag for a reason
its come a long way, from when it was a 60 meg install
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Yes, sorry! Meant to mention in my post that I have hopes it'll be something nice eventually hehe.

Try skyfire. feels like stock browser, is much smoother and faster and has way more options.

Is the Dolphin mini like Opera mini which uses an external server to render webpages?

NexusDro said:
Is the Dolphin mini like Opera mini which uses an external server to render webpages?
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No, it renders on the device. The difference between Dolphin HD and Mini is that the first is based on the stock Eclair browser and the second on Donut.

for me the best one is the opera mini.

I use stock and xscope.

To me dolphin is extremely slow even when loading Google. I'm using the stock since it gives me what I need. When it comes to video I use dolphin
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

Best Browser - Boat Browser Mini

I have found a browser faster and more functional than Opera Mini so I thought I would share it.
Boat Browser Mini.
It is seriously freaking awesome.
Anyone else tried it and think it is currently the best mobile browser ever?
Posted from my xperia play and boat browser

I've been a Dolphin user since my Hero, tried many others incl boat but none come close to Dolphin.

What makes Boat Browser so much better than Opera?

zerojay said:
What makes Boat Browser so much better than Opera?
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Opera mobile is extremely fast and most importantly, smooth.
Boat Browse matches and exceeds speed and smoothness.
Opera mobile mini can't do flash. Boat browser does. And does it very fast and smooth.
Opera full is sluggish and slower.
Boats ui is simplistic, speedy and amazingly easy to use.
I have yet to see a browser faster or smoother.

Forgot to mention that browsing with the dpad seems to work extremely well too in boats. I know other browsers can do this. But it just all seems to work better in boats.
Give it a try.
I used to use dolphin over wifi and opera mini mobile over 3g. But boats is faster and smoother than eithet of these whichever way you are connected.

i will try it an let you know

That browser is a wanna be iphone browser
Anyway its not bad
I think skyfire is pure android and is the best although it doesnt support flash
Sent from my R800i using XDA Premium App

dsswoosh said:
I have found a browser faster and more functional than Opera Mini so I thought I would share it.
Boat Browser Mini.
It is seriously freaking awesome.
Anyone else tried it and think it is currently the best mobile browser ever?
Posted from my xperia play and boat browser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it after seeing this thread and sorry but didn't like it, looks plan and basic, performs no better than the standard built in browser and dolphin hd.
I really like Dolphin HD, some cool features on that one

Mostly I use the native android browser wich works pretty good. Sometimes it wont download stuff and then I use Miren browser wich is the browser used in MIUI custom roms. I really liked the look of MIUI when I had that flashed on my htc desire hd and yes I know it is alot like IOS UI, still liked it alot, very smooth and nice themes.
Regards Dousan...

Since the first time i used it I had also the feeling that it was a very smooth and fast browser, and I have used them all. I used to use Xscope but I don't like its interface and it doesn't seem to be that fast anymore. Would like to see some comparing tests between xscooe, opera mini, skyfire and boat.

can't find this in the market. anyone has a link?

yamilito said:
Since the first time i used it I had also the feeling that it was a very smooth and fast browser, and I have used them all. I used to use Xscope but I don't like its interface and it doesn't seem to be that fast anymore. Would like to see some comparing tests between xscooe, opera mini, skyfire and boat.
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I've gone back to opera mini for 3g connection. The loading speed is easily the fastest out of all browsers. I use opera main for wifi.
Would use boats for wifi because it is smooth as hell, but opera link synchs all bookmarks etc.
If opera mini had flash support, I would use it for everything. Shame it can't do flash.

Boat browser has been pulled from the Market due to a violation of some sort. Does anyone know why?

The fact that it has been pulled from the Market makes me wanna try it even though I am happy with the native browser (except the copy-paste thing which is very difficult to use)

The UI is a complete ripoff of Mobile Safari in iOS, that's probably why it was pulled.

I've just tried it and I think its awesome. Thanks for the post...

I personally prefer the miui browser
find it on the market

Anywherr to get the boat browser?

SuperDeform said:
Anywherr to get the boat browser?
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There are a few ways.....try 4shared.com

I emailed the developer about why it was pulled from the market; their response was that they had compared their browser with the competition in their description, which violated Google policy.
In the meantime, you can download the current version of the app from their (extremely minimal) web site, boatgo.net.

[Q] What's the best web browser for NC?

What is the best web browser for the NOOK Color? I've always been happy with the default Android web browser for my G2 phone, but it seems slow & clunky on the NC running CM7. Curious to hear what other people enjoy using.

I voted first! Anyway, I say Dolphin HD is the best as it is optimized for tablets (thus HD) and has actual tabs. And it's free. Get the Dolphin Browser HD 6.0.0 Beta.

Opera mobile is my favorite as it supports hardware accelerated rendering making scrolling smooth.

I can't use anything except Opera Mobile on the Nook. Everything else that doesn't use GPU rendering is too slow for me.

I think stock is best.
Still rocking the Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

Miren is worth a look; its different.

Ive tried them all and i liked dolphin hd but bookmarks are a downright chore to use on it, so i went back to stock browser. Opera felt clunky and slow to me, and i tried both versions of it.

quepaso said:
Opera felt clunky and slow to me
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This is exactly how I feel about Opera. To me, it's never been this amazing browsing experience people claim it to be.

Boat browser mini has been my favorite browser so far.

For me, Opera Mobile (not Mini). Its the ONLY browser that has smooth zooming and scrolling. Everything else is too chopy for me. There are some incompatibilities (some chat systems like the one used on Engadget don't work) but its well worth the smoothness.

Maxthon for tablet gets my vote.

Opera Mobile is fast but Dolphin HD does better webpage rendering and has support for Lastpass and ReadItLater as well as ad blocking. The ad blocking isn't great but it's better than nothing. Lastpass support is the killer feature for me. Dolphin HD also handles flash better than Opera Mobile in my experience. Opera won't even open Weatherspark, for instance. Dolphin may be slow but at least it will load the page.

reaper12 said:
Boat browser mini has been my favorite browser so far.
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How did you install Boat? I'm using Miren now, but would like to use Boat instead. Problem is that it doesn't appear in the Market at all for me. I could pull the apk from my phone and toss it into the system directory, but would rather install it correctly.
(My NC is running rooted only. No ROMs have been installed.)

Which Browser works best on the Note for you?

I used the Dolphin browser on the Nexus One and automatically installed it on the Note believing it to still offer the best Web browsing experience with the most add-ins. I suppose if the Google Chrome was available for phones I would use it to match with my laptop. Which browsers work best on the Note for you?

I just started using dolphin, its nice to set it in desktop mode and have no more mobile pages

For heavy sites opera. Small mobile sites probably dolphin and the likes. Opera is the best imo
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

I intend to use Xscope, because A) I always have, b) it works!

Check out boat mini....did a multiple site download test on all the browsers and this and stock was fastest...Opera Mobile was close second. The Dolphin is most feature rich but doesn't transmit data as quickly as these.
Stock unfortunately, unbelievably! doesn't display desktop versions...hello Samsung!... You have the best screens in the industry and don't have a useragent desktop option!!

fards said:
I intend to use Xscope, because A) I always have, b) it works!
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+1 for xScope

Gaugerer said:
I used the Dolphin browser on the Nexus One and automatically installed it on the Note believing it to still offer the best Web browsing experience with the most add-ins. I suppose if the Google Chrome was available for phones I would use it to match with my laptop. Which browsers work best on the Note for you?
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i love Dolphin Browser- what's wrong with it on the Note?

Is it just me or is the stock browser missing the all important STOP/REFRESH button?? Why would they omit that weird..

im using stock and opera here. seem stock is faster tho ( tried zoom in and out) seem stock is more responsive.
ps. from the guy comment above so i tried the Dolphin . oh and its better than opera
another updated : after played with Dolphin about an hr, i still think stock browser is faster and more responsive

first Firefox Mobile Beta,loving to have all my Desktop Bookmarks in sync
Second Stock Browser

I been using Dolphin Browser HD for month on dell streak and i gotta tell this is one of the best browser on Android. Desktop mode and On demand Flash Plugin is awesome.

I just installed Dolphin HD to see the difference and on the BBC website there is a hell of a difference. The stock browser is far smoother scrolling the page up and down than Dolphin HD

Opera Mobile
Opera Mobile is the fastest on heavy sites, for me.

fards said:
I intend to use Xscope, because A) I always have, b) it works!
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Glad to see u got the note. Once its available in the u.s. that will be my next phone.
Sent from my SuperStreak! ;-)

Just a tip I just learned, i know some on XDA already know this,
but if you type about:useragent into the default browser, you get a dialog to pick desktop browser functionality and remove mobile pages.
I personally prefer default browser to any other so this is a good thing.

I know about the useragent ...trouble is you have to keep repeating the process after rebooting or.powering off. A pain after a while

Opera Mobile for me.

dolphin is my favorite
but I had to install opera in order to download all files confused:)
also for me the default browser is faster, but the comfortable features of dolphin no one have it

Stock browser is probably GPU accelerated like the SGS2. Dolphin HD isn't, and since the Note runs at a significantly higher res than the SGS2 it therefore is "slower" than the Stock browser.... at least until ICS comes out for the Note. Then it shouldn't matter since everything will be GPU accelerated.

Dolphin