So stock browser is pretty bad, what alternative is there? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

This is first time since Galaxy S2 time I had to check for another browser! The default browser always did the job for me, it's fluidity, smooth and fast performance was great, but Samsung f****d up big time with the S4 browser, it doesn't go to full screen, it lags....damn. So I installed the most popular browser, Dolphin, it's okay, but I don't like it, it lags too! Is there a fluid and smooth browser out there, I have tried Mozilla and Chrome, while I am a Chrome user for my desktop and I like Mozilla too, their mobile versions are nowhere near PC versions. I like Maxthon, it's really nice, but that blue dot at the bottom is a deal breaker. Any option left for me? :laugh:
PS: I forgot to mention that I would like full screen option and flash support too.

Boat browser ... never experienced lag on it ... it's light and fast ... that's what i use at least despite i like chrome but chrome is too resource hungry and gets bloated sometimes

I'm using Opera. For me it´s better than chrome, which sometimes freeze the phone.

Only use UC browser very fast and full flash support. Download latest Flash apk from Adobe archive.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Try dolphin beta browser, smooth as butter for me.
And I agree, the stock browser on the S2 was incredible. They mucked things up on the S3 and that pattern continued to the S4.

Thanks guys. Tried Boat, it's a nice browser, liked the real time text wrapping of it. I also tried another browser called Next (from Go dev team) and I really like the UI of it. It's slightly less fluid than Boat, but I love that UI, currently settling for Boat, I wish the UI was better.
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 2

Related

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

new A500...looking for better browser

I picked a new A500 yesterday and I like the way it feels and looks but I'm disappointed with the browser. Everything feels laggy, even as I type this post. I feel that my iPhone 3Gs performs better. It came with 3.1 out of the box. Any tips on how to resolve this lag and poor browser experience I'm going thru? Thanks
Stock browser is good for me. You could try Aurora (experimental version of Firefox) it works well on the A500.
Sent from my A500 using xda premium
i seriously just switched a couple minutes ago but dolphin browser for pad is amazzziinnggggg. It bears but MacBook pro in speed and fluidity and no laggy text anymore and the bookmarks manager seams very nice, its a great alternative
cordell507 said:
i seriously just switched a couple minutes ago but dolphin browser for pad is amazzziinnggggg. It bears but MacBook pro in speed and fluidity and no laggy text anymore and the bookmarks manager seams very nice, its a great alternative
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dolphin for pad was good for awhile, but it hasn't been updated since July, 2011.
Back to Dolphin HD I went. Still better than stock, and if you get the bookmarks plugin, you can backup and restore all your bookmarks at will.
where can I find these alternate browsers and I need to be rooted right?
exodusx187 said:
where can I find these alternate browsers and I need to be rooted right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No root required, and they're all in the marketplace
Opera mobile
Try opera mobile. It is real fast. A500 feels like a different device with opera.
I tried opera mobile, dolphin for pad, dolphin HD. dolphin for pad looks the best for tab dolphin HD is the best
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using Tapatalk
This is a little obscure but checkout maxthon browser for 10" tablet. I'm not a fan of maxthon for phones but its my browser of choice on my A500.
hardslog said:
This is a little obscure but checkout maxthon browser for 10" tablet. I'm not a fan of maxthon for phones but its my browser of choice on my A500.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Maxthon 1.4 is better than 1.5
I like the previous version
+1 for Dolphin browser for pad. Although it's technically a beta release, I've been using it for about a month on stock 3.2 without any issues. It's very fast and the interface is a little cleaner than the stock browser. Bookmarks are only a swipe away, and other gestures also are supported---though maybe not obvious (touch the right-facing pointer icon located on the right end of the toolbar and enter your gesture anywhere in the shaded area). I've used Opera, Dolphin HD, etc. Like this browser the best so far.
best of them dolphin for pad , it runs very smooth when you are @ 1.4GHz
the neverending story... the browser! I tested all, and all in every new Version that came out, but so far... there is only one Browser i use, not cause its the best or the fastest...no:
Did anyone realize, that EVERY Browser, stock, Maxthon, Firefox, Dolphin etc. have all washed out colors, unsharp text, pictures and so on. The only one with really good looking sites, like on Desktop, is Opera. Try out yourself, open all Browser, look at google news page, then compare...
WHY IS THIS?
Opera has maaaany maaaany problems on Facebook, the Chatbars, Posts not posted etc., Youtube videos sometimes crashes, no adblock, but... fast and good looking!
Can anyone explain me this issue, or is it only my device? A500 Stock OTA update, not rooted...
none of these browsers will play facebook games such as ravenwood, too laggy. I posted a thread on this a month ago and someone said he got it working but the settings he came up with were NOWHERE , it was like he was just making up crap...something about flashmx offline settings.looks like I will have to wait until ICS comes out.
Browser
I like the boat browser myself.
firefox 9 has a revamped ui, especially designed for tablets: it behaves differently in portrait. It's still based on xul I think, but I find the startup to be quite fast and of course with the gig of ram it should stay loaded. quite stable too, but still doesn't run flash.
I use Maxthon the majority of the time. Firefox just doesn't give me the browsing experience that I want but I think eventually it will be pretty good.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

stock browser vs chrome

Both from a factual view and a personal preference view what do you guys think is the better browser of the two?
I found with the jb update the Stock browser began to load faster than chrome although the keyboards generally still worked badly in forums, swype being worst.
With chromes new update I find it to be about equal. I've tried running the ms fish HTML test on both and it doesn't run well on either so I didn't find that a good test to give any solid facts but right now I prefer chorine purely based on using it to write in forums but other than that they seem to perform roughly equal as far add I can tell. What do you guys think?
To be honest I have not found any better than stock. I don't care for gestures, synch or any fancy features, all I want I a fast browser that doesn't lag while reading and rendering pages. Stock is awesome, chrome not so much. Flash seems to work on stock and if it didn't video and mx player do a good job.
I'd like, however, that it would organize pages as opera mobile does. Opera's brilliant in this. Sadly is rather buggy in other departments. That's the only thing I'm missing. Other than that, stock is just about perfect and that's what I use.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Premium App
Some good points well made, since Google make both browsers its strange that they should be so different though maybe stock is optimised to each device and chrome is one size fits all.
I love a lot of things about chrome but for raw speed as far as I can tell like you say, stock is the Best in that department. Difficult to Test without 2 phones
stock browser all the day
its faster smoother have more feature like full screen mode
but chrome has cool feature too but its suck :silly:
The stock app is awful, I have Firefox, Chrome and Skyfire installed on my S3
None. I don't like the stock browser's messy menu configuration. Chrome is just... odd. I rather enjoy Dolphin, but I've been using Boat Browser for a while now, and I've grown fond of it...
dodgebizkit said:
Both from a factual view and a personal preference view what do you guys think is the better browser of the two?
I found with the jb update the Stock browser began to load faster than chrome although the keyboards generally still worked badly in forums, swype being worst.
With chromes new update I find it to be about equal. I've tried running the ms fish HTML test on both and it doesn't run well on either so I didn't find that a good test to give any solid facts but right now I prefer chorine purely based on using it to write in forums but other than that they seem to perform roughly equal as far add I can tell. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Chrome causes S3's running Jelly Bean to reboot when you use cut and paste, so I'd have to vote for the stock browser, or dolphin, or firefox, or any other browser.
Seriously, try it. Load up Chrome (on your GT-I9300 Galaxy S3) and long-press on an area of text, select some text and then either press on the selected text or press the copy icon (two overlapping rectangles). Do this between 1 and 20 times and your phone will reboot. It's great!
after so many months, the chrome browser sucks, i admit it looks nice, cool features, but its so laggy, even scrolling mobile sites, its a joke, i feel sorry for the nexus 4 owners
Nothing beats the fluidity of the stock browser. Sure, it might not be fully compatible with all the websites but it is miles better than having frustration over laggy scrolling found in Chrome.
Moreover, the browsing convenience and speed using Quick Controls is unmatched.
I don't know why Google doesn't implement these things in Chrome.
Stock is noticeably smooth in scrolling.
i think stock is better but chrome has better sync abilities with desktop
Back before I was an android user (and therefore didn't pay much attention) I'm sure I read that they intend to eventually replace stock with chrome as default browser in android... Is there any truth to this? I hope not, while I love having chrome I like to have the choice, and the different things that stock browser has.
I really want to like chrome... I really do. I keep giving it a chance for a few days every time they push an update out. The deal breaker for me is the lack of full screen mode and the relatively choppy scrolling in general - emphasis on 'relative' ! I guess if the stock browser wasn't so smooth (and very fast to use with quick controls) I would be perfectly happy with chrome.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
The new JellyBean stock browser seems very nice, has some features from ICS Browser+, this is from my limited time playing with it at least. Which of them all probably would make this one my favorite browser, but of course it could be because it is new.
thaBuzzed said:
I really want to like chrome... I really do. I keep giving it a chance for a few days every time they push an update out. The deal breaker for me is the lack of full screen mode and the relatively choppy scrolling in general - emphasis on 'relative' ! I guess if the stock browser wasn't so smooth (and very fast to use with quick controls) I would be perfectly happy with chrome.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't put it better myself. I also "give it a chance" every now and then... but get annoyed about the same things as well as lack of flash support.
When referring to "stock" browser, I feel the cm10 stock browser is also far superior to stock Samsung however...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
kickassdave said:
Couldn't put it better myself. I also "give it a chance" every now and then... but get annoyed about the same things as well as lack of flash support.
When referring to "stock" browser, I feel the cm10 stock browser is also far superior to stock Samsung however...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, totally agree. Though since I am making UCCW theme's, I kind off have to link my widgets to Chrome for universal support
Still use the Stock CM10 browser more though. Chrome sometimes feels slow and not so smooth when scrolling.

Best browser for N10

I'm just looking for a good browser to use on a regular basis while Google gets their act together and fixes the freezing and crashing issues that exist with Chrome and the N10. What have you found works best with the N10? I'm using Firefox right now, which is fine but I would like to use something that handles tabs better.
Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
If you like the feel of the normal stock browser on the phones I would suggest giving ocean browser a go. Personally I use that and chrome. Ocean is noticeably faster but some pages it looks a bit strange, like the screen ratio is a bit off. Hard to explain but other than that it's great. I'm hoping chrome will become decent with a few updates
If you are rooted you can download and copy the good old stock android browser into /system/app. Its extremly fast and fluid.
I highly recommend Scope Browser. I thought is was my Tablet causing crime to crash and lag. Been using it with no complaints. Its a paid app, but the dev keeps it updated
I really enjoy using the boat browser.....best one I have tried so far.
i agree with boat browser
i agree w/ dolphin and boat
they give the best desktop-like experience so far
You can't really go wrong with the ocean browser. Its the fastest browser experience on any android tablet IMO. Almost on par with the iPad
I've settled on the Boat browser after Dolphin and Opera abandoned Flash for I want a desktop experience similar to using Windows on my laptop without needing to install loads of apps to use some sites like Apple.
I tried the Ocean browser but gave up after it crashed when selecting full screen mode and there was no option to have desktop mode on all the time and got fed up re-selecting desktop mode every time a site changed it.
I paricularly like the Boat speed dialer implimentation and I use it for all of my book marks. It does mean that I need to return to the speed dial page for my bookmarks but because I have set that as the Boat home page then that is easy and quick to do.
It means my book marks are all stored within the browser and are not taking up space on the Android home screen which I can fill with app short cuts.
It also means there is no need for multiple tabs to be open at once for the Boat speed dialer page becomes the multiple tabs.
The bookmarks can still be saved as they are seperate from those on the speed dialer page.
AOSP Browser for me. There's something about the AOSP browser that I just love. dunno what it is though!
I love the layout of ocean, but for me, its not any faster than chrome on 4.2.1
for me its ASOP or Ocean they seem to be smoothest
I like chrome's layout, where it has the back and forward button built into the address bar which is nice since the N10's centered buttons are not rhe best design choice. But its really glitchy sometimes. It will run fast and smooth on some websites, then just call it a day and slow way down on others.
Dolphin Browser Beta has great potential it's quick scrolling and zooming, almost never stuttering. But Is very much a Beta and likes to close itself when things don't go quite right.
Regular dolphin browser felt the slowest on my N10
Ocean is Very fast and I love running it in full screen. But I've had some issues with websites not loading correctly.(scored 1,037 on Peacekeeper)
Boat is good all around. Stable, decent interface. it just seems to be a bit more sluggish than ocean and Dolphin Beta.
I did find another Post where someone figured out how to fix the Opera 12 User interface so it's not tiny. I'm giving that a shot for sure. Opera runs great on my O-Gnote.
I think any of these four is a Good choice depending on who you are and what you like.
I want to root and put the AOSP browser on there to try it, I'm just really gun shy with rooting.
ShaolinRaiden said:
I like chrome's layout, where it has the back and forward button built into the address bar which is nice since the N10's centered buttons are not rhe best design choice. But its really glitchy sometimes. It will run fast and smooth on some websites, then just call it a day and slow way down on others.
Dolphin Browser Beta has great potential it's quick scrolling and zooming, almost never stuttering. But Is very much a Beta and likes to close itself when things don't go quite right.
Regular dolphin browser felt the slowest on my N10
Ocean is Very fast and I love running it in full screen. But I've had some issues with websites not loading correctly.(scored 1,037 on Peacekeeper)
Boat is good all around. Stable, decent interface. it just seems to be a bit more sluggish than ocean and Dolphin Beta.
I did find another Post where someone figured out how to fix the Opera 12 User interface so it's not tiny. I'm giving that a shot for sure. Opera runs great on my O-Gnote.
I think any of these four is a Good choice depending on who you are and what you like.
I want to root and put the AOSP browser on there to try it, I'm just really gun shy with rooting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boat is the only one which provides a Flash player desktop experience off the shelf.
I've only tried Chrome and Dolphin so far. Dolphin was much faster.
do any other the browser do Tabbed browsing?
I used AOSP or ocean, ocean is really good for stock
Gaugerer said:
Boat is the only one which provides a Flash player desktop experience off the shelf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true, ocean does default to the android agent.
I don't mind Boat at all. It's very good and is still installed on my N10 so I can bounce back and forth. I just find myself going back to Ocean more often because I like the popup controls. You mentioned before it was crashing on you, I haven't had that issue so far.
I do agree with your earlier post, being able to set the user agent to desktop by default would be a nice option to have in ocean instead of having to hit request desktop site everytime.
---------- Post added at 10:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 AM ----------
ady702 said:
do any other the browser do Tabbed browsing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best options for Tabbed browsing (in my opinion) are Boat Browser and Dolphin Browser/Beta

Loving the stock browser

I'm really enjoying using the stock browser on my One, it's a real plessure to use. As I do a lot of web browsing on my device this is very important to me. Plus the gorgeous display makes happy that I went and got myself the best phone on the planet.
ye its amazing cant wait to get my own one!
faster than chrome and/or dolphin?
I know on phones the stock browser is usually hardware rendered but these days chrome/dolphin are lightning quick
Can't remember if it came with Chrome or not. If it did then I must have removed it as a matter course.
Sent from my Tricked out HTC One via xda-developers application
It comes with Chrome pre-installed. Stock is slightly faster and supports Flash, but I prefer the Chrome integration across devices.
It looks great for sure. Does it still have text reflow?
Stock has yes.
I never thought i would switch from Chrome but the stock browser is extremely smoother and faster for a fairly intensive project i'm working on
The text reflow is perfect on the stock browser, that's why I'm using it.
I've also noticed it supports 16 tabs/windows at the same time!
I was getting pretty fed-up with the 5 tab limit on my Sensation ...
I must admit it's better than the S3 stock browser. I migrated to Chrome and prefer this day to day.
Is there a way to quick change tabs? It's one of the reasons I like chrome (swipe to change tabs)
But I am loving Chrome :victory:
I'm an avid chrome user but since getting this phone I've actually has no reason to actually use chrome over the default browser. It performs exceptionally well. Best stock browser I've used to date.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
Does it support flash like Samsung's stock browser ?
pinch to zoom
Hello can somebody tell me that it lags if you use pinch to zoom?
And do you always need to pinch to zoom when you load a page to fit the screen see below what i mean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfzNMLDX7s
Let me know please...
john291 said:
Hello can somebody tell me that it lags if you use pinch to zoom?
And do you always need to pinch to zoom when you load a page to fit the screen see below what i mean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfzNMLDX7s
Let me know please...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know if you have to zoom out evertime when you load a page.
But as i tested the one in an o2 store, there was NOT A SINGLE LAGG in pinch to zoom or scrolling. It was the best browser i´ve ever experienced on any phone (tested the s3 and ip5 in the same store for example).
shox22 said:
I dont know if you have to zoom out evertime when you load a page.
But as i tested the one in an o2 store, there was NOT A SINGLE LAGG in pinch to zoom or scrolling. It was the best browser i´ve ever experienced on any phone (tested the s3 and ip5 in the same store for example).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx for your reply..
Strange that all those movies on you tube show the lag..like below here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfzNMLDX7s
AW: Loving the stock browser
I like the stock browser as well, I.a. for it's flash capability. Funny thing: The Dropbox status (where you can see, who and which programs actually have access) recognizes the browser as SAFARI!!!
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium

Categories

Resources