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Why does Android's Browser Lag?

solidkevin

solidkevin

Android Enthusiast
Its obviously not as smooth as IOS or WP7, why? Its better then both those OS's in everything else imo but why is the Browser not as smooth? Kinda bugs me...
 
Well it really depends on the phone and how much processing power it has. Web browsing these days is very cpu intensive, with tons of ads, pictures, videos, flash etc on each web page.
 
So far every single android phone ive seen has that lag, even tge atrix in vids, its not that it dosnt run well, its hard to explain use iphone and wp7 then use any android and you'll notice.
 
come use my iPhone and tell me the browser doesn't lag

And the whole damn phone lags now with iOS 4.x being on a 3G model.
 
Lack of hardware acceleration I would say is the main reason you get that "lag." The lag you're talking about i'm assuming is the scrolling and zooming lag, not the loading of pages (I find that to be much faster in general than on an iPhone or WP7 device).
 
The stock Android browser doesn't use graphics acceleration. Motorola doesn't either. In my experience though, the Android browser outrenders the iOS and WP7 browser (especially the WP7 browser). Its on the scrolls and pinches where it lags.

However, the scroll and zoom choppiness isn't evident on other Android phones, especially that of the Galaxy S and phones with HTC Sense. Phones with Samsung Touchwiz and HTC Sense have graphics acceleration on their browsers.

Certain third party Android browsers also incorporate acceleration. Just use them. They include Dolphin Browser HD, Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Firefox mobile. Opera Mobile is my favorite if you like super fast browsing, fast and smooth zooms and scrolls.

Another reason why I recommend these browsers is that in Froyo, you can relocate them and their cache into the SD card, so you can save more apps in the internal phone memory.
 
sitlet said:
Well it really depends on the phone and how much processing power it has. Web browsing these days is very cpu intensive, with tons of ads, pictures, videos, flash etc on each web page.
Click to expand...

I have a Nexus S 4g now (which has a laggy browser), but my previous Palm Pre (600Mhz) could run the browser buttery smooth just like the iPhone. It also knew intelligently how to zoom into text areas unlike Android. So, it is not the hardware of the device, its the software.
 
Guamguy said:
The stock Android browser doesn't use graphics acceleration. Motorola doesn't either. In my experience though, the Android browser outrenders the iOS and WP7 browser (especially the WP7 browser). Its on the scrolls and pinches where it lags.

However, the scroll and zoom choppiness isn't evident on other Android phones, especially that of the Galaxy S and phones with HTC Sense. Phones with Samsung Touchwiz and HTC Sense have graphics acceleration on their browsers.

Certain third party Android browsers also incorporate acceleration. Just use them. They include Dolphin Browser HD, Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Firefox mobile. Opera Mobile is my favorite if you like super fast browsing, fast and smooth zooms and scrolls.

Another reason why I recommend these browsers is that in Froyo, you can relocate them and their cache into the SD card, so you can save more apps in the internal phone memory.
Click to expand...

Thanks for not just an answer but a solution. Opera Mobile has solved my issues. I think many of the complaints are coming from the phones not listed in your response. I am coming from a Nexus S 4g and it must be using the stock android browser. Thanks
 
For me, Opera Mini just FLIES... I've tried 4 different browsers plus my wife has an iPhone and Opera Mini blows them all away in terms of speed.

Unfortunately Opera is weak for streaming audio and video. It always tried to download the stream on to the SD card, and if it's a live broadcast, and it can't determine the file size, it fails. Therefor I still use the default Browser ONLY for live streaming, for all other web browsing I use Opera Mini.

And BTW - My phone is not a high powered one (Samsung Intercept), but it still Flies, even compared to the almight iPhone Safari..
 
My UI is silky smooth both in the browser and OS in general. Not really sure what is causing you problems.

UI responsiveness has improved so drastically from 2.1->2.2 I'm really shocked that people still find fault here.

Not saying you're wrong, as you may just be seeing something I'm not. But in my experience, this lag you speak of is very uncommon on any phone with 2.2+
 
My browser blows my wife's iPhone out of the water.

On the other hand, I've tried several Android browsers that really lagged. They are all coded differently and have pros/cons.

What I settled on:
Opera Mini for all Browsing. It absolutely flies. However does have limitation and often has issues streaming.

Default Browser for streaming..
 
Opera Mini is my browser of choice as it is blazingly fast and suits most of my browsing needs. I don't stream much. On those rare occasions, I use Opera Mobile.
 
I have not tried Opera on the Android but I've tried Firefox and Dolphin. So far Dolphin is the best browser of these two.

And you want lag? Try the internet on a BlackBerry.
 
valorian said:
I have not tried Opera on the Android but I've tried Firefox and Dolphin. So far Dolphin is the best browser of these two.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried Dolphin. I do hear many people like it. I probably won't myself as I am currently very satisfied with Opera Mini.

And you want lag? Try the internet on a BlackBerry.
Click to expand...

That's nothing. Try a Nokia N97.
 
Many android developers came from BeOS where the whole point of that OS was that everything should be snappy and responsive! But they are not working on a mobile BeOS. They are working on Andy Rubin's Android, which is based on linux and java. I wish they could move away from that sludge.
 
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