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Will I get laptop like browsing? ie buttons/flash video etc

J

Jlomb436

Newbie
Hey folks.

Just wanted to say hi first off, and that I'm really excited about switching to Android. I've been using my iPhone for awhile now but my job is going to require I travel more so I needed a portable device to keep me occupied. Anyway, thanks in advance for reading and answering any questions.

Anyway, I just purchased a Transformer and the dock but I've only received the tablet so far. I guess my biggest concern is that I wanted a nearly or almost identical internet browsing experience when compared to a laptop. So far it comes close, but I'm still worried.

There are a few websites that have flash that still won't load. Or things like "buy now" buttons on Bestbuy and things like that are still quirky. Am I crazy to expect things from a tablet? To be honest, I've always been a desktop guy, and until then I haven't seen the need for portal media when I have my iPhone.

I guess my question is, should I adjust or pick up a 13" lappy?
 
So what phone are you using? If you go to the market, and search 'flash', you should be able to upgrade to the latest release, which is 10.3, that might improve performance.
 
I apologize, I had the Transformer section up but I clearly posted in the wrong forum.

I'm running the Asus Transformer with the latest version of Flash. Can a mod move this to the correct forum? Thank you. -Jeff
 
Posted in wrong forum previously, sorry. So...

Just wanted to say hi first off, and that I'm really excited about switching to Android. I've been using my iPhone for awhile now but my job is going to require I travel more so I needed a portable device to keep me occupied. Anyway, thanks in advance for reading and answering any questions.

Anyway, I just purchased a Transformer and the dock but I've only received the tablet so far. I guess my biggest concern is that I wanted a nearly or almost identical internet browsing experience when compared to a laptop. So far it comes close, but I'm still worried.

There are a few websites that have flash that still won't load. Or things like "buy now" buttons on Bestbuy and things like that are still quirky. Am I crazy to expect things from a tablet? To be honest, I've always been a desktop guy, and until then I haven't seen the need for portal media when I have my iPhone.

I guess my question is, should I adjust or pick up a 13" lappy?
 
Jlomb436 said:
I apologize, I had the Transformer section up but I clearly posted in the wrong forum.

I'm running the Asus Transformer with the latest version of Flash. Can a mod move this to the correct forum? Thank you. -Jeff
Click to expand...

I just started today, so I'm not sure :confused: but I'd copy/paste it if you can't find a repost option. Hope you can get it working properly!
 
These small annoyances are easy to overcome if you think about the overheating on laptops, incredible short battery life, noise and bulkiness. I've had a chance to try out the dock (not available here separately, should have waited for the combo!) and it works really well. A good feeling keyboard and I'm sure the extra storage possibilities, the USB and extra 6 hours battery would be great too.

For now, it's crazy to expect it from Honeycomb, there's still a lot of work to be done on stability.
 
I suggest you go in the flash security settings options in the adobe website, you must go there with your transformer browser and then make the changing in that window manager. You have to set properly which site is allowed to use flash in your device otherwise it doesn't work.
This is for anyone not only android...many owner want to use anything just out of the box but it isn't possible anymore today for security and privacy.
I wish it helped you
 
Flash sites do work, but it's still rather slow and not easy to control. I think that with a mouse pointer (like you will have on the dock) it will be a lot easier to control. I've also noticed that some flash sites just don't load.

So not yet a full 100% laptop browsing experience for me, it gets rather close though.
 
Jlomb436 said:
I apologize, I had the Transformer section up but I clearly posted in the wrong forum.
Click to expand...

Moved :) In future if you want something moved, just hit report and ask for it to be moved, one of the mods will pick it up.

Whilst it will support Flash, there are certain sites that still might not display properly without changing the user agent. I know the BBC iPlayer page won't work properly with the stock Android browser so I have to install Dolphin or Opera.

In Dolphin, open the web page, hit Menu -> More -> Settings -> Dolphin Settings -> User Agent (Change to Desktop).

With Opera, open a page, hit the Big O at the bottom -> Settings -> Advanced -> User Agent (Change to Desktop).

Hopefully that should sort. I've never used a tablet, but that normally works for me on my phone anyway. If it doesn't, let me know and I'll see what else we can try.

I'll be interested to find out as I plan on asking Santa for one ;).
 
El Presidente said:
Moved :) In future if you want something moved, just hit report and ask for it to be moved, one of the mods will pick it up.
Click to expand...

Thanks El Presidente. I merged two duplicate threads together but didnt want to delete any of the posts to mess up the flow...hopefully everyone can make heads and tails out of it at this point.

OT... While the Opera Mobile browser is great...there are quirks with entering text on sites like thisand I lost several messages when the screen timed out or I dropped the keyboard. Dolphin is the best all around browsing experience I have found with this tablet. Still has quirks but...no keyboard lag.
 
Cool. Maybe on of the issues is java/video performance which seems ot be lacking. I was reading on some other forums that tablets with the same hardware are getting smooth video playback online, maybe that has to do with a lot of my experience. I'll probably wait it out and see what happens.
 
You can also try to switch the browser to desktop (as 'tablet' often gets treated same as mobile, which is a crippled version of the site) in menu>settings>advanced>user agent string

that said, I agree with the previous post that it's not 100%, so I wouldn't use an Android phone/tablet as my sole connection to the net.
 
mihaelb said:
You can also try to switch the browser to desktop (as 'tablet' often gets treated same as mobile, which is a crippled version of the site) in menu>settings>advanced>user agent string

that said, I agree with the previous post that it's not 100%, so I wouldn't use an Android phone/tablet as my sole connection to the net.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I did set the internet settings to display desktop, one of the first things I actually changed. I know it's just quirkly things, like login pages on some websites with little pop-ups.

I'm really am considering a small laptop. This is not my main internet source, but just something to play with while I'm at work or on vacation etc. However, a 13inch laptop seems like a good idea.

who knows though, waiting for my dock to come in tomorrow so I'll test that out and see how it goes. Wish me luck!
 
Jlomb436 said:
Thanks. I did set the internet settings to display desktop, one of the first things I actually changed. I know it's just quirkly things, like login pages on some websites with little pop-ups.

I'm really am considering a small laptop. This is not my main internet source, but just something to play with while I'm at work or on vacation etc. However, a 13inch laptop seems like a good idea.

who knows though, waiting for my dock to come in tomorrow so I'll test that out and see how it goes. Wish me luck!
Click to expand...


I have a few websites that I use that are just not compatible with some browsers. I keep Opera Mobile just for one website and the login actually works. Just might want to try some different browsers on those problem websites...just a thought.
 
Yea, to be honest I'd hope that I would have a perfect internet experience. Playback issues and stuff I can deal with, but internet browsing I don't want to have any. So who knows. So tempted to just plop the money on a decent laptop, but I love the TF battery life.
 
Jlomb436 said:
Yea, to be honest I'd hope that I would have a perfect internet experience. Playback issues and stuff I can deal with, but internet browsing I don't want to have any. So who knows. So tempted to just plop the money on a decent laptop, but I love the TF battery life.
Click to expand...

I find the overall browsing experience to be quite good. The problems are little quirks with certain sites...but I would not say there are wide spread problems. No keyboard lag with Dolphin HD. I like the Opera browser the best...but it has more quirks than other browsers.
 
UBRocked said:
I find the overall browsing experience to be quite good. The problems are little quirks with certain sites...but I would not say there are wide spread problems. No keyboard lag with Dolphin HD. I like the Opera browser the best...but it has more quirks than other browsers.
Click to expand...

Wow, Opera is pretty fats actually. Highlights stuff on screen when you click it, lets you know it's actually working. However, I couldn't get it to load full pages, it thinks it's a mobile device. Any way to change that?
 
Jlomb436 said:
Wow, Opera is pretty fats actually. Highlights stuff on screen when you click it, lets you know it's actually working. However, I couldn't get it to load full pages, it thinks it's a mobile device. Any way to change that?
Click to expand...

Open a page, hit the Big O at the bottom -> Settings -> Advanced -> User Agent (Change to Desktop).

Are you using Mini or Mobile? With Mini there's no option to change that I can see. The above will work with Mobile though.
 
Jlomb436 said:
Wow, Opera is pretty fats actually. Highlights stuff on screen when you click it, lets you know it's actually working. However, I couldn't get it to load full pages, it thinks it's a mobile device. Any way to change that?
Click to expand...

When you open Opera, press the big “O" > settings > advanced > set user agent to "Desktop"

I love the opera browser but the major drawback is that I would lose entire messages I was writing on this site if the screen timed out or if I clicked outside of the text box instead of pressing the down arrow to lower the keyboard. Other than that major issue...it was the bomb (yet unusable due to that issue...I retyped so many messages...I just couldn't take it).

El Presidente is too fast :)
 
Hmm. I guess i'm using mini, which I'm assuming isn't as good? I can't change it in the mini version, I'll try mobile...
 
some some say that our transformers are not hardware enabled yet by Adobe, and thats why some flash sites run a tad slow and even videos within websites. If that's true, hope the performance is even better! Thanks for these browser tips though, appreciate it. any others to check out besides opera and dolphin?
 
Jlomb436 said:
some some say that our transformers are not hardware enabled yet by Adobe, and thats why some flash sites run a tad slow and even videos within websites. If that's true, hope the performance is even better! Thanks for these browser tips though, appreciate it. any others to check out besides opera and dolphin?
Click to expand...

I've tried out Firefox Beta (I only tried the beta but you may want to check out the release version as well). The beta was okay but I trouble selecting some menu items on websites and that was a deal breaker.
 
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