• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Browser Question

P

PittCaleb

Well-Known Member
My wife recently got an Incredible through work, I am a 1st day original Droid user. Her browser appears quite different from mine, however in my limited use of it, I can not state that it's either better or worse or how to replace with the one on my Droid.

So reviews - should she stick with the one she has, upgrade or replace and can what she has do Flash?

This phone was a royal PIA to update in that all the apps Google has pulled out needed to be found and installed individually. Now I'm wondering about the browser.

Cheers,
PittCaleb
 
PittCaleb said:
My wife recently got an Incredible through work, I am a 1st day original Droid user. Her browser appears quite different from mine, however in my limited use of it, I can not state that it's either better or worse or how to replace with the one on my Droid.

So reviews - should she stick with the one she has, upgrade or replace and can what she has do Flash?

This phone was a royal PIA to update in that all the apps Google has pulled out needed to be found and installed individually. Now I'm wondering about the browser.

Cheers,
PittCaleb
Click to expand...

ok....I really didn't follow alot of what you said. But I'd suggest she tries out some of the myriad of other browsers on the market. Dolphin HD is probably the most widely used (and my favorite), although Firefox, skyfire, opera mini, Miren, and xScope all have their fans. If she finds one she likes better, use it. If not, use stock. What browser I, or anybody else likes, doesn't matter. It's what she likes that's important.

Yes, the stock browser can do flash.

And you should try using app brain. It lets you find/select apps from your computer and then syncs with your phone to install them.
 
The browser on the Incredible is the stock browser, but HTC made some tweaks to it. It loads slightly faster than on some other phones (beat the Droid X and Captivate in a speed test back when all 3 were on 2.1). It also integrates the copy/paste/text selection features of Sense. It's also more responsive than the browser on the original Droid. Flash does work, you just have to go into settings and make sure it's set to always on or on demand (I believe stock is always on).

I was always content with the stock browser on my Incredible, but after being pressured into it, I gave Dolphin HD a try. I'm convinced. It's like switching from IE to Firefox all over again. Give it a try and I'm sure at least one of you will love it.
 
have switched to Dolphin HD myself and am enjoying its many more facets than the stock. One question, though- will we ever have the ability to just be able to hit the home softkey and exit the browser completely, and be able to come back to the home page when the browser is re-launched (instead of the last page we viewed running in the background) - or will we always have to keep hitting the back button to exit completely?

Is this feasible in the future or just wishful thinking on my part?
 
DodgerinNH said:
have switched to Dolphin HD myself and am enjoying its many more facets than the stock. One question, though- will we ever have the ability to just be able to hit the home softkey and exit the browser completely, and be able to come back to the home page when the browser is re-launched (instead of the last page we viewed running in the background) - or will we always have to keep hitting the back button to exit completely?

Is this feasible in the future or just wishful thinking on my part?
Click to expand...


Is it really that hard to hit menu> exit?
And except for some "active" sites that refresh themselves in the background they aren't running in the background (they aren't using any processor/network).

I don't want the browser exiting itself whenever I leave it. I'm browsing something, I check me email, make a phone call, and then want to go back. I'd much rather have it work like this than have it start a new session every time I go away from it.
 
well, I figured it out in the meantime, but thanks for answering the question- albeit with your typical condescension.
 
I have used several of the browsers out there and keep coming back to the stock browser. From my experience it just seems faster at rendering pages and it realigns the text much better.
 
BoulderAndroidFan said:
I like the simple elegance of the stock browser. I find it to be as fast as all the others without all the clutter.
Click to expand...

AeolianReflex said:
I have used several of the browsers out there and keep coming back to the stock browser. From my experience it just seems faster at rendering pages and it realigns the text much better.
Click to expand...

I will concede that the stock browser, being more "pure" does render pages more quickly than Dolphin HD, and does a better (quicker) job at text reflow. But it's not enough for me to go back, given the other feature differences.

I've seen some speed comparisons, and while the stock browser beats Dolphin HD every time, the difference is minimal these days.
 
DodgerinNH said:
have switched to Dolphin HD myself and am enjoying its many more facets than the stock. One question, though- will we ever have the ability to just be able to hit the home softkey and exit the browser completely, and be able to come back to the home page when the browser is re-launched (instead of the last page we viewed running in the background) - or will we always have to keep hitting the back button to exit completely?

Is this feasible in the future or just wishful thinking on my part?
Click to expand...

I would only accept that if it was a setting that I could disable.
I go from browser to other apps often and i don't want it exiting every time I close the screen to go to another app.

But I too love Dolphin!
 
You're right on the money, because Dolphin does give you that option. If you want to leave the browser open, you can just go to other apps by using the home softkey, as you mentioned, and then come back to where you were in the browser. If you're through with the browser, you can hit Menu softkey- then exit. So either way you're covered. As far as I can remember, the stock browser didn't have that second option, so even if it's slower in rendering pages than the stock, the tabbing, bookmarks, gestures, and ability to exit very easily, make it preferable over stock for me. (I only started using Dolphin a few days ago)
 
The stock browser is not really bad. It just that it doesn't have the many features the other browsers have. What's important is which browser works best for her. Try them all out. I've tried Dolphin HD, Skyefire, Mozilla, Opera. For me Dolphin HD is the best. I have used the stock browsers for months. Opera is ok but it lacks flash which doesn't makes sense since the froyo update added flash. I used skyefire back when flash wasn't available yet but didn't care for the browser setup. I might go back to stock browser if that sense update becomes available.
 
euph_22 said:
Is it really that hard to hit menu> exit?
And except for some "active" sites that refresh themselves in the background they aren't running in the background (they aren't using any processor/network).

I don't want the browser exiting itself whenever I leave it. I'm browsing something, I check me email, make a phone call, and then want to go back. I'd much rather have it work like this than have it start a new session every time I go away from it.
Click to expand...

I concur!
 
I just found out my favorite PC browser (Maxthon) is also available for download for the Incredible, so I'm not using that :D
 
I just downloaded Dolphin HD. I like it so far. I grabbed the blue theme from the market as well. I can't figure out how to change the home page though. Can you not do this on Dolphin or am I just missing it?
 
Its been awhile since I've been on this site.. I just downloaded dolphin HD for the first time just now.. hope I like it. I still have'nt learned all the feature of using this.. maybe its too smart for me :( and still haven't tried launcher pro plus.. Just hesitant about changing the phone dont want to mess it up

Do you guys use the free Dolphin HD or the $4.99 without ads, also, what are some Dolphin HD addons you recommend?
 
WormDoes said:
I just downloaded Dolphin HD. I like it so far. I grabbed the blue theme from the market as well. I can't figure out how to change the home page though. Can you not do this on Dolphin or am I just missing it?
Click to expand...


open up browser > settings > advanced settings > set home page

should be ok after that
 
AFGixxeR said:
Its been awhile since I've been on this site.. I just downloaded dolphin HD for the first time just now.. hope I like it. I still have'nt learned all the feature of using this.. maybe its too smart for me :( and still haven't tried launcher pro plus.. Just hesitant about changing the phone dont want to mess it up

Do you guys use the free Dolphin HD or the $4.99 without ads, also, what are some Dolphin HD addons you recommend?
Click to expand...


I Haven't noticed any ads thus far on Dolphin HD

The only add-on I've used is the Desktop Toggles, which makes it so you can disable the remote view and toggle back and forth between the desktop/standard or Android/Mobile view of the webpage and the remote view (I prefer the desktop view, but that's just a matter of preference)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom