Help Viewing a webpage w/the S3

[dlcpa]

I went into a Verizon store yesterday because my Blackberry died from water damage. I looked once again at the S3 and I really don't like it for the Web. Perhaps I am doing something wrong.

There were two problems with it. It took me quite a long time to get into the Forums on Phandroid as an advertisement kept getting in the way and I couldn't get rid of it. When I finally got in and went to read a posting I made earlier from my laptop I found it hard to read because either the font was too small or when I expanded the page I had to slide from side to side. On the Blackberry there is a column view that allows you to have a much larger font and the sentences wrap. I changed the Font size in the settings of the S3 but it didn't do anything for the web. What am I missing here?

 

[Crafty]

pinch to zoom.

 

[dlcpa]

pinch to zoom.

I did that but I want to zoom but keep the column of the text within the phone without having to slide from side to side. Blackberry calls it Column View. So, as I pinch or unpinch the text gets bigger but it wraps to fit within the width of the phone.

 

[Roll-Tide]

Tapatalk app... No need to even use the browser. Speaking of, I can't believe you're even hinting at the idea of a blackberry browser being better than ANY smartphone, let alone the S3

 

[kool kat2]

Should be something in the browser settings. Ive always done that with Android browsers, as far as I can remember.

 

[dlcpa]

Tapatalk app... No need to even use the browser. Speaking of, I can't believe you're even hinting at the idea of a blackberry browser being better than ANY smartphone, let alone the S3

The BB Storm2 is a Smart phone with a decent browser but SLOW. I'm getting a BB9850 Torch because the Storm2 has water damage and the phone I want is the Note2. I didn't like the Storm 3 at all, as I found reading it was not great andif I was reading a book, I think it would be awful. Both times I saw it, at the Times Sq intro and yesterday at the Huntington Station, NY VZW store there was no 4G LTE so it was slow.

Now regarding this Tapatalk, let's say I'm on Twitter and someone posts a link to an article. By unpinching I can expand the screen but the sentences don't wrap. On the BB all I do is hit Column View and the text is wrapped and the font is easy to read. People who saw the Note and liked it prefer the Noite screen to the S3 any day unless they are very young and have super vision. It seems Tapatalk is for recurring sites. What if you are browsing the web with Google?

 

[Funnyusername]

Sounds like you are just upset at websites that are in "desktop" mode. I would not blame the S3. When you view this website, the page is running because it thinks your on a laptop or computer. Some websites are smart and have good mobile viewing. Check out ESPN.

The bottom line is your going to have to make adjusts and use different settings for webpages your going to view on mobile. For example you will need to download the app to this forum. Other pages will have "mobile sites" as well. When you get to them book mark them.

And you should be using the twitter app. Not going to Twitter with a browser.

 

[Roll-Tide]

I didn't like the Storm 3 at all, as I found reading it was not great andif I was reading a book, I think it would be awful. Both times I saw it, at the Times Sq intro and yesterday at the Huntington Station, NY VZW store there was no 4G LTE so it was slow.

First of all, the "Storm 3" you say you didn't like doesn't even exist...for all intents and purposes, the Torch 9850 you mentioned getting is the Storm 3...so that makes little sense. Second, it wouldn't matter if you were sitting right on top of a VZW LTE tower as there is NO Blackberry that can possibly even use that LTE signal (all VZW Blackberries are 3G at best)

Now regarding this Tapatalk, let's say I'm on Twitter and someone posts a link to an article. By unpinching I can expand the screen but the sentences don't wrap. On the BB all I do is hit Column View and the text is wrapped and the font is easy to read. People who saw the Note and liked it prefer the Noite screen to the S3 any day unless they are very young and have super vision. It seems Tapatalk is for recurring sites. What if you are browsing the web with Google?

OK, if you visit forums frequently then then Tapatalk Forum App is what would be best to use...NOT the browser. The Tapatalk App has nothing to do with the browser, not to mention the text is already "wrapped" because it is formatted to be used on a phone from the start. (No need to zoom in is what I'm saying)

As for the browser, there are countless replacement browsers available for download from the Play Store...on the S3, the ones that I've used that re-wrap text after you pinch to zoom are Opera Mobile and Boat Browser. I prefer Boat Browser because it renders pages most accurately AND does the text reflow.

That should answer all of your concerns...

 

[Ken7]

For me a simply double tap zooms and columnates. You may have to change the 'zoom' setting in the browser settings. I don't recall how I set mine, but almost any webpage I go to, I can double tap and it zooms to fill the screen while maintaining columns.

 

[blenky]

It took me quite a long time to get into the Forums on Phandroid as an advertisement kept getting in the way and I couldn't get rid of it. When I finally got in and went to read a posting I made earlier from my laptop I found it hard to read because either the font was too small or when I expanded the page I had to slide from side to side.

I view this forum my S3 using Chrome and have no problems. A double tap will fill the width and I can read it perfectly easily. To make it even clearer I sometimes put the phone in landscape mode. Also didn't have any problems with adverts.

 

[legalkill]

The BB Storm2 is a Smart phone with a decent browser but SLOW. I'm getting a BB9850 Torch because the Storm2 has water damage and the phone I want is the Note2.

One of our engineers had the Torch. He was about to get his 5th replacement when Verizon themselves offered him a switch over to another phone.

The phone has problems being responsive when you try to awake it. The touch screen has a moment of lag and hesitation sometimes. So for a minute or so sometimes you cannot use it as you wait for the touchscreen to recognize input.

This happened on all his replacements.

Just a warning.

 

[dlcpa]

Sounds like you are just upset at websites that are in "desktop" mode. I would not blame the S3. When you view this website, the page is running because it thinks your on a laptop or computer. Some websites are smart and have good mobile viewing. Check out ESPN.

The bottom line is your going to have to make adjusts and use different settings for webpages your going to view on mobile. For example you will need to download the app to this forum. Other pages will have "mobile sites" as well. When you get to them book mark them.

And you should be using the twitter app. Not going to Twitter with a browser.

Ok, when I go to the NY Times. with a NY Times APP, it's very quick, much faster than the a browser. This is on my old BB Storm2 that after I put it in a warm oven started to work again but the 9850 is coming today. Is that what you are talking about accessing with dedicated apps. When looking at the S3, those dedicated apps weren't on it.

Someone further down said by double tapping the screen goes in column mode. I never knew about that and that was one of the reasons I came here. If that will wrap the text then my question is answered.

But, I find the fonts on the S3 aren't great for me. The BB are much better, not that I am comparing any BB to the S3 just readability. Can fonts be changed and if so can it be changed in the browser?

 

[dlcpa]

First of all, the "Storm 3" you say you didn't like doesn't even exist...for all intents and purposes, the Torch 9850 you mentioned getting is the Storm 3...so that makes little sense. Second, it wouldn't matter if you were sitting right on top of a VZW LTE tower as there is NO Blackberry that can possibly even use that LTE signal (all VZW Blackberries are 3G at best)



OK, if you visit forums frequently then then Tapatalk Forum App is what would be best to use...NOT the browser. The Tapatalk App has nothing to do with the browser, not to mention the text is already "wrapped" because it is formatted to be used on a phone from the start. (No need to zoom in is what I'm saying)

As for the browser, there are countless replacement browsers available for download from the Play Store...on the S3, the ones that I've used that re-wrap text after you pinch to zoom are Opera Mobile and Boat Browser. I prefer Boat Browser because it renders pages most accurately AND does the text reflow.

That should answer all of your concerns...

I was never comparing the speed of the BB to the S3. Never never, just screen readability. What about the double tapping?

The phones in the VZW stores don't usually have other browsers. Do they let you download others?

Tapatalk, what is it used for?

 

[Roll-Tide]

 

[dlcpa]

For me a simply double tap zooms and columnates. You may have to change the 'zoom' setting in the browser settings. I don't recall how I set mine, but almost any webpage I go to, I can double tap and it zooms to fill the screen while maintaining columns.

That is super. I wonder if everyone here knows that?

 

[dlcpa]

I view this forum my S3 using Chrome and have no problems. A double tap will fill the width and I can read it perfectly easily. To make it even clearer I sometimes put the phone in landscape mode. Also didn't have any problems with adverts.

Great to know, that's why I asked because I use my phone for reading lots of things and it matter to me whether I get the S3 or the Note 2 because I assume the OS would work the same.

 

[dlcpa]

One of our engineers had the Torch. He was about to get his 5th replacement when Verizon themselves offered him a switch over to another phone.

The phone has problems being responsive when you try to awake it. The touch screen has a moment of lag and hesitation sometimes. So for a minute or so sometimes you cannot use it as you wait for the touchscreen to recognize input.

This happened on all his replacements.

Just a warning.

Good to know. I got it because my BB Storm2 died and I needed time to see what the Note 2 would be like. My Storm2 takes 12 minutes to reboot after a battery pull. Once it reboots it's always awake. Hmm maybe that's why I have 3 batteries because it's always on. They advertise that the 9850 has better battery life.

If I knew about the Double Tap on the S3 I might not have bothered with the 9850. If the Note2 comes in the same 16x9 ratio as the S3, I might just get the S3, especially now that Samsung will give me $150 for the 9850. If the Note 2 is 5.5inches and 16x10 and VZW will have it, I'll wait for it or maybe even switch too AT&T.

 

[dlcpa]

I'm done trying....good luck.

Ok ok I see the part about, "If you visit forums frequently" Thanks!

Well that and the double tap may be all I need. Didn't make sense that such a popular OS would not have these things.

 

[Roll-Tide]

Ok ok I see the part about, "If you visit forums frequently" Thanks!

Well that and the double tap may be all I need. Didn't make sense that such a popular OS would not have these things.

I'm really trying to be helpful and not come off like a sarcastic jackass, but honestly these are the very basics of Android or even iOS...double tap has been around for YEARS...as have apps, even on a Blackberry! I will take some screenshots of what I am talking about and post here so you can see what I'm trying to say.

 

[Roll-Tide]

This is a screen shot of your thread using the Tapatalk forum app...

 

[Roll-Tide]

This is the wikipedia page for the galaxy s3 using boat browser (free download from the play store).... This is how it looks after zooming all the way in using pinch to zoom... It re wrapped the text. If you need bigger than that you need glasses.

 

[Roll-Tide]

There is an app store called the "Google Play Store", formerly the Android Market...just like the app store on an iPhone or the app world on Blackberry. There are thousands of free apps you can download to customize your phone how YOU like it...going by how it is in the store doesn't even begin to show you what is really possible.

There are countless news apps, including one for the NY Times...Twitter apps, Facebook, etc. You don't have to use the browser to view these kinds of things...that's the whole reason apps were invented in the first place. Just about anything you can think of, there's most likely an app for it....remember the iPhone commercials saying "there's an app for that"? Well, there IS.

 

[Roll-Tide]

For example, this is just the first few apps that show up when you search "twitter" in the play store... If you scroll down there are several more.

 

[Sandroidfan]

All you need to do is to double tap and check on auto fit, zoom settings in browser for your liking. This has been basic features in android browser for long time.
Some other good android browsers like Dolphin, Chrome might show pages better to you in default setting.

 

[NoNamer]

Like Sandroidfan said, in browsers like ICS+, and Boat Browser make sure there's a check mark in the Auto-fit pages tab as well as the auto text reflow tab under Advanced in the settings for whatever browser you're using.