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Web Browsing Frustration

R

retmotor

Newbie
There are a ton of features I like about this tablet, but one thing continually frustrates me and that is the web browsing. I try to do enough of it that I am seriously considering returning the tablet. It is not any one browser, I have tried the android browser, Chrome, Dolphin, Opera and Firefox -- all have their issues, some more than others. The one thing they all seem to have in common though is freezing, page scrolling problems, self-closing and page loading problems. Opening additional tabs creates more of the same problems, more often, and for most of the browsers, presents new problems as well. It has gotten to the point where I find myself going to the laptop, even just to check forums and generally web surf.

Part of the problem (but not all) is it is gawd-awful slow on download speed, 2 to 6 mbps on a 10+ mbps connection. Is that normal? When I was doing my side by side comparisons in Best Buy, everything seemed slow, so I just assumed they had sucky wireless. I've had none of the connectivity problems about which others have posted. This tablet costs an awful lot of money to cause this much frustration.

Is it me? Am I asking too much from a tablet? I'd just like to be able to use the speed of the Internet connection that I'm paying for, and have a stable browser that works with a few tabs open and have them viewable when I switch to them. Thoughts?
 
Is your bluetooth radio on whilst you are browsing? This can have a dramatic effect on wifi speeds. I have had some issues but found that depending on the site depends on what browser to use. ICS+ works very well. Also of late the problems have gone away.
 
retmotor said:
Part of the problem (but not all) is it is gawd-awful slow on download speed, 2 to 6 mbps on a 10+ mbps connection. Is that normal?

...

Is it me? ... Thoughts?
Click to expand...
A few points about Internet downloads:

  • The data rate (what most people erroneously call "speed") at various parts of the paths along which the bits you're downloading can vary widely. You're almost never going to be able to download at the full data rate between you and your ISP because the bottleneck is somewhere out in the Internet. And because every download has its own unique circumstances with lots of variables, there's no reliable way to predict what your "download speed" is going be at any given time.
  • Unlike Ethernet, which provides a consistent data rate, Wi-Fi has all sorts of variables that are constantly changing, and constantly affecting your maximum possible data rate between your WAP (often erroneously called a "router") and your Wi-Fi client device. Something as simple as covering the place where the Wi-Fi antenna is with your hand can slow down the data rate substantially. Then there are other devices on your own Wi-Fi network that might be competing for that throughput. Even other people's Wi-Fi radios can be causing unintentional interference on your Wi-Fi channel that affects your own Wi-Fi data rates. If you live in a crowded apartment building, you're likely to have dozens of other Wi-Fi devices (and also Bluetooth, cordless phones etc.) putting out RF energy, and there's nothing you can do about it short of building a Faraday cage around your home.
  • When it comes to browsing, most of the time the one website that you think you're connection to is actually a whole bunch of web servers, most of which are using up your precious data pipeline, CPU power and other resources that belong to you, in order to spy on you for marketeering purposes. Since there can be dozens, sometimes hundreds of separate Internet hosts being called up in the background, making hundreds, sometimes thousands of separate TCP sessions from all over the globe, the simple act of loading a web page has become the #1 thief of your Internet resources. Sadly most people don't even know it's happening to them.
The bottom line is that getting real world performance that's a fraction of the advertised maximum is par for the course. There are some things that you can do on your end to improve performance slightly; just don't expect miracles.
 
In addition to this info, let me also add that some of the variability can be handled by adjusting your WiFi so that it is not overlapping with other signals in your area. WiFi Analyzer is a great app to have for just this case.

Additionally, connection type and router used are going to play a huge role also. That BT on makes a huge difference, and was one of the things I was concerned about since the ASUS uses a single radio for both.

Finally, how many other things are also running will make or break your experience as well....if several apps are fighting for bandwidth, then your browsing will suffer as the OS keeps circulating between apps to get the content that each is trying to access.
 
I have found that disabling Flash on the stock browser fixes a ton of the slowdowns and freezes that were happening to me. Instead of loading the Flash content it has arrows that you can click if you would like to see it. By default the Stock Browser has it enabled.
 
I have noticed that once I set performance mode, it does not "stick" if I reboot the tablet. Setting that mode makes everything on the tablet run better and uses more battery of course.
 
The three modes clock at 1.0 GHz, 1.5 GHz, and 1.7 Ghz. The default is 1.5 GHz. I don't have any problem with that.
 
Unicorn512 said:
I have noticed that once I set performance mode, it does not "stick" if I reboot the tablet. Setting that mode makes everything on the tablet run better and uses more battery of course.
Click to expand...
That's one of those things that we're going to have to put up with and/or put pressure on the vendors to improve. Android devices are a lot like early laptops, except the other way around.

The first laptops were little more than small portable versions of desktop computers. They didn't come with stuff like APM or ACPI because nobody thought about battery life until it became a problem. Likewise, the various operating systems of the time lacked features to support power saving, and different modes for different conditions. Now we have laptops that turn down the power on almost everything, and switch automatically to full performance when an AC power source is detected.

Android was made for the tiniest portable devices, and saving precious battery power was one of the biggest priorities. So it should come as no surprise that Android isn't thinking much about cranking up the power and taking full advantage of increasingly high performing hardware. Hopefully the day will come when ARM-based phones, tablets and netbooks running Android will become at least as widely used as the Apple / Intel / Microsoft (AIM) hegemony that's driving desktops and full-size notebooks. For that to happen, Google and the hardware vendors who sell Android devices will need to work hard to produce a product that's every bit as polished as the AIM competition.

  • If you're an Android product vendor and are reading this, take note and work harder to support netbook users who rarely unplug from the wall, and users like me who carry supplemental battery packs to keep my Android devices topped off in the field. We want all those gigahertz+ cores to scream without having to fumble with some control panel setting first.
  • If you're an Android user who wants to keep that performance mode in place through reboots, get busy and tell your hardware vendor(s) and Google what you want. Be that "squeaky wheel".
  • If you're an Android software engineer, think about being the first to come up with a "killer app" for Android power management. And if you do, make sure that you submit your code for inclusion in the official Android source tree.
There's something that all of us can do, so let's start doing it.
 
I find the above comments most interesting, I too have been very disappointed with the speed of web browsing. I have three browsers installed, default, Chrome and Maxthon and have ICS 4.03 on a Cortex A8 processor.

I have no bluetooth, under 'Developer options' I have 'Force GPU rendering' set.
Under browser setting/Debug I have 'Android' set.
My internet connection is good, on speedtest.net I got a download speed today, at the tablet on wifi, of 28 Mbps.

Sikclown suggest disabling Flash. Where do I do that? It does not appear on 'running Apps'
If I go the the Flash app and run that I have 'local storage' set to 'only sites I visit' and have disabled 'Peer assisted Networking.
I can find 'Java Script' should I disable that?
What other adjustments can I make?

Unicorn512 suggests adjusting 'Performance Mode,' that would suit me at home where power is not a problem, but how and where do I configure that?

I would be pleased the to receive any assistance to help resolve this problem
 
johnlgalt said:
Disable Flash in the browser.
Click to expand...

Yes that was discussed above and I had a query about locating it. There is no mention of flash in Chrome, Maxthon, default Browse or ICS Browser+.

In default Browser and ICS Browser+ which I have just installed all I can find in settings is 'Enable Plugins' which I have set to 'On Demand' but there is no list of plugins that I can find.
All browsers have 'enable Java script' , what is the similarity with 'Flash'?
 
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