A new mobile browser: Iris Browser

Posted by Tyler on Aug 12, 2008

closeThis post was published 1 year 5 months 29 days ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.

So quite a few mobile browsers are now in the running.  Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Skyfire, MiniMo, and Pocket IE.  Well now a new browser is coming into the running, by sshot003the name of Iris.

Iris is currently in a technical preview but is free for non-commercial use, and hopefully will stay that way.  However, I’ve used quite a few mobile browsers and Iris is already working it’s way into my favorite of the bunch.

Iris uses the open source WebKit rendering toolkit (what Safari uses), and I found it to be extremely accurate (screenshots included).  Plus, best yet, it was fast.  It didn’t have a lot of the hang time inherent to other mobile browsers, it was very fast and efficient at doing what it did.  More after the break.

Iris also has a ton of excellent features.  From browser tabs to a neat fade-in/fade-out sshot006feature when you’re moving from webpage to webpage, it helps make a seamless transition from web page to web page.

Plus it supports both a mobile mode and a desktop mode which render like you would expect them to (one renders a mobile website version if it’s available and the other renders the desktop version).  Even the desktop version which is typically encumbered by a lot of graphics was quite fast and very accurate in rendering (see screenshot on the right).  Keep in mind though that downloading all of those pictures over EDGE or even HSDPA does take some time however.

A really nice feature for us Tilt users is the seamless landscape/portrait modes which sshot004 allow switching between the two screen modes of our Tilt pretty seamlessly and unannoyingly.

And finally, one of the cooler features I thought was the enhanced tabbed browsing.  It really helped in rapid multitasking and also made things a whole world of a lot more convenient.

All in all I really liked this browser.  It was very efficient at what it did, and packed full of features.  It’s probably going to become my primary browser, and best yet, it’s free.  Be sure to check it out and grab a copy while you can, provided it’s not for commercial use.

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Tyler (30 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook


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  • Lorraine
    I must be brain cramping because I could not install it. I even downloaded it twice and it still won't install. I tap the cab file and it just starts to install and then pops up the message "Installation of iris-browser-1.0.13.cab was unsuccessful. I am installing on a Tilt with SPB Mobile Shell.
  • ryan
    I have been using iris since the first beta, but I doubt many people will like this program. It does render pages properly but the interface sucks and it is slow.
  • Eric
    Skyfire is much faster and the overview screen that keeps popping up in the bottom right corner bugs, BUT this is a very cool browser and the ONLY one that allowed me to use drop down menus on sites like NetFlix or MySpace. Skyfire and Opera don't do that.
  • Jason in Charlotte
    I tried the Iris browser yesterday(8/12) after reading the post. Personally, i didn't like it and removed it later in the evening. I just couldn't get comfortable with it. The menu setups were not what i was use to i suppose. It looked cool and was semi-fast. I use Opera mini, and basic Internet Explorer. Depending on the type of surfing I'm gonna be doing. Sorry.
  • Ronnie
    Works great and it's very user friendly, can't wait to see the finished product. I find Skyfire much quicker on my HSDPA connection so I will stick to it, but the Iris browser is definetly worth keeping an eye out for, great find.
  • coach38n
    Been using it for about 8 monnths. it works great. (sorry for holding out)
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