Mobility Site » mobile browser

Robbie Bach Introduces Windows Phone

Jack Cook — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:07:41 +0000

Here is a video shown during Robbie Bach’s opening remarks at the Microsoft E&D Open House, 2009

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

NetFront v3.5 Mobile Browser

Marilyn Torres — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 21:06:49 +0000

Finally, after a speedy install, I have NetFront v3.5 on my Tilt! Not that I had any issues with the install whatsoever, although the size of the CAB had me worried.

While there’s no tabbed browsing in NetFront, this app has nearly the most settings of any mobile browser aside from the new Opera Mobile. New windows are available and a user can flip back and forth between windows through a separate “Window” sub-menu. There are also many ways to customize the browsing experience in NetFront, be it text-only, without images, et cetera, so even the oldest compatible smartphone can surf the interwebs comfortably. Even with all settings on full blaster, NetFront handles images and embedded Flash elements like a trooper, although I couldn’t get YouTube videos to load.

(...) Read the rest of NetFront v3.5 Mobile Browser (151 words)

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

SkyFire Software Update

Marilyn Torres — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:24:16 +0000

A small upgrade has been made by the SkyFire team to their 1.0 release of the mobile browser this week. The most significant improvement of the browser, now at version 1.0.0.12113 for Windows Mobile touch and non-touch handsets with a newer version for our Symbian kindred, is a reduced memory footprint. For those of us with handsets that are showing their age via lack of capacity, the SkyFire team has streamlined their browser to eliminate those pesky low memory errors.

I’m also ecstatic over reconnections being more reliable! Even after browser runs in the background for a while, the moment I switch back to SkyFire it has reconnected to that same site instantly. It beats the beta version where the browser would return to the SkyFire homepage after an accidental disconnect.

The zoom buttons disappearing and reappearing in a timely fashion was never a stand-out issue for me, but I’m glad that the general 1.0 release fixed the navigation buttons hanging out in the top right corner even when they shouldn’t be. Plus, SkyFire is now more reliable in maintaining the all-haloed Default Browser spot on my handset. No more accidental sojourns with Pocket Internet Explorer. Sorry Microsoft.

Download the latest version of SkyFire here: http://get.skyfire.com

More information on the upgrade can be found at the SkyFire.com blog.

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

Iris Mobile Browser v1.1.8: A Review

Marilyn Torres — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:23:55 +0000

A big thank you to @gigajosh for the recommendation on NetFront mobile browser from Access Company because it’s how I found the Iris mobile browser by Torch Mobile. While I will review NetFront before the end of its beta phase, but for now, I’ll dive into Iris.

For an installation file larger than SkyFire 1.0, clocking in at 3.35 MB versus SkyFire’s 679 KB, Iris v1.1.8 was a quick install on my AT&T Tilt running WinMo 6.1. After opening faster than any other mobile browser I’ve used, I was ecstatic to find out that the tabbed browsing in Iris is quick and responsive! Iris gives the user full control over tabs and doesn’t open tabs automatically in the background, thank goodness. There’s even an overall view of all currently open tabs where I was able to quickly flip back and forth between tabs much like the “Cover Flow” view in iTunes but on a much smaller scale. The browser history is displayed in the same way.

(...) Read the rest of Iris Mobile Browser v1.1.8: A Review (223 words)

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

Fennec Mobile Browser: Down the Fox Hole

Marilyn Torres — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:28:26 +0000

Mozilla’s Firefox is the only browser I use at home. Stable, tabbed browsing enabled, and rich with add-on options, so I was expecting similar functionality and stability from Fennec on my WinMo 6.1 handset. After the initial install from a 9.09 MB file, the browser took a minute or two longer to load the first time, but then the Fennec start page loaded fast enough. This is the largest installation file yet, compared to SkyFire 1.0 at 679 KB and Opera Mobile 9.7 at 4.65 MB, and I bet it needs an equal amount of elbow room to run.

The browsing interface didn’t look too flattering on my AT&T Tilt’s 2.3-inch by 4.4-inch screen. The auto-hiding address bar displayed in about one-third of the screen, which didn’t leave a lot of browsing area. Thankfully, once I made it to my Hotmail account the address bar hid just as soon as I started to point-and-draft along the page.

Fennec handles tabbed browsing in an interesting way via thumbnails listed on the far left-hand side of the screen, but I these tabs opened themselves automatically with every new link I clicked on during browsing. I couldn’t find the settings button to actually explore my options, but I’m hoping the auto-opening tabs can be disabled. There’s probably no easier way to eat up memory on a handset faster than having separate tabs open in the background like in Opera Mobile 9.7.

The right-hand side is reserved for the forward, back, and bookmarking buttons, although I wasn’t able to find the settings menu. Swiping to hide or show either panel on the left or right side was a little awkward, especially while swiping around a webpage.

Actual web browsing went smoothly from Hotmail to Gmail to YouTube, all loaded within seconds through AT&T HSPDA speeds. Gmail and YouTube both loaded in mobile view, but that’s something that could easily be changed at the bottom of the main page of each site. The tricky part was entering log-in information on any site; double-tapping on my screen would either bring me too close to text fields or not close enough. This also hindered searching of any Fennec add-ons.

This is a respectable Alpha release of Fennec, although I’m looking forward to future improvements. The ability to disable or limit tabbed browsing, resizing navigation bars, and more exact control of zooming in and out would be ideal. For now, I think I’ll stick with SkyFire until Fennec’s next evolution.

Try the Mozilla’s Fennec Alpha 1 release here.

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

Skyfire … try it, you will like it!

Jack Cook — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:04:08 +0000

I’m sure you have heard of Skyfire and I’ll bet many of you have already tried an initial beta. I saw today that there was another beta that has been released and according to jkOnTheRun, Skyfire promises no waiting to get invited to this beta version.

So give it a try …. I have and I have liked it Skyfire is only supported in the US on Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms and you need a Windows Mobile (5 or 6), or a Nokia N or E series (3rd edition) phone.

Check out Skyfire and Register here

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

Iris, it’s not just a flower

Jack Cook — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:29:50 +0000

The Iris Browser is an alternate choice for a mobile browser that you might like to try. It comes with a built in screen capture tool, a virtual mouse that mimics a desktop mouse, has support for devices with rotating screens, and a built in pop-up blocker. Iris has support for advanced HTML and CSS, as well as multiple windows and tabbed browsing. Iris has support for full screen browsing with movement around the web page via zoom and tap functionality.

This is a preview release and is a free download for Windows Mobile 5 and 6.

Torch Mobile

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

Windows Mobile and Opera Mobile 9.5

Jack Cook — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:37:54 +0000

Matt Miller has a neat article that you might want to read where he talks about WIndows Mobile and the new Opera Mobile browser. Part of Matt’s discussion is his use of a mobile device and his need for web browsing. His biggest issue up to now has been the been the limitations you see with these browsers. In particular, he said the iPhone had the best for strictly browsing, but (there is always a BUT) it didn’t allow you to do much else (copy, paste, save, etc.). That could be reason #31 …

IMHO, Opera Mobile 9.5 is even better than the iPhone’s Safari browser because I can perform functions like text selection, copy and paste, manage passwords, and save or send images from a web page. The only pages that found incompatible so far are Google Docs. I was able to view spreadsheets in Google Docs, but not word processing documents. I could not edit either though, but since I don’t use Google Docs very much it isn’t a concern for me. One major improvement is that I can now access the custom WordPress ZDNet blog management page. With Opera Mobile 9.5 and the HTC Advantage I can perform blogging on the go with a single ultra mobile device.

Read the full article here at The Mobile Gadgeteer

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!

Opera Mini – A Free mobile Web browser for your phone

Jack Cook — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:35:02 +0000

Opera Mini just keeps getting better and they want you to try it … and it’s free!

Opera Mini enables you to take your full Web experience to your phone. Stay in touch with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, get your e-mail on the go, do your online banking. There are no limits — Opera Mini is the quick, easy and secure way to get any Web page you want. Take a moment and watch this video to get a little more understanding about Opera Mini 4.1

To download Opera Mini directly to your phone, please visit operamini.com using your existing phone’s Web browser or click this link to find out more about Opera Mini – Free mobile Web browser for your phone

---
Related Articles at Mobility Site:

If you like what you are reading, please consider clicking one of the social networking icons to share the link love. Try a RT by clicking the Twitter icon above. Thanks for reading Mobilitysite!