So, mobile browsers....

Soldato
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Right, so I've got this N900, and its all a bit "meh" on the whole really, plus lack of MMS is proving an irritation (who'd have thought?!), however the browser on the phone is the dogs dangly bits.

So I was thinking maybe I'll just flog the phone and pick up something else, however is there any phone out there at the minute that have a full desktop browser, like the N900, so you can just use it as you would on your PC, without faffing about with apps for flash and java sites and the like?

Mobile Firefox doesnt count, it doesnt seem to work for Java sites, no mouse cursor to select things in drop down menus!
 
Hmm, well you really need to look at either one of the newer android handsets (not sure which) or one of the WM handsets (specifically the HD2), which may need a custom ROM flash, which isn't that difficult.

Those will essentially provide as full a desktop experience as you can get.
 
Got an android emulator working, so trying them out now. In the standard Android browser is there a way of getting a cursor to show so that you can use "mouse hover" menus, that have sub-selections?

Better if I give an example actually... goto http://www.wowhead.com/. In the Android browser how do you go about selecting for example, Database > Items > Weapons > Bows.

In the N900 one I just drag a cursor onto the screen for mouse hover stuff, how do you get a cursor up in Android?
 
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using a hero I can use the trackball to move around selectable items, I can select database > npcs > humaniods for example but it's a bit tricky. it sometimes flips to the next element it thinks it should select which can be the search box.
 
I use dolphin on my pulse, its not bad, only problem is that images are lowish resolution, the text and anything else is fine.

If I really need to look at a picture/photo/image in good hi-res quality I use opera, but its awful with touch screen, text input, scrolling.
 
Hmm, and the trackball doesn't work on the emulator. Might have a nosy on CPW or something over the weekend then, ask the assistant if I can have a quick fiddle with his equipment.
 
The best browsers are Opera Mini on Android (T-mobile Pulse) , Opera Mobile on symbian (E71) and Skyfire which has flash & silverlight support on Symbian (E71). Those are the 3 I use everyday, personally I like the speed and simplicity of Opera Mobile on my E71 when linked upto HSDPA connection.
 
Opera mini on a pulse is a nightmare.

It doesn't scroll.

A window opens just to try to type text in, then the keyboard opens in that.
 
Opera mini on a pulse is a nightmare.

It doesn't scroll.

A window opens just to try to type text in, then the keyboard opens in that.

It doesn't scroll??? On my Pulse, the page opens and I can scroll up/down with my finger, one tap to zoom etc....

I would uninstall and re-install again to see if that fixes it.
 
Opera mini is kinda crap though, it cant do the mouse-over thing, or play flash in browser, unless I'm mistaken? Might just stick with N900.

Might say I'm fussy, but its the little things that annoy me! :D
 
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When I say scroll, it doesn't keep scrolling when you take your finger off.

With dolphin I can get to the bottom of a page with just one finger sweep.

Opera moves in a more rigid way, its one speed.

Dolphin scrolls depending on how fast you sweep the screen.

I'm typing this on my pulse now.
 
When I say scroll, it doesn't keep scrolling when you take your finger off.

With dolphin I can get to the bottom of a page with just one finger sweep.

Opera moves in a more rigid way, its one speed.

Dolphin scrolls depending on how fast you sweep the screen.

I'm typing this on my pulse now.

I see, I haven't installed the dolphin browser, so I cannot compare the speed and ease of scrolling. At present I am very happy with the Opera Mini 5 beta, but I am hoping the Mobile version will be ported across to Android soon, as I love it on my E71.
 
I didn't realise Android didn't have Opera Mobile!

In which case the HD2 is the best out there at the moment.
 
My dream is to have a browser on my pulse, like dolphin, but with the ability like opera to select the image quality.
 
I think the HTC desire could be the only thing close at the moment. The HD2 uses Windows Mobile (dire and dead OS). The desire has integrated flash, however its rather slow (the flash). Im in a similar situation, the N900 isnt really going anywhere but I cant think of a better alternative and I find Android really dull for some reason, its lack of effective multitasking makes it a no no for me.
 
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