Web Browsing And Android

What Web Browser Does Android Ship With?

The Android web browser isn’t much to look at, with only an address bar at the top of the screen, but it’s lightning fast and will display pretty much anything you can throw at it. Press the Menu button for more options.

The Stock Android Browser

The stock Android browser is based on the same open-source WebKit engine as used by Google’s Chrome browser. It’s pretty snappy for general use, but if you require more advanced web-browsing features, like native bookmark syncing, check out Dolphin or Opera Mini, both available for free from the Android Market-. There’s also a mobile browser in the works (code-named Fennec) from Mozilla.org, developers of the popular Firefox browser. It’s currently still at the testing stage but a final release should be available soon.

 

 

Web Browsing And Android Devices – Some Web Browsing Speed Factors

Does My Phone Offer Fast Internet Access?

If you’re within range of a Wi-Fi network, as found in homes, offices and cafés, and across some entire cities, then your Internet access will typically be pretty speedy; not quite as fast as with a top-end Mac or PC, but not a long way off. If, on the other hand, you’re out and about, away from any accessible Wi-Fl networks – walking down the street, say, or sitting on a bus – then you’ll need to use a mobile network connection (3G or EDGE) to access the web. A 3G connection won’t be as impressive as that experienced over Wi-Fi, but it should be good enough.

Another factor to consider when out and about is your own speed of travel. If you’re on a train or in a moving car, you might find that your phone’s connection speed is slower than when you’re stationary. This is because it’s having to accommodate a constantly shifting relationship to the nearby signal masts that it’s connecting with, making it hard to maintain a constant and coherent stream of data to and from the Internet.

 

Will All Websites Work In Android?

Android’s built-in web browser supports Flash and HTML5, so in terms of the kinds of content you can view (YouTube .com for example), you’ll find that your web experience is pretty much equivalent to that of a desktop computer, albeit a bit smaller.

YouTube in full-screen mode within Android’s built-in browser. Flash content plays in much the same way as you’d expect from a computer browser.

 

Will I be Able To Use The BBC iPlayer?

The BBC has put in a lot of work to ensure their iPlayer service is compatible with Android devices. If your Android Phone is running 2.2 or later – and you live in the UK – you’ll have no problems accessing iPlayer, or indeed any other Flash-based web content, but you’ll need to grab the Adobe Flash 10.1 player from the Android Market if it’s not already installed. Phones with older versions of the platform should download the myPlayer app instead to get around any potential lack of Flash support. You’ll need a decent Wi-Fi connection to handle the amount of streaming data with your Android Phone.