The Google Android Browser is the most powerful mobile browser I have used, but it is far from perfect. Some fanboys refuse to complain about their phone, but I like making lists I think should be improved upon. It is also nice to look back at these complains when new releases come out to see which things were addressed. By continuing the discussion we can move the platform forward.
1. Control Over the Browser Cache. With the limited internal storage space on the G1, most users have noticed the large amount of space the Browser application can take up. I learned the hard way, that when you go to clear data, it also wipes out your bookmarks. Android users with root access can move the cache to their SD card and I think Google should allow us that option.
Taking up space..
2. Management of Bookmarks. Most of the Google services offered for Android are automatically backed up online. Why is it then that we can not backup our bookmarks? This would allow us to easily transfer favs between our PC and phone and allow us to share them with contacts. I would also like to see a better way to manage your backups. You should be able to create folders and arrange them.
3. Multitouch Support. I don’t care about reports that Apple nixed the multitouch feature. It is a feature that users want and needs to be turned on. Currently people who hacked their phone(root users) have the ability to try out the feature. I’m am running one of JF’s builds with the feature turned on and I find it useful. There are many times when the little plus/minus will not do and its easy to pinch and pull to zoom.
4. Autorotate. It is annoying having to make 3 clicks to flip screen orientation. I don’t see how this feature was left off. Alternative browsers have the option and there are tools like Droidsans which allow you to turn it on.
5. More YouTube Options – So it might not be till 2010 when we finally see Adobe release Flash 10 for Android, but we can still play Youtube movies inside the browser. There are other apps to allow this as well as download YouTube clips to your phone. Make those features standard.
I'm starting to like Steel
6. Upload Support – Opera Mini supports this feature. Is there some reason the Android browser does not?
7. Touch Shortcuts – I want to see more innovation with the touch and gesture controls. Steel is doing some interesting things with their control options. I want to use more gesture motions to jump to the bottom of a page even reload the current page.
What else would you like to see in future updates to the Android Browser? Would you like to submit your own lists of complaints about anything Android related? Contact us and we may publish your entry.
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Taylor Wimberly
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He loves playing with all kinds of gadgets, but most importantly cell phones. His other hobbies include cooking (BBQ hero!), politics, football, and watching every MMA event possible.
10 Comments
The cache removing your bookmarks can be pretty annoying. I personally use Steel for the touchscreen keyboard and the overall usability. To me it seems closer to a desktop replacement browser than “ChromeLite”
Absolutely needs some SD card access for cache and other savings options, especially with the minuscule internal memory of the G1.
Although to be fair I am impressed with the speed of the Webkit browser.
,Michael Martin
http://www.googleandblog.com/
Having used an iPhone 3G before, now using an HTC Magic (with Cupcake) and switching to a G1, i was shocked how slow the browser renders and how sluggish it is to zoom and scroll. C’mon, Google has Chrome – currently the fastest browser available – and they can’t get things running smoothly on Android? A pity they didn’t fix things in Cupcake
I like most of the functions of my brand new HTC Magic, but the browser can not handle all URL addresses which Explorer and FireFox, on regular computers can.
For example one of my most important Web sites;
www. poseidon.hcmr.gr
does not work properly.
This is an very important weather forecasting site in the Mediterranean seas. The most annoying thing with the android browser in my HTC is that the mentioned weather forecast site do functions sometimes, let us say one of ten trials leads to a weather forecast!!??
I do not understand why? I keep on trying……. It should have been a more simple case for me if the browser never succeeded, ( may be due to a too complex multiple frame site) But ,as long it works one out of ten, it is difficult for me to give up. I need this service when sailing in Greece.
I guess that there are other URL:s with the same kind of complexity like “Poseidon” that do not work with the Android Browser ?! Will there be any updates in a near future? Elsewhere I have to get myself a mobile phone that can handle all kinds of URL:s
Regards Martin Bursell
I actually think the Android browser is rubbish. The browser on my 2003 Symbian phone is way better – that browser was incidentally based on Opera.
One of the most annoying things I find with the current Android browser is a complete failure to use cache properly. If I’ve been using another program and switch back to the browser, every page insists on reloading itself. Given the spotty availabilty of GPRS in the UK, this can make what should be a quick look at a previously opened page take several minutes.
It’s rubbish and does not make you look or feel cool. Every page should be kept cached when the browser is minimised, and pages should not be reloaded unless you actively tell it to. Going back in your history should also just take a blink of an eye, if only thre browser were able to use caching intelligently.
I would also expect much better (if not complete) Javascript support on such a high spec device as an Android phone.
Another usability failure of the browser is the poor management of multiple windows. It should be possible to quickly tab through all the currently open windows with a single key or gesture.
Whenever I try to access q website that requires a login, I get an error saying that I’m trying to run multiple instances/sessions even when I had signed out and closed/”killed” the browser. Major annoyance when trying to access my school’s blackboard or my for webmail.
What Xavier said
It needs three major things.: first it needs bookmark folders… what web browser doesn’t have this? Second is bookmark sync, chrome does this and it would be a brilliant thing to have. IPhone safari wouldn’t be able to touch the android browser at this point. Last is restore of previous open pages. Safari does it as does chrome browser.
I personally don’t care about multi touch. I used it twice on cm’s build but I used the double tap/triple tap a lot. And I’m not sure what this is about the screen rotation. Mine does it fine.
It won’t let me go on the website how com