The best web browser?


Ah, cool. I grabbed the version from your archive and it worked fine. You may wanna update Craig's App Store because it has the old version without working HTTPS!
You may want to use these lists to make sure you have the latest versions of everything:


http://pandorawiki.org/Software_projects


http://pandorawiki.org/Emulator_list


http://pandorawiki.org/Games


The Appstore is almost half a year out of date, and a number of programs are out of date on the File Archive as well, or not uploaded there.
 
How much deviation would be needed to install Lynx text browser (http://lynx.isc.org/) on the Pandora? Since it was originally designed Unix/Linux, I would imagine it would be fairly straight forward for the Angstrom distribution?
 
Has anyone tried NetSurf? I use it under RISC OS and I don't think all features are implemented but it's definitely something I'll be investigating when my Pandora arrives.
I tried the framebuffer version a year or two ago. It was very unstable. Besides, it still does not support JavaScript. So a lightweight WebKit-based browser is much more interesting thing IMHO.
There's a top ten browser list at ZDNet, which might be worth a look. While NetSurf isn't near the top, it does say that "it might be one of the faster browsers you will find." Obviously, development resources are a bit of an issue. However, some additional developers take to it, perhaps that could change. Disregarding NetSurf, does anyone care to comment on the order - what do you think?
 
I'm really liking The beta Fierfox 4. Responsive and none of the glitches seen in Midori...including Openpandora official pages!


Edit: Chromium's not bad at all - a good option for anybody who doesn't need Firefox's plugins.


Scrolling seems snappier in Chromium. I'd definitely say we've benefited by browser competition.


Fennec really seems like it's made for a screen only touch interface. I'll have to get used to its interface before I can really give it a fair shake. . . though that alone is a strike against it.


Once I got used to nubs for mousing and the d-pad for moving the screen around - brilliant job on the controls by the way - I really do like using the Pandora as a UMPC or whatever you choose to call such a small laptop.


I may try to do a responsiveness and interface between the three browsers. Already I'd give either Firefox or Chromium the nod above Midori. I'll reserve my opinion on Fennec until I've used it more.
 
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After using Midori, Firefox 4b10 and Chromium, I must say I perfer chromium, it's the only uable on of the three. Firefox is way (way) too slow imo.
 
Too bad Opera is closed-source and can't be made to run on ARM in it's full form; it's the fastest browser I've used aside from Chrome, able to run on a 800MHz Transmeta Crusoe (equivalent to a 400MHz Pentium III) at lightninign speeds, faster than Firefox. Anyone know if Opera Mini is any good?


Edit: I missed the reference to it in my first scan through of the thread, thats too bad to hear about it though... :(
 
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I've tried 4 browsers now (Arora, Midori, Fennec and Chromium) and Fennec wins with a large margin. The UI is just perfect for mobile devices, it runs javascript heavy sites well and I've yet to see it crash. Chromium is second at quite a margin because it's far less polished compared to Fennec although it handles javascript heavy sites much faster (I use OpenLayers a lot). The other two browsers are crap, that's about it.


So I'm in favor of Fennec B)
 
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EvilDragon, I look forward to seeing an update for Midori. I think for a default browser we just need good enough, the arguments over which is best then are left to people to make as personal decisions (though the default homepage on Midori linking directly to the others would help people know there are choices).


As for which is the best, I'm going with our latest build of Firefox. The speed of Chromium is nice, but the occasional crash when doing anything really puts a cramp in that. Finding that Firefox also can support Flash just proves to me that it has everything a web browser I would routinely uses would need.
 
I got my Pandora yesterday. I've messed around a bit with the different browsers. So far, I like Firefox 4.0 beta 10 best. I like it even more since it works great with xmarks and lastpass!
 
tried a few browsers ;


fennec: very nice to use; lots of interesting interface ideas, but incredibly slow and irritatingly sluggish ... also F11 didn't seem to do much


chromium: fast and smooth, muuuuch more than fennec, but can't install exiensions such as adblock on the version i got, too bad...


midori: basic, i'd say slightly inferior to chromion in terms of performance, but does the job
 
Well now that I actually have a Pandora I can have a more valid suggestion. I underestimated the usefulness of the nubs and ABXY with browsing, I don't really feel the need to use Fennec or the touchscreen in general.


So far my favorite is FF4 Beta 10 but I haven't really bothered using the other ones. Installed Adblock Plus and Flashblock just like on any of my desktop computers and went at it. I don't see a reason to bother with anything else.
 
I'd like to see a recent Midori (maybe even 0.3.0, although that may or may not be unstable).
 
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