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I think I mostly agree with the OP. The browser isn't as great as people make out. I think it's OK, but here are my gripes:
- Navigating long webpages is impractical because of a lack of search and the lack of a secondary way to scroll. (Try loading a very long webpage like those when viewing the contents of a group on easynews and scrolling to the bottom, your finger will start to ache with the amount of swiping - on the Android stock browser you can grab a handle on the right side of the screen and use that to scroll elsewhere on the page)
- Speed of the browser is quite slow. I think this has become more of a problem recently. I swear the OS1 browser was quicker, but maybe that's just my rose-tinted specs.
- Opening links is painful. Again, I swear this is worse in OS2. On some websites I have to tap the out of hyperlinks to get them to load.
- Flash doesn't seem stable. I have to refresh the page quite often to get videos to play on 4OD or Demand 5 (UK TV streaming websites) as it will inevitably freeze after commercials have been inserted into the stream. This isn't a problem on my PC.
It makes me chortle a bit when people make a big deal of having flash support, because most websites seem to have stopped using Flash so much or have workarounds for the ipad. Just a couple of weeks ago my wife squealed with delight when the BBC news website started providing their videos through an alternate method to her ipad. She rarely complains that websites won't work because of Flash, and those few that still use it (Argos is the only one that springs to mind) have apps available anyway.
Apart from those gripes, I think the browser is pretty cool. Since the last firmware it's been pretty robust (the firmware before it crashed randomly) and it seems to load most websites without error. Here's hoping further releases fix the things above and add a function to remember usernames and passwords!
06-25-12 07:07 AM - I think they would have sold a lot more pb's if they ran os7 (my opinion), then offered pbos as an upgrade when it was fully baked.in my opinion playbook would have been better accepted (and got more usable apps) if it runs OS7.1
current QNX experience is still inconsistent; applications are not well written; similar experience as in WP ( i bought Nokia Lumia 900 a week ago). WP is even worse because the marketplace doesn't work in many countries.
quality wise, there is no way we can compare qnx applications vs android or ios; its a completely different ballpark, completely different ballgame.
as far as the interface and UI experience, playbook does not really ring any new experience since i have had webos devices (pixy et al), meego (nokia n9500 developer edition), WP(lumia 900), android (droid bionic), ios (ipad) and of course BB (9900 and PB 64gb).
For other people it may be fascinating, confusing or just downright difficult.
the browser is indeed dissapointing. most of the time its just closes..i get tired of clearing caches and whatnots. even the super-adjustable-complex-multiple setting android phones or tablet does not need me to clear caches. its so windows 98
06-25-12 07:26 AM - I don't know how the iPad file transfering works, but I take the feature for granted. Definiyely not heaven-sent. As far as I remember all mobile platforms I've used had USB mass storage mode.A POS? No, I dont think so.
I just got an Ipad 3 quite literally 2 hours ago (was required by work
) and in the first 30 minutes of use, I'm about ready to huck the thing on the ground, stomp on it, and then light it on fire. This will sum of my thoughts:
I want to go to Zen Studios website at Zen Pinball 2 only to be told that the entire site is a flash site so it's not viewable on via Safaria. Next, I want to go to the forums on Zen Studios to read some comments about some of their products only to load the forums and then receive a message saying that it's recommended to download a special "Ipad app" that will allow for easier viewing of the forums. Is the app free? Of course not, it costs money.
So then I go to CTV news website and want to view some of the videos of the news of the day - nope, cant do that via Safaira. Aha you say! There's an app for that. Well, it's free, but then I read the reviews and the words "horrible", "useless" "disgusting" and "embarrassment" comprise almost every review of CTV's official app.
Oh, as to the Playbook; none of these problems exist - the websites just load as they are meant to.
Oh, and as an aside, the ability to simply plug in the Playbook to a computer with the computer seeing iti as a hard drive and not requiring any other special software in order to move files to it is in one word - heaven-sent. Never have I appreciated that more than now - utterly unbelievable what one has to do to get files onto the Ipad.
Playbook rocks!
As for the PB browser, it's OK in terms of performance. A little slow with a lot of checkerboarding, but OK. However, feature-wise it is a joke compared to e.g. Dolphin. I don't know what folks at RIM have been thinking when they designed a web browser without virtually any standard and basic functionality/features. It just feels so 1990s when you use the PB browser and for example try to find a word on a page or organizebor sync your bookmarks.06-25-12 08:03 AM - Yep taking time like all new OS's do. Yep also to we don't know either way. For all we do know android could self destruct due to viruses and malware and iOS could too. But as you said we don't know. I think other much more mature platforms have problems worse than bookmark management.
Yep it ain't perfect and neither am I but we both work.
06-25-12 08:33 AM - I would def take it up to your company and tell them that they made you buy the ipad and it cant even do what you are supposed to do with it. I would have thought that a company like Zen Studios would have known that their site uses flash and not tell employees to get ipads. or at least they should pay for the app.
A POS? No, I dont think so.
I just got an Ipad 3 quite literally 2 hours ago (was required by work ) and in the first 30 minutes of use, I'm about ready to huck the thing on the ground, stomp on it, and then light it on fire. This will sum of my thoughts:
I want to go to Zen Studios website at Zen Pinball 2 only to be told that the entire site is a flash site so it's not viewable on via Safaria. Next, I want to go to the forums on Zen Studios to read some comments about some of their products only to load the forums and then receive a message saying that it's recommended to download a special "Ipad app" that will allow for easier viewing of the forums. Is the app free? Of course not, it costs money.
So then I go to CTV news website and want to view some of the videos of the news of the day - nope, cant do that via Safaira. Aha you say! There's an app for that. Well, it's free, but then I read the reviews and the words "horrible", "useless" "disgusting" and "embarrassment" comprise almost every review of CTV's official app.
Oh, as to the Playbook; none of these problems exist - the websites just load as they are meant to.
Oh, and as an aside, the ability to simply plug in the Playbook to a computer with the computer seeing it as a hard drive and not requiring any other special software in order to move files to it is in one word - heaven-sent. Never have I appreciated that more than now - utterly unbelievable what one has to do to get files onto the Ipad.
Playbook rocks!06-25-12 08:43 AM - Don't quite see the connection between development of basic browser functionality and developing BB10. The two development processes don't have to be mutually exclusive after all. And no, bookmark management is far from being the only problem that the PB has, unfortunately.Yep taking time like all new OS's do. Yep also to we don't know either way. For all we do know android could self destruct due to viruses and malware and iOS could too. But as you said we don't know. I think other much more mature platforms have problems worse than bookmark management.
Yep it ain't perfect and neither am I but we both work.06-25-12 08:56 AM
