A couple of very specific questions...

[MRW1215]

I don't have my smart phone yet, but I've never used Android before, so I have a couple of, well, very specific questions.

Let's start with the easier one. What's the stock browser for Android? Would it be safe to assume it's Google Chrome? If so, does it support add-ons, like the Chrome browser you can download for your computer? Or is it not capable of that, being that it's a "mobile" version?

Other question. It's probably easier to actually give an example, so that the question makes sense. Sometimes when I watch YouTube videos on my computer, I pause them before they start, let them load up completely, and then watch them. While I let them load up, I'll switch to different programs to play around with while the browser stays in the background. Is this possible on Android? Could I go to a video site like that, let a video start loading up, but then play around with other apps while it continues to load in the background? Or will me switching away from the video cause it's progression to stop until I come back to it? Does that make sense, or have I made it sound too confusing?

 

[jimdroid]

The stock browser is not based on Chrome. It's a webkit browser, very similar to the iPhone browser. Fortunately, you have lots and lots of choices on Android when it comes to browsers, among them (in no particular order): Dolphin HD, Dolphin Mini, Opera Mobile, Opera Mini, Firefox Mobile, xScope, Miren, Skyfire. All have various strengths and weaknesses. All of them also have a free version.

Some are expandable (Dolphin, for example), some are not, some are themable, some are not. I switch browsers every few months. My two main browsers currently are Dolphin HD and xScope.

I don't think the YouTube app works as you describe. It starts streaming the video and buffers, but when I switch to another app and then go back to YouTube, it restarts the video from the beginning. I'm not sure about other video apps, as I don't use any. I'm sure someone else can fill you in on this.

Welcome to Android - you'll have a blast!

jd

 

[MRW1215]

What about a video that's loading from within the web browser? For instance, if I'm watching something on Megavideo (which I don't believe currently has its own app out, yet) via the browser. Can I "minimize" the browser, while the video keeps loading, play around with other apps, and then come back to the video when it's done?