xScope, a multitouch pinch zoom browser

[xScope]

Spent 2 weeks poking around Android SDKs and sacrificed last two weekends and finally managed to get a relatively stable version today. Named 'xScope', I did put a $2.99 price tag tough if you please excuse me. I need to buy a bird for this thanksgiving and wife kept bashing my development effort for not doing any housework in the past weeks. The browser is not full blown but works great for simple surfing. Happy holidays and have fun!

 

[demarco5]

what do you mean by not full blown

 

[xScope]

It doesn't have many options. The only option you have right now is setting a home page, where you can set favorite links. I am going to shoot a video on how it works. Thanks

what do you mean by not full blown

 

[xScope]

YouTube - xScopeZoomDemo.wmv

 

[xScope]

New Update:
1. Added customizable home page and most recent histories.
2. Video support.
Please note: it does NOT collect any user data, nor using any third party servers. The pinch-zoom is truly gradually scaled.

 

[bobohood]

Is the new update, the version up right now on Android market?

 

[xScope]

Yes. Search xScope.
The pinch-zoom functionality should be the best so far (11/29/2009) in the current android market. Other products in the market zoom either 1.25 or 0.8 from center of your screen (same as default zoom buttons). xScope zooms from the middle of your two spots and scales smoothly based on the finger span.
With the 24 Hours return policy, you can always download and try first. If not satisfied, return and get 100% refund with a click a button.

Is the new update, the version up right now on Android market?

 

[xScope]

A Lite version has been released as free app.

 

[xScope]

New video:
YouTube - xScope browser - 3 ways to zoom

 

[lumnative]

try the Dolphin Browser, it is a full version & free. I've been using it for a week now and love it. There is so much more you can do with it than the default browser. Pinch zoom works great!

 

[iamkewl]

try the Dolphin Browser, it is a full version & free. I've been using it for a week now and love it. There is so much more you can do with it than the default browser. Pinch zoom works great!

Way to take over the devs thread...

On the actual topic.. xscope is nice man! bought it and use it regularly.

 

[Dragoro]

That does look pretty nice

 

[lekky]

Spent 2 weeks poking around Android SDKs and sacrificed last two weekends and finally managed to get a relatively stable version today. Named 'xScope', I did put a $2.99 price tag tough if you please excuse me. I need to buy a bird for this thanksgiving and wife kept bashing my development effort for not doing any housework in the past weeks. The browser is not full blown but works great for simple surfing. Happy holidays and have fun!

Lol, nice. Will take advantage of the trial to give this a go now.

Edit, is it still on the market, if so any chance of a QR code as I can't find it.

 

[Droidn00b]

This looks like a great app! I'll be giving it a try and will probably buy it if it works as well as your videos show. Thanks!

 

[xScope]

12/15 update:
New GUI (forward and favorite buttons are included);
More robust zoom.
This is a transitional update. Tab support is coming soon on the next update.
Thank you for your support.

 

[glentendo]

fantastic browser! loads pages faster than the default browser.

Ive noticed on my droid's keyboard, hitting enter/return after entering text in the address bar, tabs down the page. Is this on purpose?

Thanks

 

[vincentp]

I'll give it a shot and let you know what I think. I tried Dolphin's pinch zoom and was totally unimpressed. If you've managed to make it work effectively I may be willing to switch from the default browser for certain things. I'm not a big fan of pinch zoom for all purposes and websites, but if it works well, what the hell.

 

[phwaap]

This shows a lot of promise. The pinch zoom is flawless and seems to be pretty snappy loading pages. Is this the only browser that hides the home notification bar? The default browser and dolphin don't seem to by default at least.

Frankly I'd like to be able to quickly slide the browser notification bar in and out as well to use as much screen real estate as possible. I keep hoping for some sort of transparent overlay with the standard browser commands, e.g. back, forward, home, bookmark, refresh, stop, new tab, that would otherwise be hidden.

When I type in a URL and hit the arrow it always goes to google? I don't quite get that. Is there some other way to go to a URL directly besides the home page?

Anyhow, I hope you continue to make this more robust.

What's the list of features the full version has that Lite doesn't?

 

[xScope]

Thanks glentendo.
There is an update to solve it at about 3:00PM. You probably need to search with a different keyword, such as 'xscope zoom', to clear android market's cache to get newer version.
Tabs should be hidden at this point because they are not fully implemented yet. The reason behind having tabs is that sometime we just need to open links in new windows.

fantastic browser! loads pages faster than the default browser.

Ive noticed on my droid's keyboard, hitting enter/return after entering text in the address bar, tabs down the page. Is this on purpose?

Thanks

 

[xScope]

It is indeed tough to decide on what to show in a so small screen. I like your ideas of handling notifications. I will think about how to implement it.
The browser tries to mimic google's Chrome, where you can simply type in some keywords in the textbox and let google handle the rest of it. I need to work on a good parser to recognize URLs to directly visit.
Full version allows more histories and bookmarks right now. There will be more features for the full version, such as tabs.

This shows a lot of promise. The pinch zoom is flawless and seems to be pretty snappy loading pages. Is this the only browser that hides the home notification bar? The default browser and dolphin don't seem to by default at least.

Frankly I'd like to be able to quickly slide the browser notification bar in and out as well to use as much screen real estate as possible. I keep hoping for some sort of transparent overlay with the standard browser commands, e.g. back, forward, home, bookmark, refresh, stop, new tab, that would otherwise be hidden.

When I type in a URL and hit the arrow it always goes to google? I don't quite get that. Is there some other way to go to a URL directly besides the home page?

Anyhow, I hope you continue to make this more robust.

What's the list of features the full version has that Lite doesn't?

 

[xScope]

Have you tried 'Pin Zoom'? Basically, with one finger, 1. tap the screen, 2. quickly press the same spot second time only not to release it, 3. drag/sweep right to zoom in and left to zoom out. I find it very convenient.

I'll give it a shot and let you know what I think. I tried Dolphin's pinch zoom and was totally unimpressed. If you've managed to make it work effectively I may be willing to switch from the default browser for certain things. I'm not a big fan of pinch zoom for all purposes and websites, but if it works well, what the hell.

 

[glentendo]

I would also love to see something like this, maybe instead of a transparent overlay, magnified glass button could be used to put the browser in "fullscreen mode" much like pressing F11 on modern browsers.

Frankly I'd like to be able to quickly slide the browser notification bar in and out as well to use as much screen real estate as possible. I keep hoping for some sort of transparent overlay with the standard browser commands, e.g. back, forward, home, bookmark, refresh, stop, new tab, that would otherwise be hidden.

 

[xScope]

Great idea! Something in the right corner to either make it full-screen or windowed. Thanks guys!

I would also love to see something like this, maybe instead of a transparent overlay, magnified glass button could be used to put the browser in "fullscreen mode" much like pressing F11 on modern browsers.

 

[lekky]

Do you have a QR code, I can't find it, unless its not available to the UK

 

[phwaap]

I would also love to see something like this, maybe instead of a transparent overlay, magnified glass button could be used to put the browser in "fullscreen mode" much like pressing F11 on modern browsers.

What got me to thinking about this was how it covers the notification bar (which I like.) Exactly like F11. What would be useful in that mode would be to have the nav buttons easily fade in or out without switching modes. Something like the default picture Gallery does. Or perhaps (forgive me for mentioning a competitor xScope) a small corner button like dolphin that could be pressed/swiped out and, instead of gestures, just buttons and maybe the location box that would disappear when clicked.

Just tossing some stuff out there.