New Dolphin Browser: Better or Worse

[pinesal]

You guys convinced me to try it out, and I do enjoy it alot better then the old dolphin browser, the speed is very quick. The only thing I wish it had like the milestone browser has is that it recognizes both pinch/zoom and double tap

Dolphin does have touble tap. But on Dolphin, it's triple tap.

 

[Thoraldus]

just downloaded and tried it out. its better. but i still won't use it.

really do not like pinch and zoom and i need to be able to open links in new tabs.

Other options ...

Press and hold the link of interest - Select LINK - Select Open In New Tab

Menu - Settings - check mark Show Original Zoom Buttons

Press and hold on page - Select ZOOM- or ZOOM+

 

[smacinskyjr]

I have been using xScope. If you haven't used pinch zoom, you don't know what you are missing. Developer is also super responsive to user base. IMHO, this is what the default browser should be.

+1

 

[Thoraldus]

Dolphin does have touble tap. But on Dolphin, it's triple tap.

Hah! Great stuff - missed that one. Thanks!

 

[Mayze]

I tried it but I still prefer xScope. Dolphins new UI is flashier and the pinch to zoom seems better but I've gotten so used to using xScope's pin zoom I can't go back.

 

[Thoraldus]

I have been using xScope. If you haven't used pinch zoom, you don't know what you are missing. Developer is also super responsive to user base. IMHO, this is what the default browser should be.

tried Xscope - crash and burn - uninstalled. End of Story.

 

[smacinskyjr]

I had been using the older version of dolphin exclusively until about a week ago. Then I decided to use xscope after reading how good it was. Worked pretty well until I changed it to my default browser. That wasn't a good move.

Everything went okay for about a day, then this morning I was viewing a page when all of a sudden the screen went unstable. I tried to exit, tried to shut down the phone and finally had to pull the battery TWICE. I've only had two battery pulls since getting my Droid Nov. 9th. I immediately returned to Dolphin.

When I read this post earlier I looked for the update and installed it. I've been using it since. It appears as fast as xscope now and hopefully without the drama.

i've been using xscope since it first came out and have not had a single problem with it. i have enjoyed watching it flourish and the developer is always up for advice and he actually listend to us. i find it hard to blame xscope alone for your issues. there must be something more involved than xscope if you are the only one with the problem or certainly in the very small minority.

 

[iPhone2Droid]

sh0ebox, thanks!

messenger13: Wasn't important enough to pursue further. For the past few weeks, I tend to be more partial to xScope.

Snarkier remarks: No comment.

 

[BenDroid]

I probably haven't had my Droid near as long as most of you, but I did do a lot of research on these forums before getting my phone and made up a list of "must have" apps well in advance. xScope and Dolphin were the two browsers I wanted to try. xScope was much faster than Dolphin, but I just did not like the UI at all on xScope, so I decided to just stick with Dolphin. Now, with the new update, I must say that Dolphin is just as fast if not faster than xScope and the pinch zoom is near flawless. I love it.

 

[gotwillk]

is there a way to make pages zoom all the way out by default?

 

[jimmm18]

I have bounced back and forth between dolphin and xscope for the last few weeks. I have been mainly using xscope because it was easy to open a link in new tab. Some of the sites I visit have long pages and when I returned to the page it would at the top and I would have to rescroll down.

I still haven't figured out how to open a link in a new tab with I did find when I compacted the page it would return me to where I was. That and the fact that dolphin seems faster now has me switching back to it. But I am sure xscope will get improvements to speed it up. It does get a fair number of updates and I like its file and task manager features.

 

[jimmm18]

I have bounced back and forth between dolphin and xscope for the last few weeks. I have been mainly using xscope because it was easy to open a link in new tab. Some of the sites I visit have long pages and when I returned to the page it would returnto the top and I would have to rescroll down.

I still haven't figured out how to open a link in a new tab with dolphin i did find when I compacted the page it would return me to where I was. That and the fact that dolphin seems faster now has me switching back to it. But I am sure xscope will get improvements to speed it up. It does get a fair number of updates and I like its file and task manager features.

 

[Mercutio]

When web browsing, pinch-zoom requires more effort and distraction compared to double tap.

Pinch-zoom has some legitimate use in map applications, however.

 

[acp]

Three things I've noticed: When I use the hard search button from the homescreen it brings up the results in the stock browser even though I have dolphin set as default for everything. There is much more lag when you view the bookmarks/favorites area, I think it's due to the slow loading banner ad at the bottom. Last thing, for some reason I can not post on my 2nd favorite forum pocketfives.com, I used to be able to by clicking the html button, but now since the update I can't post!

 

[djkeller3]

I love using Dolphin for all the reasons others are mentioning above. The pinch zooming works perfectly, and the browser is blazing fast on my Droid.

 

[mattkranzler5]

Is there any way to have a page completely zoomed out by default like the stock browser? I can't seem to find any setting for this.

 

[gotwillk]

yea i cant find a way to have the pages zoom out by default either. and the search button at the bottom only brings up the stock browser even though dolphin is set as default.

 

[sooper_droid12]

Much faster. Menu screen is gawd-awful. Window thumbs are nice and seem to transition a lot smoother. Other than that, it seems like an iterative step from the previous version. Still won't get me to stop using the native browser.

 

[kbayer]

First time user for Dolphin here, and I like it! However, it takes some getting used to, especially after using the native browser and the double-tap to zoom in and out... xScope seems to be the cleanest of the pinch-zoom browsers. I loaded Engadget in 34 seconds with Dolphin, 40 with xScope, and 48 with the native browser, and oddly, I find myself always going back to the native browser.

 

[zeroG]

is there a way to make pages zoom all the way out by default?

+1

Dolphin doesn't seem to auto-fit all sites like the default browser. It only seems to auto-fit correctly for mobile sites. I've tried all 3 user agents and no luck. It's probably the one thing keeping me from using Dolphin exclusively since the update.

I found several things that are a little annoying.

1. You can't scroll through a page with the keyboard out, which makes it really annoying if you need to check something while you're typing.
2. You can't scroll through a page with the back/home/url bars out.
3. No direct button to bookmarks, you need to go through the menu (IMO they should replace the "add bookmark" button on the top right with a bookmarks menu button like the default browser)
4. No direct button to your homepage, again have to go the menu first (IMO they should replace the "share" button on the top left with a homepage button)
5. No stop button anywhere

 

[cryingfreeman]

worse

 

[boatman]

When web browsing, pinch-zoom requires more effort and distraction compared to double tap.

Pinch-zoom has some legitimate use in map applications, however.

Don't agree with you with web browsing. pinch zoom allows for infinite variation on zooming. I have bad eyes and need to almost always zoom , plus if i want to click on a link or input data i alway need to zoom else i hit the wrong link...but to each his own.

Do agree with you on mapping! Buddy was showing me a map on iphone, and just zoomed in by using 2 fingers. Was nicer than google maps on droid:-(

 

[messenger13]

I found several things that are a little annoying.

1. You can't scroll through a page with the keyboard out, which makes it really annoying if you need to check something while you're typing.
2. You can't scroll through a page with the back/home/url bars out.
3. No direct button to bookmarks, you need to go through the menu (IMO they should replace the "add bookmark" button on the top right with a bookmarks menu button like the default browser)
4. No direct button to your homepage, again have to go the menu first (IMO they should replace the "share" button on the top left with a homepage button)
5. No stop button anywhere

I think it's safe to assume you haven't even played with the gestures. Annoyances 3, 4 and 5 are all solved if you would learn that feature.

 

[sooper_droid12]

You know what... after using the native browser for so long, I'm coming to understand why Rubin says he prefers one-handed operation. I almost exclusively browse one-handed now and have gotten quite good at it. The only reason I noticed that I'm doing it this way now was because opened up Dolphin, wanted to zoom, looked at my thumb and thought, "How do I pinch?" I actually had to look at my right hand for a bit and thought, "Right hand: You have to actually touch the screen." I'm uninstalling Dolphin now.

 

[Xritam]

+1
1. You can't scroll through a page with the keyboard out, which makes it really annoying if you need to check something while you're typing.
2. You can't scroll through a page with the back/home/url bars out.
3. No direct button to bookmarks, you need to go through the menu (IMO they should replace the "add bookmark" button on the top right with a bookmarks menu button like the default browser)
4. No direct button to your homepage, again have to go the menu first (IMO they should replace the "share" button on the top left with a homepage button)
5. No stop button anywhere
6. Rapes the battery life... still.

fixed