Your device’s browser is great for
viewing websites, but a few tweaks can made it faster and better
Long gone are the days of browsing the web
very slowly via WAP. The web browser takes pride of place on Android phones,
and it’s a stunning piece of software, capable of rendering web pages in their
native formats complete with Flash content. However, it can still suffer from
slow downs, which are especially annoying if you’re on a weak 2G connection.
Fortunately, even Android’s basic browser
can be fine-tuned to fetch pages faster, and there are fast alternative
browsers available on Google Play – we’ve highlighted two of them here.
If you want to experience the future of
Android browsing, you can download the beta of Google’s Chrome browser from http://bit.ly/AqpTWR.
1. In a Flash
In
a Flash
One of Android’s key advantages over Apple
devices is its ability to display Flash animations and other elements (such as
videos) in web pages. It’s a mixed blessing, though, because the Flash engine
can take up a lot of room on your device – a not insignificant 12.85 MB, to be
precise.
2. Flash sale
Flash
sale
Adobe Flash Player can be found on Google
Play. We recommend uninstalling it, however, if you’re low on memory – the
stock version of Flash is just as good. But if you haven’t already installed
it, and you have a more spacious device, you can grab it from www.bit.ly/xPZVnV.
3. Plug it in
Plug
it in
Open the browser on your Android device and
hit ‘Menu > More ‘, then ‘Settings’. Scroll down to ‘Enable plugins’ and set
this to ‘On demand’. This prevents Flash from loading automatically (which can
slow down web pages). Loading the content is simply a question of tapping the
green arrow in Flash elements.
4. Images
Images
In the same Settings menu, you’ll find the
option to ‘Load images’. This is handy if you’re on a slow connection because
images use a lot of bandwidth, and can slow down some sites. Turn it off to
speed up your daily news reading on the bus, and back on, if you want, when you
reach the office.
5. Cache and carry
Cache
and carry
Your browser’s cache is a temporary dump
for images and data from the web. This can make browsing speedier, but it can
also take up a lot of memory. To clear it out, you need to press the ‘Home’
button, then choose ‘Menu > Settings > Applications > Storage use >
Browser > Clear data.’
6. Dive into Dolphin
Dive
into Dolphin
While Android’s native browser is perfectly
adequate, there are plenty of alternatives on Google Play. Our favourite is
Dolphin HD, which is fast and free (http://bit.ly/zCbNcT).
It adds Chrome-style tabbed browsing, an innovative gesture feature, plus its
plug-in system includes an ad-blocker.
7. A night at the Opera
A
night at the Opera
If you’re worried about bandwidth use,
switch to the Opera Mini browser (from http://bit.ly/z9EeOf).
This uses clever server-side technology to reduce image files before they
arrive. We recommend using Opera when you’re out and about, and Dolphin HD when
you’re on a solid Wi-Fi connection.
8. I wanna go surfing
I
wanna go surfing
Now you should have a supercharged Android
device with the right version of Flash, for web browsing at optimum speed.
Always switch to Wi-Fi when possible – it’s far faster than a 3G connection.
You can switch most mobile sites to the full desktop experience with the ‘View
full site’ link, usually at the bottom.
