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INTRODUCTION
With full page
rendering and a quick and easy way to zoom in and out of web content, the
iPhone Safari browser has made for a great mobile web browsing experience.
The newest addition to the browser wars for Windows Mobile Makyama’s
TouchBrowser. This application was introduced on April 15th and promises
iPhone-like web browsing. Is this the browser we have all been looking for?
Read on to find out!
SETUP
face="Verdana">
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size="2">Installation is pretty straightforward. You just need to download
the CAB file from Makyama’s
web site.
I installed it
straight to my AT&T Tilt and AT&T 8525.
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size="2">Here we can see the memory usage of the TouchBrowser, before and
after installing it on to my AT&T 8525.
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size="2"> Once installed, you can start the application up. It
will automatically ask for you to provide your activation code as shown
above.
PRODUCT
FEATURES
Pocket Internet Explorer. So it inherits its slow web page load times.
TouchBrowser also has iPhone like flick-scrolling which makes navigating a
little easier, but it is still a little choppy. Below is a video
demonstration of how the browser works:
size="2"> There are a few items I do want to correct as the first version
I received has been updated after I made this video. The current version is
1.1.3.
- Screen taps sounds can now be disabled
through the settings - A QWERTY keyboard is now available in
addition to the "Vowels at Top" and "Alphabetical"
layouts. I will say that the QWERTY keyboard is a nice addition, but it is a
little small to use with your fingers. It would be nice if it was set up as
a landscape keyboard to make the buttons more finger friendly. - The ability to view the last ten URL’s
visited in the URL screen has been added - Setting your your default homepage now
works and TouchBrowser now automatically opens to the page you set instead
of MSN - Ability to disable TouchFLO in HTC devices. This is
helpful as scrolling can inadvertently start the TouchCube on the Touch,
Touch Dual and Touch Cuise. - Lastly, I thought there was a lack of scroll bars. In
fact, if you press on the center button on your D-Pad, it actually creates
two grey rectangles on the right and bottom of the screen. These bars will
give you an indication of where on the web page you are, as shown
below:
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size="2"> When toggling the bars, be careful that you have not pointed to
any hyperlink on the page as pressing on the center button of the D-Pad will
actually activate the hyperlink and bring you to the page it is linked to. I
find this inconvenient as you have to make sure to remember not point to any
hyperlinks. Another thing I didn’t like about the navigation of this browser
is there is no zoom capability. You cannot zoom out to get a fuller view of
the web page. Nor can you zoom in further. Because of this, you will have to
do a lot of scrolling to view the web content. At least in Pocket Internet
Explorer, you have the option to go to one column view to avoid any side
scrolling.
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size="2"> Another item not discussed is what happens when you press and
hold on the screen. It will bring up a pop-up menu as shown above with the
five options shown. They are all pretty self explanatory as you can see. You
will notice that one of the options is to select all text. Unfortunately,
you cannot highlight specific text to highlight. So if I wanted to highlight
just a couple of sentences or a web link, I can’t. Also, you do not have the
ability to copy in the browser. You can however paste into any input fields,
but I find this to be a moot point since you cannot copy unless you have
copied from another application that you can copy from!!
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size="2"> Another issue I have with viewing in this application is that
you are stuck viewing in its full screen view. I cannot see the Windows
Start Bar to view my signal strength, battery level status, etc. unless you
hit the "Start Menu" hardware button your device. Also,
TouchBrowser makes no use of the Windows Mobile soft keys, which I think is
a huge lost opportunity here as they could have at least used them for
zooming. Lastly, the "OK" hardware button does nothing either, so
you cannot minimize the browser.
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HELP
SUPPORT
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size="2"> As I discuss in the video review, the help is
not as intuitive as you would think it would be on this application. When
you activate the interface icons, you see a question mark icon. One would
think this is access to the help/users manual. Amazingly, it is not!! It
will bring you to a search engine that utilizes Google. Instead, to access
the users manual, you have to go to the settings icon, which is the hammer
and wrench.
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size="2">Once you get into the settings, you can access the manual through
the Help button at the bottom of the screen.
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size="2"> Once you resides. I would have preferred it if the user manual for
click on the "Help" button, TouchBrowser will navigate to its web
site, where the
Users
Manual
was resident to the device, instead of requiring you to retrieve it from
Makayama’s website. You can also send an email to
Makayama’s Support Team
any additional questions.
SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS
only available for touchscreen devices utilizing Windows Mobile 2003,
Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC/Pocket PC Phone Edition and Windows Mobile 6
Professional.
BUGS AND
WISHES
browsing, it is far from perfect. Navigating the application is not as
intuitive as I would have hoped. You cannot view your "History" in
the application, nor can you clear the history or the Temporary Internet
Files. You have to go into Pocket Internet Explorer to do this. In the next
version, I would like to see the following:
- The ability to zoom in and out to offer a more
"macro" view of a web page - The ability to turn off full screen view so you can
see your Start Menu bar - The ability to copy
- The ability use your own on screen input panels to
enter a URL or information in the search fields - Faster load times
- Control of how quickly the scrolling
works - Utilization of the Windows Mobile soft
keys - The ability to turn off the screen tap
sound - Ability to clear history and Temporary Internet data
within TouchBrowser
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PURCHASING
size="2">You can download a free demo of TouchBrowser from
Makayama’s web site.
If you decide you
like the application, you can
purchase
on their
web site for $14.95/€11.95.
PROS
- Full
web page browsing - iPhone-like flick scrolling
- Three
on screen keyboard format options
CONS
-
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Difficult to navigate the non-intuitive
interface
Lack
of use of Windows Mobile soft keys
Inability to copy
text- face="Verdana">Inability to select specific text
-
face="Verdana">Inability to use your own SIP, especially in text field
boxes
| Value | |
| Ease of Use |
|
| Features | |
Overall |
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OVERALL IMPRESSION
It’s great to see Makayama attempt to
improve the mobile web browsing experience. Unfortunately, in their first
effort, it is no better than the standard Pocket Internet Explorer. Makayama
is heading in the right direction with this browser, but I hope that they
re-evaluate this application to improve the user interface. The slow to
navigate user interface and unintuitive layout makes this application
difficult to recommend.
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