Anyone who has used a BlackBerry 10 smartphone knows how fast and awesome the browser is.  Even before BlackBerry 10 devices were launched, there were plenty of tests that showed just how fast it was compared to other mobile web browsers around. More recently we saw a test carried out that saw the BlackBerry browser is faster than some desktop browsers.

Armed with an awesome browser we bring you 10 BlackBerry Browser Tips to help you surf the web like a pro. There have been a few small additions since BlackBerry 10 first launched, making the experience very better. Without further ado, here are your 10 BlackBerry 10 browser tips.

 

1. Desktop Mode

Desktop Mode

With a powerful and fast browser you can make use of Desktop Mode to experience a website as you would on a desktop browser. While mobile versions of websites are great for quick viewing sometimes you just need the full desktop experience.

To turn on Desktop Mode, in the browser tap the overflow menu icon (three dots on bottom right)>Settings>Developer Tools. Then toggle Desktop Mode to On.

 

2. Set browser to Open Last Tabs

Open Last Tabs

You can view your history with a BlackBerry 10 browser, no problem but it may be better to set your browser to open your last tabs every time you launch it. I tend to keep a handful of tabs open sometimes, especially when I have been sent a few articles to read. If I forget to save them for later reading and accidentally close the browser, it is sometimes a hassle to go through my history. So, to be able to just re-open the browser and have all my last tabs opened up makes for a better experience and may well be the case for you too. Tabs from a previous session will be marked with a BlackBerry Spark.

To set this option, in the browser tap the overflow menu icon (three dots on the bottom right)>Display and Actions. Then from the On Startup Show dropdown menu select My Tabs From Last Time.

 

3. Quick Access to History

Quick Access to History

When BlackBerry OS 10.2 became available, there was one nifty little feature that made its to the BlackBerry 10 browser. That was the ability to bring up your history just be tapping and holding the back icon. Note though, this will only show the history with that particular tab. You don't get the back icon if there is no where to go back to anyway. When you perform this action, there is also an option to view your Full History.

Just tap the back icon to bring up your tab history.

 

4. Utilise Reader Mode

Reader Mode

One of my BlackBerry 10 browser features is Reader Mode. I use it often, especially when reading longer articles. You can read articles without the clutter of ads and you can also adjust the font size to better suit you. 

To go into Reader Mode, tap the overflow menu icon>Reader. QWERTY-keyboard users can just hit 'R' on the keyboard. 

Note that not all sites support Reader Mode.

 

5. Add shortcuts to the Homescreen

Add shortcut to Homescreen

If you have sites you visit a lot, you may want to just save a shortcut to those websites to your Homescreen. It's quick and easy to do. Occassionally, though, it doesn't save a nice icon, so you may want to try out those icon making apps to create nicer icons for those web shortcuts.

To save a website to your Homescreen, tap the overflow menu icon>Add to Home Screen.

 

6. Make use of Bookmarks

Add sites to Bookmarks

If you don't want to save websites to your Homescreen, you can just save them to your Bookmarks for quick access to your favorite sites. You can then access your Bookmarks list from the main browser menu. QWERTY-keyboard users can just hit 'K' on their keyboard to access the Bookmarks list.

 

7. Save sites for offine reading

Save page for offline reading

One of most latest additions to the BlackBerry 10 browser is the Save Page feature. This came about with OS 10.2.1. It basically allows you to save a website as a file and you can read it offline or at another time.

While I personally use a third party app for this purpose, it nice a to see such a feature available. 

To save a site, tap the overflow menu icon>Save Page.

 

8. Make use of Private Browsing

Private Browsing

If you want to search the web without leaving a trail, you can use the private browsing feature. When you turn it on, all your existing open tabs will be closed. They will become available again once you turn off Private Browsing.

Turn turn on Private Browsing, tap the overflow menu>Settings>Privacy and Security. Toggle Private Browsing to On.

 

9. Set your default Search Engine

Select Default Search Engine

Setting the default Search Engine on BlackBerry 10 isn't very obvious and this hasn't changed ever since. It is not something found in the settings. By default, Bing is the selected search engine. For those who want to change it, here's how.

Start typing a search term in the address bar, you'll then see a dropdown menu appear in the top left corner, tap it and then choose your preferred search engine.

 

10. Clean up often

Clean browser history

Web history can take up unnecessary space. You can set your browser up to automatically remove history items after a certain period of time or you can manually clean it up. Either way, I find it good practice to clean up regularly.

To manually clean up your history, tap the left browser menu>History. Then tap the trash icon on the bottom bar.

To set your browser to automatically clean up your browser history, tap the overflow menu icon>Privacy and Security. Then from the Remove History Items dropdown menu, select delete period.

 

That's your lot. Are you making use of these already? Do you have other browser tips we may have missed? Share them in the comments.

For other BlackBerry 10 tips, tricks and how-to articles visit out BlackBerry 10 Help section.

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