Yes, we know. Dolphin Browser HD was previously available in BlackBerry App World for the BlackBerry PlayBook but after some hoopla about it being put there by Handster it was subsequently removed. With that little issue now cleared up, the folks from MoboTap have officially released Dolphin Browser HD into BlackBerry App World and if you're looking to try out a new browser Dolphin may have the features you're looking for:
- Gesture - Let your inner artist out and create a personal Gesture (symbol) to access the mobile and desktop websites you use the most.
- Webzine - Fast Web page loading, with no ads. Dolphin Webzine simplifies the way you read your favorite mobile content, from news to blogs and websites.
- Speed Dial - Visit you favorite mobile and desktop websites on the go with one touch.
- Tabbed browsing - No need to toggle between screens, tabbed browsing lets you open and switch between Web pages fast as lightning.
- SideBars - Make the best of mobile interface via Dolphin SideBar.
Personally, I'm a fan of Dolphin Browser HD on my Android device but for the PlayBook, I have no issues with the native web browser but differentiation is good. Give Dolphin a go and see how you like it, I'm sure the folks from MoboTap will appreciate the feedback.
Reader comments
Dolphin Browser HD officially arrives for the BlackBerry PlayBook
WOW, I am surprised at how many ppl dont do a lil research before they jump on an app ported from android, lets see, a lot of apps on android market place are known for spying on you, accessing your contact list, e-mails, gps, and all made and revived phone calls. I know playbook cant make or receive calls, but this app is known for spying on your activity and reporting it to unknown. so do you think it has changed since it has been ported to playbook, i doubt it.
check this out
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-3-apps/179431-dolphin-hd-sends-ur...
I tried it last night and one bonus for Dolphin is I can finally login to cPanel, a well known issue with the native browser. Another BIG bonus is it remembers entered fields such as logins, another big problem with the native PB browser.
In general I like the design of the native browser and I was hoping the above would be fixed in 2.0, but until they do I'll take my chances with Dolphin for those sites it has issues with.
I dont mind is a good browser! is something new :). But how the F@%& you disable the ADs on this browsers i DL this browser especially for that future!
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Post it from my Awesome Torch 9810 Bridged to PlayBook 64Gb
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Using dolphin right now. Spell check not supported. Not nearly as fluid as the native browser. Took a restat to become functional. Does have "find on page". Definitely usable. More browsers is good. And what the hey, it's free.
It better work this time.....downloading now
The browser is not that bad. I always restart the system after installing new Android apps. They work better afterwards. Dolphin is slower but not that much slower and it has some cool features.
No FLASH?!
very slow
I'm pleased to see all the negativity about this news.. I was starting feel like I was the only one that hated these Android ports. They're slow and they all run within the same application completely removing all the benefits of the QNX multitasking. If one crashes (as is so common) they all go down. Terrible!
Worse? RIM is actually encouraging this crap. They're indistinguishable from all the native apps in the appword. If you submit a slow buggy application, we'll give you a free Playbook!
I know. It's inexplicable.
Wtf is wrong with this developer? According to Engadget, they made a big stink about Handster porting the app without their permission and how they were going to "investigate the matter" and now they released it themselves? Stupid stupid stupid
OK so Android ports don't work well in the Android player. What now?
why dl this if its an android port? i can sideload the latest 7.5 easy, i dont want this please make this native! im sick of half azz android laggy apps!
I sideloade version 7.5. Works great, fast. Not experiencing any issues. Native browser runs smoother, Dolphin browser tabs are great! RIM are you listening?
Shame on you Developer for making this Sh*&$#% app for the PB. You should pull this app and redesign it. It never loaded after an agonizing 15 min. I had to restart just for it to go away.
OH MY GAWWD!
Where is the HD version? only regular version in the app world. Is there much difference on the playbook. I dont remember what it was like when I tried them both before.
I love the android look to the dolphin hd browser and fast speed with my fast Internet connection!
Yesterday I installed it and my playbook frozen. I have to power on and off to restarted. Not recommended
I love dolphin browser on my android cell phone and now I love it on my PlayBook! You
I think that was the fastest I ever deleted an app, I give the developer credit for at least giving the Playbook some love but this thing is painfully slow, I've tried several 3rd party browsers & so far none come close to the stock browser, secure browser comes close but not quite
Simple Browser is great. However, it's not in App World for some reason anymore. But I sideloaded mine anyhow before 2.0. and before it was even in App World. From where I got it from, it even came with the software to load it onto my PlayBook as well as any other apps I wanted to sideloaded.
lag. slow. ... , not too good. But it has nice UI and features, I'm waiting for the native one.
BTW- I mean no disrespect to the developer of this app. Thank you for supporting the BlackBerry PlayBook! Keep the apps coming!
I am not a fan of its performance, it is laggy and android looking. The cool factor is you can actually have two browsers open at the same time (not tabs). Other than that, I'll stick with the native browser.
Thanks for the heads up CB!
I find it to be quite sub par to the native PlayBook browser. And if anyone here downloads it, (like I did for about 30 mins), and you want an example of how weak it is, just go to HTML5test. com and that's just one example of how it compares to the PlayBook browser...
It says that it is not available for my device. I have a playbook so I do not understand.
Type the name within appworld and you'll find it.
Just download Dolphin, not bad it is O.K, will play more tonight.
When do ported it to pb. I will try it again.
I'm sorry, but it's crap. Their major application gestures (left and right swipe) conflict with the most basic Playbook gesture for switching apps, so you need to hit that 10 pixel strip just right to open the bookmark menu instead of switching to your email or something... the menus are all over the place and it took me 15 minutes to get the bottom bar back once I turned on auto-hide. I know RIM really wants to make Android developers believe that they don't need to do anything to port their games, but that will only work for applications without a GUI... Not worth the time to download in its current state.
The major gestures are not that difficult at all.They work fine ,its the lag that i cant stand everything else is fine. In your case it may be the operator and not the app.
I'll try it but not because I have complaints. Bookmark management will be a plus.
It's good for crappy androids only. The native browser on the PlayBook is far superior. I don't know why the browser is even am issue on the PB?
PB Browser is great, but it has zero bookmark management. That is the #1 issue for me. But I am sticking to only native apps, so when the team releases it natively, I will give it go.
I'm not a fan of the whole Android thing. Nearly all the Android apps I've tried have been poor in comparison to the apps developed specially for the Playbook. I just hope having Android compatibility (of sorts) on the Playbook, won't discourage developers to create native apps.
Dolphin Browser sounds great and I too was excited about giving it a try, until I discovered it was an Android port. I think I will stick with the PB browser for now, which I've found to be perfectly fine for my needs.
100% agree with you, initially the hype of getting android apps on PB got me excited but turns out it was only a hype. the programs are laggy, bad GUI and majority of them dont work... :-/
Now that I think about it, having the android player is nice. Why is it so hard to get the popular apps built from the ground up for the playbook? Maybe in due time.
I get checker-boarding often on the PB browser. I have been using Dolphin because I am not experience checker-boarding, and I can scroll much faster in Dolphin.
Also, bookmark management is nonexistant on the native browser, so that is enough for me to switch. I hate to do it, but I just don't understand the lack of bookmark management.
Does it include support for running Java? My mom wants to play pogo.com games and, for some of them, Java is required.
I don't think java is in any mobile devices browser. Certainly not iPad, PlayBook or Android. Sorry!
I don't understand why people go on about this app. It is totally unusable. The scrolling performance is just disgusting. Besides the inbuilt browser and SimpleBrowser+ are both great browsers. Why would anyone even consider using this terrible port instead? :S
Whoah. I may pass on it then.
It's liked on android, not the ported version on the PB though. Same with Boat. Boat on android is better than the stock browser, but the ported PB app is unstable
I disagree, scrolling in Dolphin is super slick for me. I can also scroll faster. When I scroll in the native browser I see a lot of checker-boarding.
Try comparing theverge.com on Dolphin and the default browser.
Tried it. The BlackBerry browser was way smoother than Dolphin.
that's what i'm saying. I only need it when in Android because i need it for apps that opens links in a browser in Android player.
I will also wait for the native version.
For a moment there i thought they released a native app! You got me pumped! This is still in Android runtime, so if you like a laggy browser (that freezes from time to time), this is it.
haha! I'm going to try it, but the native browser works pretty good.
Interestingly enough, the native browser always crashes on me, which is arguably worse than lagging. I'll check out Dolphin.
It crashes all the time for me too. I'll be using it when suddenly it closes itself or it freezes. I've tried other browsers as a result of this and have found Chameleon pretty useful, if limited. I've also been looking for an update as this is not just happening to a few users.