Access releases NetFront 3.5 beta web browser for Windows Mobile

Filed under: Windows Mobile, Mobile Minute

Access releases NetFront 3.5 beta web browser for Windows Mobile

by Brad Linder Feb 8th 2008

Opera and Mozilla aren't the only companies preparing to launch new and updated mobile web browsers. Acesss has released a public beta of NetFront 3.5 for Windows Mobile 5.0 and newer devices. And like Safari, Opera Mobile, and all the cool new kids on the blocks, NetFront 3.5 includes an improved zooming interface that makes it easier to see full web pages or zoom in on just the content you want to read.

While NetFront doesn't get a lot of attention these days, a few years ago the mobile web browser was probably the best alternative to Pocket Internet Explorer. It rendered pages more quickly, included tabbed browsing, and had a few other options that you just wouldn't find in the default Windows Mobile browser. But then Opera went and shook things up with the launch of Opera Mobile, which is still probably the speediest mobile web browser around.

But if NetFront 3.5 beta is any indication, it might be too early to write this browser off. It includes many of the same features we expect to see in Opera Mobile 9.5, including zooming, easier page navigation, and faster page rendering. And most importantly, it's available for download today, while you won't be able to get your hands on the new Opera browser for at least a few more days. NetFront 3.5 beta will expire on May 31. After that, NetFront will either release an updated beta or start charging for the software.

[via jkOnTheRun]

Tags: netfront, opera-mobile, pocket-internet-explorer, safari, web-browsers, zoom

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Stuart said 1:47AM on 2-12-2008

I've downloaded and installed it. Not bad overall. Loads pages pretty quickly, but there are some that it has trouble with.

The biggest annoyance I have with it is that it has problems with view positioning when a new page is loaded. When you go back a page, usually any browser either loads the previous page at the top, or looking at the last section you were viewing. And when you go forward, they're supposed to load the top of the new page.

NetFront seems to more or less randomly pick a spot on the page you load and focuses it's view there, so sometimes it will be the top, sometimes it's the bottom right corner (where there's rarely text), or anywhere else it decides to go. I'm hoping they fix it soon, because other than that, I am enjoying using it, but given a choice I'd still probably use Opera. Haven't tried Iris yet, but I might soon.

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