WP App Review : UC Browser

UC Browser (Version 2.8.1.269)

广州市动景计算机科技

Free

UC Browser is an app developed by a Chinese software company which makes mobile web browsers. When I first picked up my Lumia 920, I found Internet Explorer to be a bit lackluster in user interface and features. I searched for different web browsers and tried out UC Browser late last year, but at the time, it was a bit slow. Browsing through the marketplace, I came up on this app again and decided to give it another try. The newer update seems to improve on speeds and after giving it a second try, it's a lot more efficient.

UC Browser speeds up page loading by actually compressing and rendering the web pages on an external server. The latest update in January adds in a lot of features and has been specially optimized for the Lumia 920 as well. Here is a list of the improved features :

Rendering Optimization : Full support for HTML5 features by default. If you need a faster connection instead of full features, you can use Speed Mode.

File Syncs & Ports : Downloaded music files will be synced to the Videos+Music Hub. You can also find them in the Music folder when you connect your device to your PC.

Find in Page : Find the text in a lengthy page by keyword to help you focus on your interest.

Bug Fix : Fixed some problems that caused browser lags.

Lumia 920 UI : A special UI optimization for Nokia Lumia 920 users. Enjoy a purer experience!

Rotation Lock : Touch to lock the rotation, either in portrait or landscape view.

Smart Downloads : Keeps the screen on while downloading, which makes sure your Wi-Fi stays connected. Download your favorite ringtones, wallpapers, and music with the great feature.

Incognito Browsing : No browsing history will be saved while using Incognito Browsing mode.

Speed Dial : Speed Dial on homepage makes it easier to visit your favorite websites.

QR Code Scanning : Scan QR codes or use QR code images already in your phone.

Personalized Wallpaper : Customize your browser to your liking with a variety of wallpapers.

The Speed Dial feature is great since there's a handful of sites that I like to visit on a daily basis. Loading up the browser takes you to the home screen with the Speed Dial sites and each site is easily accessible with one tap as opposed to going through your favorites list on IE.

And speaking of favorites, you can create folders to categorize your favorites as well. Although this is a great feature there is no way to organize your favorites list as far as I can tell which is a bit of a downer.

Tabs are easily accessible and is limited to a max of six open at one time, just like in IE. Browsing sites is easy and intuitive, especially with the back and forward buttons. The top features your URL bar as well as a search bar. If you'd rather have more screen real estate, you can set it to a full screen mode so that the URL/search bar disappears. Another feature to improve your browsing experience is a screen rotation lock so that you can lock it to portrait or landscape mode, great for bedtime browsing. And when you're all done using the app, it's easy to exit it by hitting the "Home" button and pressing the back button.

Overall, all the sites load up relatively quickly and render without problems and has now become my default browser. It does take a few minutes to get use to the UI if you're use to using IE but it's not hard to use by any means. The only real downside to using UC Browser as your only browser is that other apps will default to IE when opening links, etc.

If you're not happy with IE I would definitely give UC Browser a try to make your mobile web experience a whole lot better.

Pros : Fast loading, lots of features lacking in IE

Cons : Can't organize favorites