View Full Version : MultiIE, PIEPlus, or Netfront?
zilla31
08-02-2004, 06:02 PM
I'm trying to enhance my browsing. What are the recommendations out there between these 3 programs? i really like to be able to use the dpad to navigate through web page links so i'm leaning on PIEPlus... but want to hear some opinions...
thanks!
mscdex
08-02-2004, 06:35 PM
I use MultiIE mainly for the tabbed browsing. But I wish there was a browser for the PPC that supported inline frames. Anyone know if there is one out there?
zilla31
08-02-2004, 06:48 PM
looks like PIEPlus has the d-pad navigating, and MultiIE has the http://www.com already typed - wish either one had both of these!
surur
08-02-2004, 09:46 PM
Netfront is the only one that frees you completely from PIE. I use it and do not regret the money I spent. It really makes any site on the internet usable on a pocketpc.
Surur
Gator5000e
08-02-2004, 10:17 PM
I use PiePlus and it works great. I have had it on both my Axim X5 and X30 (WM2003SE). I like it much better than NetFront, which I also used (terrible upgrade policy and support policy). Not sure what inline frames are, but I can navigate a site with frames with PiePlus, if that's what you mean.
rpommier
08-02-2004, 10:58 PM
I use PIEPlus too, I find that the fit-to-screen is indespensible. I still wish it supported screen drag like MultiIE.
PIEPlus also is easy on the wallet...
Another vote for PiePlus. I had some trouble when I first started using it and the developer answered quickly and fixed any problems (and came out with a new version). It is working perfectly for me now. :)
ctmagnus
08-03-2004, 05:37 AM
I currently use MultiIE. A quick :google: of PIEPlus reveals that it and MultiIE are very similar. Two differences I can discern are
1) MultiIE has the screen drag functionality. However, this tends to interfere with the ability to select links on pages.
2) PIEPlus has the ability to view any page in a single-column view.
Other than those two, it's a toss up in my opinion.
Especially (2) makes it really worthwile. It is like Opera for handhelds (and also what SE would have provided if we had gotten it :bad-words: )
ctmagnus
08-03-2004, 05:42 AM
Especially (2) makes it really worthwile. It is like Opera for handhelds (and also what SE would have provided if we had gotten it :bad-words: )
Darn you! You're going to cost me $15 ;)
I noticed a cool thing with PiePlus the other day. If you copy the Trebuchet MS fonts from your pc to \windows\fonts on your Pocket PC and soft reset , PiePlus will start using this font in PIE instead of Tahoma. :)
mscdex
08-03-2004, 06:11 AM
Not sure what inline frames are, but I can navigate a site with frames with PiePlus, if that's what you mean.
Inline frames are IFRAMES which let you load another webpage inside of another webpage (< iframe >). Regular frames work just fine in PIE/MultiIE but i get an error saying my browser doesn't support inline frames when I try to visit a site that has them on the page.
ctmagnus
08-03-2004, 06:16 AM
Not sure what inline frames are, but I can navigate a site with frames with PiePlus, if that's what you mean.
Inline frames are IFRAMES which let you load another webpage inside of another webpage (< iframe >). Regular frames work just fine in PIE/MultiIE but i get an error saying my browser doesn't support inline frames when I try to visit a site that has them on the page.
Your <iframe> tag broke the page ;)
Stephen Beesley
08-03-2004, 11:04 AM
Put me down as a vote for NetFront -particularly now that I have a WM2003 device and can run NetFront v3.1. I find the tabbed browsing very handy and the new "smart fit" one column viewing works really well.
Although I use NetFront most of the time, when I do use PIE - I would find it completely unusable without Multie. The fit to screen is not as good as in NetFront or what seems to be on offer in PIEPlus, but I like the ability to copy link addresses and save pictures (great for when you find a picture that you would like to use as a today screen backdrop) from the context menu.
Steven Cedrone
08-03-2004, 12:57 PM
Not sure what inline frames are, but I can navigate a site with frames with PiePlus, if that's what you mean.
Inline frames are IFRAMES which let you load another webpage inside of another webpage (< iframe >). Regular frames work just fine in PIE/MultiIE but i get an error saying my browser doesn't support inline frames when I try to visit a site that has them on the page.
Your <iframe> tag broke the page ;)
I was just fixing it, when someone else broke the page by quoting him... :wink:
Steve
zilla31
08-03-2004, 01:28 PM
yeah like i said above - the major difference for me are what i mentioned above - man i wish one of these had both of those!
hamishmacdonald
08-03-2004, 04:40 PM
I've been using MultiIE for years, and it just keeps getting better. It has a lot of features that PIE+ doesn't (from my cursory look at PIE+) -- saving "Web page, complete" files, which I find very useful, search from the address bar, a prerolled and customisable list of common prefixes and suffixes for the address bar, tabs for multiple windows, etc etc.
The one feature it doesn't have is the fit-to-screen, which was the one reason I wanted the SE upgrade for my iPAQ. I wrote the developer of MultiIE yesterday, and he told me that PIE was rewritten significantly for SE, so he's had to focus on updating MultiIE for that. He'd been working on adding a fit-to-screen view, but with SE that seemed unnecessary. He's waiting to see if HP will change its decision about the SE upgrade (which seems doubtful) before going back to finish that feature.
mscdex
08-03-2004, 07:22 PM
Well, I installed netfront 1.8 today. It does support inline frames which is what I was looking for. It also has 2 different viewing modes for fitting the webpage to the screen which came in really handy. No more scrolling to the left or right if I do not want to.
Now.... if netfront would just have tabbed browsing, it'd be the ultimate PIE killer :)
ludzh
08-03-2004, 09:27 PM
I'm surfing via PIEPlus right now, and I love it. Although I do wish I could save pages. :(
ctmagnus
08-03-2004, 09:35 PM
Now that the < iframe > issue is under control ;), has anyone tried MultiIE and PIEPlus concurrently on the same device?
Well, I installed netfront 1.8 today. It does support inline frames which is what I was looking for. It also has 2 different viewing modes for fitting the webpage to the screen which came in really handy. No more scrolling to the left or right if I do not want to.
Now.... if netfront would just have tabbed browsing, it'd be the ultimate PIE killer :)
Maybe you need to update to Netfront 3.1 :):
http://nfppc.access.co.jp/english/about.html#multi
Open up to five windows at once. Select from up to five windows using a tab.
mscdex
08-04-2004, 09:55 AM
Maybe you need to update to Netfront 3.1 :):
http://nfppc.access.co.jp/english/about.html#multi
Sorry, I was half asleep when I wrote that reply. I meant to say 3.1.
zilla31
08-04-2004, 01:32 PM
i eventually settled on multiIE for now... should would be nice if they would both work on the same device (i'm doubtful) so if anyone has tried let us know...
Maybe you need to update to Netfront 3.1 :):
http://nfppc.access.co.jp/english/about.html#multi
Sorry, I was half asleep when I wrote that reply. I meant to say 3.1.
So, doesn't your version of Netfront include tabbed browsing?
http://nfppc.access.co.jp/english/images/ppc_05.gif
Darius Wey
08-04-2004, 01:51 PM
So, doesn't your version of Netfront include tabbed browsing?
Sure does! :wink:
zilla31
08-04-2004, 02:00 PM
so what do we gain from using netfront over one of the IE add-ons (MultiIE or PIEPlus)?
Stephen Beesley
08-04-2004, 02:01 PM
So, doesn't your version of Netfront include tabbed browsing?
Sure does! :wink:
I certainly hope it does - otherwise I am dreaming the tabbed NetFront Window I am writing this reply in... :lol:
Darius Wey
08-04-2004, 02:14 PM
So, doesn't your version of Netfront include tabbed browsing?
Sure does! :wink:
I certainly hope it does - otherwise I am dreaming the tabbed NetFront Window I am writing this reply in... :lol:
Haha...nice call! You integrated it so nicely that I had to sit there for about a minute and think what you were on about. Mmm...too much info overload for one day. :p
Darius Wey
08-04-2004, 02:16 PM
so what do we gain from using netfront over one of the IE add-ons (MultiIE or PIEPlus)?
Does Java tickle your taste buds?
buzzard
08-04-2004, 03:21 PM
I use Netfront and have been able to view any bank or credit card website that I wasn't able to access when I tried the other two (I tried the RegKing "fix" on them to make them appear as IE 5.5 or IE6.0 and it didn't do anything)...Netfront doesn't need the RegKing fix. I also found that Netfront will show things like my local weather radar loop that actually moves as it does on IE...the other two, including PIE and Thunderhawk are always a still picture (doesn't seem to work with the Weather Channel map however).
Stephen Beesley
08-04-2004, 03:28 PM
I was a long time user of NetFront 3 on my Jornada but took the opportunity to upgrade to v3.1 when I switched to a Toshibe e755 and I have to say it really does do a magnificant job. I have yet to find many websites that it cannot handle (although I do have to use the older version of the Yahoo mail website) and as I said earlier the smart fit feature works very well.
One of the things I particularly like about it is the way you can integrate "helper" applications. For example Pocket TV to run mpeg videos - very handy!
Two features of multie that I would like in NetFront though is the handy internet prefix/suffix pop up and the ability to copy the link address from an embedded link.
Still apart from those little grips it is a keeper as far as I am concerned!
I tried netfront too and did like it. The only issue I had was the lack of support for cleartype (might be in the latest version?) and I also didn't like how big it was. Ok, one more issue - I keep getting spam from access I can't read (must be in some foreign language). :D
thendless
08-05-2004, 05:29 AM
Netfront 3.1 hands down. THe main reason I love it is because of zooming. I can view most sites at 50% zoom and it fits everything very nicely, examples:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9333/8141.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3658/8142.jpg
Andy Whiteford
08-05-2004, 01:05 PM
How does the smart fit compare between PIEPlus and Net Front? I know PIEPlus does an excellent job but I have never tried Net front.
Stephen Beesley
08-05-2004, 02:03 PM
How does the smart fit compare between PIEPlus and Net Front? I know PIEPlus does an excellent job but I have never tried Net front.
I am in the opposite boat - I have used NetFront extensively, but never really tried PIEPlus. What I can say is that the SmartFit feature on Netfront really does do an excellent job on pretty much every web site I have ever tried it on. Compared to the fit to screen option in standard PIE and in Multie it is streets ahead. From the screen shots I have seen it looks like it produces results very similiar to the one column mode in PIE on the WM2003 SE devices.
Well, it looks like this with PiePlus:
http://www.kolumbus.fi/anders.ruohio/capture.png
and some cnn:
http://www.kolumbus.fi/anders.ruohio/capture2.png
:)
nosmohtac
09-01-2004, 06:35 AM
I'm trying out netfront right now, but I can't get it to open my saved avantgo pages. Can anyone help?
I've been meaning to ask this question for a while...
I've yet to step into the PPC world at this time, I'm waiting for the release of the MPx and in the meantime doing a ton of research. Is there support for page-up / page-down navigation of a web page via a hardware key in any of these browsers or via any 3rd party button mapping solutions?
I'm very used to browsing the web while holding my Sidekick/Hiptop w/one hand (please, no jokes :)) either by scrolling line by line with the d-pad or scroll wheel or by using very accessible buttons to page up/down.
It certainly wouldn't be a big deal to pick up a stylus and scroll up and down on a page, but then I can't brush my teeth while browsing the web, can I? :D
Galt
nosmohtac
09-01-2004, 07:07 AM
I know Netfront supports scrolling with the D-pad, and if I remember correctly MultIE does too. I think pIEplus does as well, but I haven't tried that one yet.
I know Netfront supports scrolling with the D-pad, and if I remember correctly MultIE does too. I think pIEplus does as well, but I haven't tried that one yet.
I probably should have been a bit more concise w/my question, I'm primarily asking about the navigation of page up / page down. I assume that scrolling w/a d-pad would only allow a line by line.
Not a big deal, I'm just curious... :)
Stephen Beesley
09-02-2004, 12:46 PM
I know Netfront supports scrolling with the D-pad, and if I remember correctly MultIE does too. I think pIEplus does as well, but I haven't tried that one yet.
I probably should have been a bit more concise w/my question, I'm primarily asking about the navigation of page up / page down. I assume that scrolling w/a d-pad would only allow a line by line.
Not a big deal, I'm just curious... :)
The Browser settings in NetFront allow you pretty much total control over the scrolling behaviour. Not only can you adjust what percent the page with scroll with each button press but you can also allows you to assign the left/right keys on the dpad as page up/page back.
BTW NetFront 3.1 does allow clear type, but the setting is somewhat hidden - you can find it by going to:
Browser settings - view - text (click on change) - then put a tick in the clear type box.
HTH
The Browser settings in NetFront allow you pretty much total control over the scrolling behaviour. Not only can you adjust what percent the page with scroll with each button press but you can also allows you to assign the left/right keys on the dpad as page up/page back.
Thanks for the info, that sounds great! I can't wait to give this browser a try.
Underwater Mike
09-07-2004, 10:06 PM
Can't remember whether I saw it on a thread here or at another site, but NetFront does not support the "avantgo://" tag that's used in PIE. So, it will not open AvantGo stored content.
I'm trying out netfront right now, but I can't get it to open my saved avantgo pages. Can anyone help?
can anyone tell me if the VGA version (for tosh's) runs on a 4700 please?
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32760 link to same question in another thread
Stephen Beesley
10-08-2004, 02:38 PM
Can't remember whether I saw it on a thread here or at another site, but NetFront does not support the "avantgo://" tag that's used in PIE. So, it will not open AvantGo stored content.
I'm trying out netfront right now, but I can't get it to open my saved avantgo pages. Can anyone help?
This is probably the main thing that stops me using NetFront as my only browser on the PPC. I have recently started using Avantgo again (handy on my train commute) and would love to be able to read it in Netfront.
Actually, I also use Journal Bar for news etc and that does not really play well with NetFront either - although I think this is an underlying MS issue rather than a NetFront one. If I set NetFront as my default Browser then Journal bar will open news etc in Netfront, but it also opens "file explorer" each and everytime. I suspect that PIE is pretty tightly tied in with File Explorer on the PPC - Just like IE and Explorer on the Desktop. Very annoying!
zilla31
10-10-2004, 04:01 PM
ditch all 3 and go with thunderhawk - you'll be amazed.
on my 4700, pieplus' icon doesn't display. I don't know if that's due to that bug (I doubt it as the fix is applied and still no icon).
So I've settled with multi-ie and I'm very happy with that.
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