Menneisyys
09-05-2005, 06:11 PM
NetFront (NF) version 3.3 has been released by Access; still in Japanese only. You can download it from here (Japanese) (http://nfppc.access.co.jp/about_v33.html) or here (English) (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=ja_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnfppc.access.co.jp%2Fabout_v33.html). The last download dialog page of the latter can be found here (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=ja_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.access.co.jp%2fnfppc%2fdl_v33.html) (so that you don't need to click Japanese language buttons - if you still prefer doing so, always click the leftmost one to submit the forms) - you'll only need to click the blue button.
Also see this Pocket PC Thoughts (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=363506) thread on the new version.
The big news is that it really supports VGA in SE mode, without any forced VGA hack. Text input also works flawlessly in this mode, unlike with 3.2 (also in forced VGA mode - in this, version 3.2 cuts down the lower half of the entered characters in text input fields). You may want to read my review of Pocket PC Web browsers (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,42026&/pocket_pc_web_browsers_-_the_complete_roundup.htm) to see the problems/the advantages of version 3.2, compared to other PPC browsers.
On the other hand, except for the native VGA support, there is little new in the new version. There is no added functionality (except for the useless virtual resolution setting and the English - to- Japanese translation contxt/Tools menu item). You still can't copy links to the clipboard, you still can't hide the tabs/scrollbars in full screen, you still can't reassign hardware buttons, you can't explicitly save pages under a given name/view their source etc.
Note that I haven't benchmarked its page loading speed/memory consumption as I don't think they have substantially changed. Also, I haven't re-tested its bugs (for example, the DST bug). Upon request, I may consider doing this.
Now, a dialog/menu-by-dialog/menu comparison of version 3.2 and 3.3 to 1, show the differences; 2, help people that would like to give 3.3 a try and need help with the Japanese menus.
The File menu
It's exactly the same as with version 3.2. For reference, here's version 3.2:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32FileMenu.gif.png
File/Bookmarks (A) is the same too:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32FileBookmarks.gif.png
So is Page Memo (B):
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32FilePageMemo.gif.png
The same stands for History (C) and Local Files (D). (E) is Start Auto-Cruise and (F) is Offline Browse. G is Home, H is properties and I is Exit.
The View menu
It's a bit different from the 3.2 version. Toolbars (A) is the same, as with Text Size (B) (in it, (A) is the largest and (E) the smallest). Encoding (C) also has the same menu points, with slightly different order in the main submenu and a menu separator bar in the 'Other' menu (but it's still readable and logical). So are Show Images and Enable Animations (D/E), Full Screen (F). The four menu items at the bottom are as follows: G is ''Browsing mode" (Full (A)/Text (B)/Simple (C) browsing/ Rapid Render), H is Display Mode (Normal/Just-Fit/Smart-Fit Rendering), I is zoom (that is, Zoom and Display Mode is swapped, compared to version 3.2).
Zoom (I) is a bit different from 3.2: it offers a bit better zooming control. 3.2 only offered the 25/50/75/100/125 pre-defined zoom levels; with 3.3, you can go above the maximal 125% zoom level (see the new -/+ 25% menu items at the bottom of View/Zoom):
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33BetterWaysOfFineZooming.gif.png
An example of going over 125%:
125%+25%:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33150Zoom-1.gif.png
125%+25%+25%:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33150Zoom-2.gif.png
The utility of this is very dubious, though, as even the 100% zoom will be too much with most web pages.
It does not offer going under 25% (unlike going over 125%) and it also lacks the fine-tuning capabilties such a new feature could involve. Imagine: if +25% meant, say, 25%*1.25=31.25% (and not 25%*2 = 50%), then, you would have a far easier/better way of setting the zoom (almost as good as the one in, say, Acrobat Reader - the latter allows for decreasing/increasing zoom by 1%) than with the current solution.
The View menu also has a new item (J) at the bottom:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33LowermostMenuItemInView.gif.png
The default is the automatic, uppermost mode. It sets the width of the screen. That is, if you set it to a higher level, it treats the screen, say, 640 pixels wide and, therefore, only breaks content into next row when reaching this width. It has nothing to do with sending out resolution HTTP request headers (it doesn't send out any resolution-related HTTP header, unlike PIE) and doesn't resembleThunderhawk's virtual resolution setter either. I, therefore, don't think it's a useful feature.
The Page menu
(invokable by tap-and-holding the screen; this menu is a mixture of the View and Tools menus with few context menu items like Save Image)
It is similar to the one in 3.2:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32ScreenTapMenu.gif.png
That us, New Window is (A), Full Screen is (B), Open in New Window, if you have done this over a link, (C), Save Image is (D), Text Size is (F), Show Images/Enable Animations is G/H. The last thee menu items have slightly different order: I is ''Browsing mode' (Full (A)/Text (B)/Simple (C) browsing/ Rapid Render), J is Display Mode (Normal/Just-Fit/Smart-Fit Rendering) and K is zoom (that is, Zoom and Display Mode is swapped).
A new item is (E), Infoseek; all the four options (as far as what I could make of the communication between the browser and the server, sent it through my snooper proxy) seem to do English to/from Japanese translation of the current page. That is, nothing interesting for a non-Japanese user.
Incidentally, the full screen mode still has scrollbars - you can't completely hide them unlike in MultiIE or PIEPlus.
The Tools menu
It's the following in 3.2:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32Tools.gif.png
In 3.3, the first four menu items are the same (Cut (A)/Copy (B)/Paste (C)/Select All (D)); the (E) is the Infoseek English - Japanese translation serrvice outlined in the Page menu section. (F) is Window (New (A)/Close (B)), G is Scroll mode (that is, screen drag). (H) is Browser Setting and I is Auto-Cruise Setting. J is About.
As far as the Browser Setting dialogs are concerned, the General (including the Advanced) tab are exactly the same:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32GeneralTab.gif.png
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32GeneralTabAdv.gif.png
So is the View tab, in general:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32ViewTab.gif.png
Whats new here is the one drop-down menu is the (virtual) screen size drop-down list, which shouldn't be touched.
The Advanced submenu also has two new checkboxes (in addition to Word Wrap) here:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32ViewAdvanced.gif.png
The Network tab is exactly the same:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32NetworkSettings.gif.png
So is the Helper tab:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32HelperSettings.gif.png
(NF3.3 also supports SVG; in tge demo version, there is no Flash/Java support.)
The Security tab has a new drop-down list and a minor change in grouping:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32Security.gif.png
Finally, the Misc tab is the same:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32MiscTab.gif.png
The same stands for the Advanced submenu here:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32MiscAdvancedTab.gif.png
Note that the main registry entries of NF 3.3 have been relocated from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\access.co.jp\NetFront32\ to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ACCESS\NetFront33\. Make sure you take this into account if you try, for example, to relocate its cache as described for example here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,42768&/want_to_tweak_how_pocket_internet_explorer_uses_the_cache.htm):
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33Registry.gif.png
Bottom line
If you have a VGA device, used in SE (not in native VGA) and can put up with the limitations of the demo program (10 favorites/2 tabs at most, no Java/Flash etc) and the language (hope my 3.2 English screenshots were of help), you may really want to consider switching to this (demo) version from 3.2. It has really seamless VGA.
For others (owners of QVGA devices), this version offers almost nothing new/advanced.
Also see this Pocket PC Thoughts (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=363506) thread on the new version.
The big news is that it really supports VGA in SE mode, without any forced VGA hack. Text input also works flawlessly in this mode, unlike with 3.2 (also in forced VGA mode - in this, version 3.2 cuts down the lower half of the entered characters in text input fields). You may want to read my review of Pocket PC Web browsers (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,42026&/pocket_pc_web_browsers_-_the_complete_roundup.htm) to see the problems/the advantages of version 3.2, compared to other PPC browsers.
On the other hand, except for the native VGA support, there is little new in the new version. There is no added functionality (except for the useless virtual resolution setting and the English - to- Japanese translation contxt/Tools menu item). You still can't copy links to the clipboard, you still can't hide the tabs/scrollbars in full screen, you still can't reassign hardware buttons, you can't explicitly save pages under a given name/view their source etc.
Note that I haven't benchmarked its page loading speed/memory consumption as I don't think they have substantially changed. Also, I haven't re-tested its bugs (for example, the DST bug). Upon request, I may consider doing this.
Now, a dialog/menu-by-dialog/menu comparison of version 3.2 and 3.3 to 1, show the differences; 2, help people that would like to give 3.3 a try and need help with the Japanese menus.
The File menu
It's exactly the same as with version 3.2. For reference, here's version 3.2:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32FileMenu.gif.png
File/Bookmarks (A) is the same too:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32FileBookmarks.gif.png
So is Page Memo (B):
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32FilePageMemo.gif.png
The same stands for History (C) and Local Files (D). (E) is Start Auto-Cruise and (F) is Offline Browse. G is Home, H is properties and I is Exit.
The View menu
It's a bit different from the 3.2 version. Toolbars (A) is the same, as with Text Size (B) (in it, (A) is the largest and (E) the smallest). Encoding (C) also has the same menu points, with slightly different order in the main submenu and a menu separator bar in the 'Other' menu (but it's still readable and logical). So are Show Images and Enable Animations (D/E), Full Screen (F). The four menu items at the bottom are as follows: G is ''Browsing mode" (Full (A)/Text (B)/Simple (C) browsing/ Rapid Render), H is Display Mode (Normal/Just-Fit/Smart-Fit Rendering), I is zoom (that is, Zoom and Display Mode is swapped, compared to version 3.2).
Zoom (I) is a bit different from 3.2: it offers a bit better zooming control. 3.2 only offered the 25/50/75/100/125 pre-defined zoom levels; with 3.3, you can go above the maximal 125% zoom level (see the new -/+ 25% menu items at the bottom of View/Zoom):
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33BetterWaysOfFineZooming.gif.png
An example of going over 125%:
125%+25%:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33150Zoom-1.gif.png
125%+25%+25%:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33150Zoom-2.gif.png
The utility of this is very dubious, though, as even the 100% zoom will be too much with most web pages.
It does not offer going under 25% (unlike going over 125%) and it also lacks the fine-tuning capabilties such a new feature could involve. Imagine: if +25% meant, say, 25%*1.25=31.25% (and not 25%*2 = 50%), then, you would have a far easier/better way of setting the zoom (almost as good as the one in, say, Acrobat Reader - the latter allows for decreasing/increasing zoom by 1%) than with the current solution.
The View menu also has a new item (J) at the bottom:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33LowermostMenuItemInView.gif.png
The default is the automatic, uppermost mode. It sets the width of the screen. That is, if you set it to a higher level, it treats the screen, say, 640 pixels wide and, therefore, only breaks content into next row when reaching this width. It has nothing to do with sending out resolution HTTP request headers (it doesn't send out any resolution-related HTTP header, unlike PIE) and doesn't resembleThunderhawk's virtual resolution setter either. I, therefore, don't think it's a useful feature.
The Page menu
(invokable by tap-and-holding the screen; this menu is a mixture of the View and Tools menus with few context menu items like Save Image)
It is similar to the one in 3.2:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32ScreenTapMenu.gif.png
That us, New Window is (A), Full Screen is (B), Open in New Window, if you have done this over a link, (C), Save Image is (D), Text Size is (F), Show Images/Enable Animations is G/H. The last thee menu items have slightly different order: I is ''Browsing mode' (Full (A)/Text (B)/Simple (C) browsing/ Rapid Render), J is Display Mode (Normal/Just-Fit/Smart-Fit Rendering) and K is zoom (that is, Zoom and Display Mode is swapped).
A new item is (E), Infoseek; all the four options (as far as what I could make of the communication between the browser and the server, sent it through my snooper proxy) seem to do English to/from Japanese translation of the current page. That is, nothing interesting for a non-Japanese user.
Incidentally, the full screen mode still has scrollbars - you can't completely hide them unlike in MultiIE or PIEPlus.
The Tools menu
It's the following in 3.2:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32Tools.gif.png
In 3.3, the first four menu items are the same (Cut (A)/Copy (B)/Paste (C)/Select All (D)); the (E) is the Infoseek English - Japanese translation serrvice outlined in the Page menu section. (F) is Window (New (A)/Close (B)), G is Scroll mode (that is, screen drag). (H) is Browser Setting and I is Auto-Cruise Setting. J is About.
As far as the Browser Setting dialogs are concerned, the General (including the Advanced) tab are exactly the same:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32GeneralTab.gif.png
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32GeneralTabAdv.gif.png
So is the View tab, in general:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32ViewTab.gif.png
Whats new here is the one drop-down menu is the (virtual) screen size drop-down list, which shouldn't be touched.
The Advanced submenu also has two new checkboxes (in addition to Word Wrap) here:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32ViewAdvanced.gif.png
The Network tab is exactly the same:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32NetworkSettings.gif.png
So is the Helper tab:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32HelperSettings.gif.png
(NF3.3 also supports SVG; in tge demo version, there is no Flash/Java support.)
The Security tab has a new drop-down list and a minor change in grouping:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32Security.gif.png
Finally, the Misc tab is the same:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32MiscTab.gif.png
The same stands for the Advanced submenu here:
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF32MiscAdvancedTab.gif.png
Note that the main registry entries of NF 3.3 have been relocated from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\access.co.jp\NetFront32\ to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ACCESS\NetFront33\. Make sure you take this into account if you try, for example, to relocate its cache as described for example here (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,42768&/want_to_tweak_how_pocket_internet_explorer_uses_the_cache.htm):
http://winmobiletech.com/092005NF33Review/NF33Registry.gif.png
Bottom line
If you have a VGA device, used in SE (not in native VGA) and can put up with the limitations of the demo program (10 favorites/2 tabs at most, no Java/Flash etc) and the language (hope my 3.2 English screenshots were of help), you may really want to consider switching to this (demo) version from 3.2. It has really seamless VGA.
For others (owners of QVGA devices), this version offers almost nothing new/advanced.