Bitstream ThunderHawk Updated for Windows Mobile 5, VGA and Left Keyboard Orientation

[Raphael Salgado]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.bitstream.com/wireless/products/pocketpc/ppc_updates.html' target='_blank'>http://www.bitstream.com/wireless/p...pc_updates.html</a><br /><br /></div>Bitstream's press release on February 13, 2006 announced <i>"the release of ThunderHawk Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Edition, which offers users a fast, secure desktop browsing experience along with new Windows Mobile 5.0 technology."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/pocketpc_ebay.gif" /><br /><br />In addition to full Windows Mobile 5 compatibility and a bunch of bug fixes, ThunderHawk also supports 480x640 VGA screens (sorry, no 240x240 support yet), and can adjust for left-side orientation for devices such as the HTC Magician and Apache - although they do warn about the issue with these devices automatically adjusting orientation when the keyboard is opened or closed.<br /><br />ThunderHawk is a subscription-based browser and service that costs $49.95 annually or $5.95 monthly. It uses their servers to re-render pages and quickly send them down to your Pocket PC or Smartphone in the near-perfect layout you would normally see on your desktop. However, with Windows Mobile 5.0's updated Internet Explorer Mobile now handling web pages much better, and new browsers on the horizon such as Opera, NetFront, and Minimo, the future should prove interesting. I have sent them numerous requests to have a "Personal Version" similar to their <a href="http://www.bitstream.com/wireless/products/enterprise/corporations/index.html">Enterprise Server Version</a> that would use your home PC's broadband connection to render the pages for your own devices, but that idea never got acknowledged. :? What are your thoughts on ThunderHawk?

[Menneisyys]

I wish it really had VGA resolution (it still doesn't). That is, its utility is pretty questionable on a VGA device.

An example, taken on my VGA x51v:

http://www.winmobiletech.com/kuvat/UusTHNonVGA.bmp.png

(I'll also publish a detailed review of it, along with Minimo 0.013RC1, tomorrow.)

[Chris Spera]

What are your thoughts on ThunderHawk?

I won't pay for a browser, or for any kind of prerendering when I have an all you can eat data plan. I don't care how great it is, I pay enough for using my PPC. I don't need to pay for this as well...but that's just my 2 cents.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Jesus, guys, please LET ME USE MY SIP OF CHOICE.

That's all I fricking ask.

I just want to use FITALY with it.

I really wish they would make that change; it would make me the happiest person on earth and I would subscribe immediately. It's the one feature I really want and there doesn't seem to be any movement in that direction :-(

[Raphael Salgado]

I wish it really had VGA resolution (it still doesn't). That is, its utility is pretty questionable on a VGA device.

That screenshot was from the most recent version? I feel misled by their Installation Notes section.

[alese]

I wish it really had VGA resolution (it still doesn't). That is, its utility is pretty questionable on a VGA device

I was hoping for little more than only WM5 compatibility and "Fake" VGA support. I'm a subscriber to TH, but with all the new offerings, I'm not sure I'll keep my subscription. I guess it depends on how it will perform on my Wizard, how is the new Minimo and when will Opera come out with full release...

***quoted image trimmed by mod JD. please don't quote embedded graphics, think of our mobile users. :-) ***

[Menneisyys]

I wish it really had VGA resolution (it still doesn't). That is, its utility is pretty questionable on a VGA device.

That screenshot was from the most recent version? I feel misled by their Installation Notes section.

yup, the latest one.

[Jetjockgordo]

I have been a longtime TH user and still think it is a great way to go. I am using it on TMo with my JasJar and find that it is still much, much quicker to render a page than any other browsers out there, even with WiFi! My guess it has something to do with TH's limited page caching and the speed that ROM can be written to in WM5. I am willing to trade some resolution (probably a big reason it is fast) for the speed. The Opera (beta) and NetFront are much slower to load and really become unusable with GPRS. I would like to see the option of different "resolutions" made available to get the fonts a little clearer (their zoom resolution change not withstanding). The latest updates are working very well making TH a great choice for now.

My 2 cents worth,
Gordo

[Menneisyys]

I have been a longtime TH user and still think it is a great way to go. I am using it on TMo with my JasJar and find that it is still much, much quicker to render a page than any other browsers out there, even with WiFi! My guess it has something to do with TH's limited page caching and the speed that ROM can be written to in WM5.

TH doesn't cache any pages - it has no file-based cache. It's a very simple engine without any "advanced" stuff like caching.


I am willing to trade some resolution (probably a big reason it is fast) for the speed. The Opera (beta) and NetFront are much slower to load and really become unusable with GPRS.

You could consider getting a OnSpeed subscription (see this article (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&amp;p=494&amp;more=1) if interested) - it really helps this situation. Another solution is using Toonel - when I manage to make it work under WM5, that is.

I would like to see the option of different "resolutions" made available to get the fonts a little clearer (their zoom resolution change not withstanding).

Unfortunately, adding real VGA support for TH isn't very easy, at least as far as text rendering is concerned (graphics rendering is different; the Bitstream people should implement hi-res image rendering because it's not at all complicated and requires not much additional work). The reason for this is as follows:

the font set TH uses is a special one, written specifically for QVGA-resolution screens. You can't just use these fonts on a VGA screen because, then, all fonts were rendered in the 1/4 th size. This means all fonts would need to be recreated (reengineered, replanned, redrawn), which can mean pretty much work.

[Menneisyys]

OK, here's my review:

Thunderhawk is a decent, alternative Web browser for the Pocket PC and Microsoft Smartphone, which is definitely worth giving a try, particularly if you have a low-resolution (QVGA) Pocket PC. It's a bit pricey but it has a 30-day trial version for a free ride.

What's new in the new version?

There aren't much changes in the new version, except for the explicit support for the left-handed landscape mode. The lack of it, so far, made it impossible to use the built-in hardware keyboard on several HTC Pocket PC Phone Edition devices (HTC Wizard, HTC Universal etc.) with previous versions.

On these devices, the orientation change is automatic now. You can also override this (on other Pocket PC's without slide-out or mini-notebook hardware keyboard too) using the new drop-down list in Settings, as can be seen in this screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/022006Minimo13/ThunderhawkRHLHLandscapeModeList.bmp.png).

Otherwise, there aren't anything new in the application compared to the latest, 2.1 one, reviewed and compared to the alternatives in the Bible of Pocket PC Web Browsers (see the section Recommended reading for the links).

Please note that it still doesn't support the VGA resolution (it does run on VGA devices but only delivers QVGA-resolution and, therefore, blurry images/text) and heavily lacks even basic capabilities like text selection and copy to the clipboard or multitab/multiwindow support (let alone advanced features like in-page text search, URL copy, image save, page save etc).

Despite its shortcomings, I still heartily recommend it for QVGA users (where the lack of the real VGA resolution isn't an issue) – you'll like it very much if you don't need any added features or multitabs, just a quick browser that beautifully and quickly renders even complex, multi-column pages, with reduced bandwidth usage and first-class Java/JavaScript compatibility.

Java compatibility-wise, it can be the only right choice for many VGA users too because current Pocket Internet Explorer plug-ins (and NetFront) only have limited, JDK1.3-only support at most (Opera and Minimo doesn't have any Java support); Thunderhawk supports even JDK1.5.

Problems/remarks

I've thoroughly tested it on my WM5 HTC Wizard, which also has built-in keyboard and, in general, was happy with it. Some remarks, though:


1. Do not open/close the keyboard while you are using Thunderhawk

2. the cursor keys on the built-in keyboard not necessarily scroll the screen in the right direction (the D-pad on the PDA works perfectly)

3. after exiting the application, you will need to explicitly switch back to Portrait mode because the operating system will be left in left-handed landscape mode.

Recommended reading

Roundup of Web Browsers (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,42026&amp;amp;/pocket_pc_web_browsers_-_the_complete_roundup.htm) (alternatives: iPAQ HQ (http://www.ipaqhq.com/forums/showthread.php?p=102643), AximSite (http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?p=780770), FirstLoox (http://www.firstloox.org/forums/showthread.php?p=35739), PPC Magazine (http://pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17343), BrightHand (http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&amp;amp;postid=775428)). Please make sure you also follow the links in these threads to my newer articles.

Download link: http://www.bitstream.com/wireless/products/pocketpc/

[Kacey Green]

I won't pay for a browser, or for any kind of prerendering when I have an all you can eat data plan. I don't care how great it is, I pay enough for using my PPC. I don't need to pay for this as well...but that's just my 2 cents.
I have to second this, I hope the MDA will do a decent job until an alt. browser is availible on PPC and Smartphone