Webkit-based Iris browser for Windows Mobile hits final preview stage
By Dusan Belic on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 4:52 PM PST In Applications, Mobile Web, Windows Mobile
Back in February, we reported that a company called Torch Mobile is bringing the Webkit-based browser to Windows Mobile. Up until now, we haven’t heard much from them and now they’ve announced that the final preview, version 1.0.13, is available.
According to the company’s blog post, big leaps in stability, performance and features were made over the past six months. However, it’s the stability they’re emphasizing the most, adding that this release features primarily “stability fixes and improvements on memory usage, network stability, and rendering quality, including fixes for Asian language sites.” In addition, it also includes two major new features – page overview and single-column (MDR) mode.
Torch Mobile is eager to hear your thoughts and so are we. Download the app and don’t hesitate to drop us your two cents. How does it stack when compared with Opera Mobile 9.5 and/or Skyfire? What do you say?
Aesthetically, it’s “cool” that it might render pages like the iPhone’s Safari browser due to it’s use of WebKit, but the Safari dev team does not handle Iris’ development. The app has only one thing going for it – WebKit. But that is not enough, and after testing Iris, I am wanting all the life back that I lost waiting for pages to load. A Torch representative wrote back to me saying that Iris uses Internet Explorer for some of Iris’ inner-workings …. terrible plan, Torch! Did you use IE Mobile before deciding it was good idea. There is virtually nothing that can be done to dramatically improve IE Mobile unless Microsoft wakes up, so why use it as a part of your software when competitors like Opera Mobile, Skyfire, and NetFront have wiped the floor with IE Mobile. My opinion is don’t waste your time with Iris.