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Bout' Time: Sprint's Web-Capable Phones Getting Real Web Browsers

Instead of unreadably cramming the internets into half-assed mobile browsers, Sprint's rolling out a full-fledged browser for "virtually all" of its phones that can do the web dance. They're using Openwave's OpenWeb, which supposedly will make for a more desktop-like and less crap-like internet experience, even on sites not optimized for mobile devices. It'll hit handsets in a couple weeks. [Treo Central]

10:24 AM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By matt buchanan
3,973 views
16 comments

Comments

  • Judging by the screen shots it's much better than what i had on my last WM phone, but it's still a long ways away from safari on the iPhone.

  • Hopefully other CDMA carriers will follow suit shortly. No one uses Sprint =p

  • This ought to make the dozens of Openwave OpenWeb users jump for joy.

  • doesn't sound any different than opera, for those phones that can install it.

  • Image of Darrone Darrone at 10:48 AM on 03/20/08 *

    @TechnoElf: Um, lies! Tons of people use sprint. That's why they didn't lose 30 billion in a quarter... I'm gonna go cry in the corner and wipe my eyes with their stock.

  • This thing sounds more like a web proxy for cellphones than an actual "Real Web Browser".

    I have a Treo 680 on AT&T and I wonder what kind of proxy it's using, if any.

  • this would be wonderful. but i don't have vision included in my plan, so i never bother going on.

  • What shocks me about so many people saying "nobody uses Sprint" is that Sprint has the best data plan in the industry. Cheaper and least restrictive of all the carriers. You'd think people here would be standing in line to use them!

    If this will run on my Treo 650, I'll be happy, though I may upgrade my phone soon, anyway.

  • Opera is the best choice for me on my Sprint phone. I love the iPhone style zoom-in.

  • Sprint has a great data plan, but their cell service is horrible.

  • Also going to say that I bought opera for my sprint phone (HTC Mogul) and it runs great though I don't know of this iPhone style zoom-in that David speaks of.

  • I use Sprint: I have a Treo 755p. I bought it instead of an iPhone. If this works better, then I may stay in the fold... if not, iPhone 2.0 will have me in its clutches fo' sho'.

  • Too late, Sprint. My iPhone arrives tomorrow.

  • I doubt they've managed to come up with anything even close to Opera Mini. It seems that they do use a "proxy" which does some processing of the page before it's sent to a mobile, just like Opera Mini does.

  • This new update has actually hurt more than its done good. Now we can no longer download our own custom ringers using mobile phone uploaders (WAP) or screensavers, instead the browser plays the ringtone instead of asking you to download it and shows the picture instead of asking if you would like to download it. It's a bunch of bs.

  • Hey, Giz, did you guys even read the article?

    "According the article, this enhancement will be automatic for customers who currently access the Internet on their phones and will require no additional action on their part."

    ""Whether clicking through the Sprint portal or typing in a URL, both new and existing customers can use their Sprint phones to search virtually any Web site and it will appear quickly and in a format they're used to seeing on their computer screens," said Kevin Packingham, vice president of wireless product management for Sprint."

    They're not releasing a browser to all phones (which, for one thing, would be frankly preposterous, and for another, isn't stated anywhere in the article); they're just implementing a proxy service.

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