UC Browser Review
UC Browser, a popular alternative to IE, is my go-to browser ever since I got it from the Windows Phone Store. It was recently updated, revamping the whole interface.
INTERFACE:-
As soon as you open up the app you get a home screen with your bookmarks and favorite sites. The old browser's interface was no slouch but was a little difficult to navigate through. This just adds on to that. Making the interface look much cleaner, I think, was right, because new users shy away from too many complications. The tab management system, I haven't been able to try out because I am on a 512mb ram device, but I am sure that it is just as good as the rest of the interface.
PERFORMANCE:-
UC Browser is probably the fastest browser on the Store. It always was and will be. Scrolling through web pages is slick and lag is absent but zooming in on web contents is not that good. Speed comparisons with IE cannot be made because I have a pretty decent internet connection at home. Although, buffering videos was much faster on UC Browser. The ability to change search engines will make it popular among people who use Google instead of Bing. But me, I am kind of an MS guy, so I stick to the search button
The small things that count:-
1) The ability to set themes
This feature is excellent and was present in the last one too, but deserves a special mention
2) UC Cricket
As a big fan of cricket I was really impressed by this. It is a simple webpage that loads really fast, even on mobile data.
3) Site nav
What should I say about this! What a thing! It draws popular websites from you country and displays them in various categories like news, music, utility, download zone etc.
4) Download manager
Finding a good browser with a download manger is difficult and UC Browser makes it much easier. This is by far the best download manager I have ever used. Downloading videos is as easy as ever. This feature is by far my favorite!
5) UC Disk
This is UC's cloud based solution. It allows you to create an account and store all your downloads there, in the cloud. I personally won't use it much, but it definitely is a good to have feature.
The Competitors:-
1) Internet Explorer
This is Microsoft's own browser and by far the biggest competitor. It lacks most of the features UC has, but since it is stock, all the search results/links open in it. I wish there was a way to change this
2) Opera Mini
This is one of the most popular mobile browsers' which recently made its entry to WP. Although it is still in beta, it still provides a fast and fluid experience but lacks the visual appeal of UC Browser. The UI needs a lot of polish and is just isn't as nice and friendly to use as UC Browser
What can be done to improve it further:-
There is not a single flaw I have found in UC, these are ones which I found that could be better but I am nit-picking
1) Accelerometer is way too sensitive. I tend to hold my phone tilted and the screen rotates which gets a bit annoying. I know you can lock it, but they can probably fix it with a small update.
2) Sometimes the gestures don't work properly. When I am zoomed in and pan left or right, the browser changes the webpage, which is a major annoyance
This was my review for UC Browser!
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