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dave

Here's what I want in a third party browser in iOS 4 and iOS 5

A number of third party browsers have been developed and released for Apple's iOS. Despite the requirement that they must use WebKit, most of the browsers have executed some pretty interesting ideas and provided a lot of enhancements over the basic Safari browser found in the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Some of the browsers off the top of my head:
  • Atomic Browser
  • Dolphin Browser
  • iCab
  • Mercury Browser
What I would love to see is them offer some extra enhancements that would seriously make me switch. What are some of these enhancements?
  • TextExpander support: A number of applications (mostly text editors) have been released for iOS that take advantage of TextExpander. I would love to see this added to browsers! I do most of my work in a browser window each day anyway, and on the desktop, TextExpander has been a completely critical feature.
  • 1Password: If 1Password could find a way to allow other applications to user their database / keychain for passwords (similar to how other apps can use TextExpander macros), this would be huge! I use it all the time to ensure that I have completely random passwords, and if any one site is compromised, I don't lose access to everything. The 1Password app on iOS is well done, but I don't want to use their built-in browser. If there was a way I could access the passwords from another browser, this would be huge!
  • Xmarks: Xmarks has been an important tool for me when keeping all my browser bookmarks in sync between Chrome, Firefox, and Safari on the laptop. Why not bring that over a third party browser in iOS? If this was available in any third party browser, it would instantly become my go-to browser.
  • Ability to set a default browser in iOS: (Sadly, it will take Apple to build in this feature -- there's no way developers or users can do this short of jailbreaking) I'll admit, having the option of running third-party browsers in iOS is pretty damn nice. But it still feels like a kludgy hack when you open a URL in any other application in iOS. It always goes to Safari, without fail. If there were a way to set a custom default browser in the system preferences, this would be awesome!
What sorts of other features do you want to see in third party browsers that they don't currently offer (and aren't offered in Safari)?

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8 replies
NotHotWater

NotHotWater

I want ALL THE THINGS that you have mentioned here. It sounds totally awesome. In addiction to what you've listed, I really want an AutoFill that works reliably. I don't think I've ever successfully AutoFilled anything with the built-in Safari version.
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falleninsea

falleninsea

a good auto fill would be nice and i would like this new browser to offer the reading function that is in the browser now i love being able to read an article with out the adds and in an easy to read font.
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connorg

connorg

Download Instapaper. It does most of the same things as Apple's Reading List, but you can add articles to it from any browser using a bookmarklet, or from other apps like Reeder and Twitter.
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jonv

jonv

Syncing with desktop and other iOS browsers. Not just bookmarks and settings but the current state as well. Finish working on your desktop and pickup your iOS device with all the webpages as you left the on the desktop.
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connorg

connorg

iOS 5 already replaces TextExpander. Settings, General, Keyboard, Shortcuts, Add New Shortcut...
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dave

dave

It doesn't fully replace it though. The shortcuts are only designed for things that span a single line. When dealing with multiple lines that are formatted (HTML code, signatures, various quick reply emails, etc), TextExpander is much better. Sadly, it's not supported by iOS -- only in individual apps.
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dave

dave

Another thing that I thought of: some sort of Readability support! It'd make it nice to read longer articles and blog posts without all the online clutter.

See: www.readability.com/
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dave

dave

Another free idea: UPLOADS FROM THE PHOTO ALBUM!

Seriously! I have all these photos, just sitting there and waiting to be used in various places. It's annoying to have to open an app to upload a photo to a specific site. Let's say I want to change my avatar on gdgt -- just detect the standard upload button and dialog box and then show me the photo album in its place (or give me the option of choosing between a local downloads folder in the app or the photo album). Select your file or photo and it's attached!
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