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Okay, so I’m a little late to this one. It was a hectic weekend and I didn’t get much of a chance to do anything BlackBerry related (two flights in three days will do that). When I got home on Monday, though, I went ahead and downloaded the ballyhooed BOLT browser for BlackBerry. It’s been much-hyped, and after reading up about it I thought it could bring a new dynamic to the BlackBerry browsing experience. After the jump, a couple of thoughts followed by a list of places you can download it.
First off, keep in mind that this is a beta, and a private beta at that. There are going to be bugs, and some of them might tick you off. Like the one you see to your right. Frequently, when manually entering addresses, I’ll encounter an error which will force me to reconnect BOLT. It’s not a huge deal, just a nuisance. Make sure you send the error to them so they can try to fix it for the official release.
Also, the cursor doesn’t move fast at all, much slower than the default browser. This can be a pain for long pages (like BBGeeks.com). When this problem comes up in the default browser I usually advance one page by hitting the space bar. However, that does not work in BOLT. Hopefully both of these issues are resolved for the official release. Also, there is no options page, though the main menu is full of ways you can customize your browsing experience.
The best part is that BOLT renders websites just as you’d see them on the Web. This can be a bit of a problem at times, specifically when the page is wide and you have to scroll over. There is no scroll bar by default, only when you’re actually scrolling, so there’s no way to tell if there’s more content hidden on the right side of the screen. If the cursor moved a bit faster, I don’t think that would be as much of a problem.
If you want to give the new browser a whirl, you can get it from the following outlets:
BlackBerry Cool
BerryReview
CrackBerry.
And, to keep you occupied, here’s CrackBerry’s video preview:
Subscribe to the BBGeeks RSS Feed
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Filed under : BlackBerry Applications 14 Comments
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14 Comments ↓
Does Bolt Browser works with BIS? like the BB Browser ?
Fabian, I’m using it on BIS, so yes, it does work.
How is it different from Opera Mini?
It seems to render more like a desktop browser than opera mini and about as slow… Maybe slower. Still, even at beta stage I think its better than opera. I hope they make a signed bb specific version.
I will still use the bb browser unless there is a page I MUST access and it will not render on bb browser.
is this going to become the browser default for RIM, i have heard rumors !!
I’ve d/l bolt – installed on my BB 8800 – it launches, but errors – ‘internet not available – check network services’ – wtf that mean… can’t get round it.
[...] here, you may want to subscribe to my feed or subscribe to us on Twitter!Just two weeks after the initial release of the Bolt browser for BlackBerry, BitStream has introduced its first update. If you look back to my original post on the browser, I [...]
guys i really mean dont use ever as this browser will surely ruin your phone … whenever you try to sign in any website it will throw a popup and that popup looses control from BB .. the pop will be like stupid ass billboard hindering entire BB screen and not allowing to control anything else … so please understand and dont ever go for this …
Please, krishna, don’t tell people not to use the browser because you had a bad experience. I use it every day, and yeah there are problems, but it’s still in beta. It’s still better than the default BB browser.
[...] feed or subscribe to us on Twitter!Since the end of January we’ve been psyched up about the BOLT browser for BlackBerry. It promised a more desktop-like browsing experience, and through a few builds it has begun to [...]
ugh… i would like a third party browser that can actually save images and watch vids on youtube… lol… only cause i have a pre paid bb and no data plan, they wont give the data plan if ur berry is pre paid :(
I downloaded it just so I could access my University’s Blackboard system from Blackberry 8330. I agree with the inconveniences discussed in this article but I think it is a small price to pay to have access to a site I can’t access from anywhere else on the phone.
[...] browser No, the BlackBerry browser isn’t very good. Yes, there are alternatives, like BOLT browser and, soon enough, Skyfire. While I’ve opined that RIM should stick to other matters and let [...]
[...] software, marking the end of their beta testing phase. The browser has come a long way since it launched in a private beta in January. Even though the browser had bugs from the beginning, I was an instant fan. It renders web pages [...]
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