One of the best upgrades from the newer BlackBerry OSs has been the much improved Internet browser. Back when I had my 8830, with its scroll-only trackball function, surfing was okay, but not a remarkable experience. Then I upgraded to the Curve and realized the power of the cursor. Combined with better support for Javascript, the BlackBerry browsing experience went from “OK” to “pretty freakin’ good.” However, there are still issues that can slow down your experience. Here are a few tips to speed up your Internet browser.
To start, launch your BlackBerry Browser. Hit the Menu key, then scroll to and select Options, and then Browser Configuration. That will bring us to the all-important screen.
Turn off Javascript
Javascript can cause agonizing lag in your browser. I’ve had this happen plenty of times, and it has, on my 8830, has caused the hourglass to pop up every 3 seconds. Thankfully, I was able to solve this problem the way you can solve any BlackBerry problem. It’s still a pain, though.
Turning off Javascript is an easy solution. Your Browser Configuration settings make this even easier, as you can choose to have it prompt you when scripts want to run. This way, you can be picky about when to slow down your browser.
Turn off HTML tables
HTML tables are no fun. Thankfully, with upgrades to Internet Explorer 8, they’re going out of style. While they eventually might be phased out, they still exist today. Turning off this feature can speed up your browser experience. If you need table support, you can just go back into your Browser Configuration options.
Turn off background images
This is a self-explanatory one. Loading fewer images means less data, which means faster load times. You can always click them back on if need be.
Keep Emulation set at BlackBerry
The newer iterations of the BlackBerry Browser allow you to view Web pages as they would appear on the desktop. Once you set your Emulation Mode to Microsoft IE, you can do this. However, it does cause for some big files. This can severely slow your load time. I tried to load a few Web pages like this, and the more data-intensive ones took for-ever.
It’s a neat feature, IE mode, and I recommend you play around with it. However, if you’re going for pure speed, just stick to the BlackBerry default. Things will move a bit smoother.
