To say that the difference between Google’s claims and this video is rather large would be an understatement.
Interestingly, though, it’s not really the browser in Android that is failing to deliver here. Instead, it’s our old friend Flash. PocketNow tried the browser again after uninstalling the flash plugin, and the browser in Android indeed started besting the iPhone for most things. Of course, this is on the current iPhone, not the one that will be announced in a few weeks.
Still, the mere PRESENCE of that Flash plugin, even when rendering the initial site that didn’t have any flash on it, had a HUGE impact on the speed of the browser. When flash ads were littered all over the page, it literally turned the browser into a dog.
Yet another affirmation of Jobs’ Thoughts on Flash piece.
“But it’s still a beta” I can hear you say. Okay. Fair enough. But it’s been more than 3 years since the iPhone was announced. If Adobe hasn’t worked out the speed issues in all this time, what are the chances it’s going to get them fixed in the next couple of months? Do we really expect this dog to turn into a Gazelle anytime soon?
Another thing I find interesting is this idea that the flash bits on the page need to be tapped and held in order to be brought into a full screen view in order to manipulate them. How exactly will this work for sites that use flash for navigation? Will you have to tap and hold the nav bar, let it come into full screen, and then tap on the link you want? Seems like a UI nightmare to me.
