The iPad has received a lot of coverage for the lack of one particular feature applicable to web browsing, that is, the omission of Flash support. Enough has been written on that topic so that I don’t feel I can add anything to the debate. I’m not a big fan of Flash but then there’s no question its use is both widespread and sometimes even warranted. So, shame on Apple for not letting the customer choose.
The area I’m more interested in exploring is the use of the iPad web browser, Safari, as a day-to-day web browser. Since Safari is the only web browser choice at present, it’s crucial that the browser be both stable and provide maximum compatibility with existing web content.
On the iPhone, the lack of a top-notch browser is not such a big deal. Most people don’t expect Safari to work on every web site. And also, most of the key web sites provide apps that provide specialized access to their information or services. Furthermore, many sites deliver iPhone-specific content to optimize the experience for the smaller phone screen.
But despite superficial appearances, the iPad is not a super-sized iPhone nor will most people use it like they do the iPhone. A common operating system may link the two devices; however, use models of the iPad are closer to that of a laptop or netbook than they are a phone. As such, I believe the Safari experience to be much bigger key to the success of the iPad so long as it is the only browser Apple permits us to run on the device.
My experience after almost of week of Safari use is not encouraging. While many sites render nicely and work well, I find far more sites than I would like to that simply don’t work due to user interface difficulties or Javascript incompatibilities.
On the iPhone, I would have not been troubled by this. But the iPad is a mini-information appliance and I use the browser constantly. I want the browser to work much like its desktop cousin, Safari 4 for Mac (or PC).
On my Mac, I can use Safari to accomplish many tasks: banking, checking web mail, or perhaps editing my blog. What these tasks have in common (along with many other sites) is the heavy reliance on Javascript.
But on the iPad, too many of these sites just don’t work properly. Instead of being able to edit my blog using the standard wordpress interface, I am forced to use a specialized app, use a mobile version of the site, or just go back to editing on my desktop. This falls short of my expectations for a tablet. I know a tablet won’t be able to do everything a desktop can, but I at least expect a rich browsing experience.
In my opinion, Safari for iPad must have maximum compatibility with existing HTML and Javascript-driven content. Web developers must not be forced to create specialized content to get their sites to work with the iPad. And they shouldn’t need to develop special iPad apps to get access to web content.
Frankly, I’d like to ditch all these specialized apps for visting Loopt, Wordpress, and others. Or should I say rather that I don’t want to have to install these apps on my iPad in the first place. I’m happy to have them on the iPhone, but they just seem unnecessary on the iPad (or should be anyway). Why should I need to install an app to get info from a web site when I have a 1024×768 pixel display and a reasonable set of gesture-based controls? I don’t think I should have to.
On reliability, Safari is also challenged. Crashes are frequent to the point of annoyance. I think even IE8 crashes less than Safari. Oh, and Safari doesn’t really seem to render all that fast even on blazing fast network connections. That isn’t really a reliability problem, but let’s throw it out there anyway too.
Summing up, we have:
- Poor compatibility
- Lack of reliability
- Ho hum rendering times
To me, that’s a pretty ugly picture and a blemish on the iPad. And that’s before I whine about the missing Flash support like everyone else is doing.
