#N9Apps: Best Third Party browser for Harmattan

I was scrolling through Twitter a few weeks ago, and saw a post about Nemo Mobile ( MeeGo 1.3 CE), and a browser it shares with the N9, HeliumReborn. I decided to try it out again, as it had apparently been updated a lot from my last experience. Using it, I thought about SnowShoe, that Qt 5 browser. So I went and installed that again, also largely improved. So there I had 5 browsers, Native, Opera, Firefox (v14), SnowShoe and Helium.
After posting about having “all” the Harmattan browsers on Twitter, I was directed to another, UC Browser. Also installed that. Then I remembered there was a Qt rewrite project of Fennec (Firefox). Although the rewrite is limited, it is still super slick, with no checker boarding. I say limited as it cannot click links, and needs terminal to launch it. You can see a video of it running below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HUmjHWpe-XI
So for me, its current state made it no longer a competitor. Hopefully in the future, it will be a contender.
Down to the deciding.
UC Browser
This is the same as the Symbian counterpart. It is in Chinese, with the possibility to get partial English support by way of a mod. It is fairly average, and is no longer supported for the platform. Thus, I don’t recommend it at all. Its current state is poor, and with no hope of it getting better, there is simply no reason to use it.
Verdict: Stay away
Opera
Opera has always been an awesome browser. I used it heaps on Symbian, and when it came out for the N9, I jumped at the chance to use it. It is super slick. Easy to use, and fairly feature packed. Earlier versions were a bit buggy, but the latest version has definitely come along way. With the option to use Opera as the default browser, data compression, no checker boarding and easy-switching to a desktop user agent, it is a serious option.
What I don’t like, is the lack of customisation in the keyboard department. I like the Harmattan keyboard and with various custom keyboards available, I find myself switching between them regularly. With Opera, you are stuck with the included one. I would like to see a Harmattan style UI, but it is understandable why it is the way it is ie. standard across all supported mobile platforms.
Verdict: Recommended Install

SnowShoe
Snowshoe is awesome! It uses Qt5 and webkit2 technologies to bring a really slick and refined experience. Sadly the project hasn’t been updated in around 2 months, and it had great potential. Its fully open sourced so hopefully we will see it improved by the community. The UI of Snowshoe is cool. You have a tab view, and also a top sites page.This is one of my favorite browsers, just a shame that it isn’t fully stable yet.
Verdict: Give it a try
Helium
Now for the browser that kick-started the whole post. It is slick, it is fast, it is just all-round, well, awesome! It is understandable why this is the default browser in Nemo. Although being different, it still keeps the Harmattan-esque UI. I’ve been using Helium as my main browser for the last week on my N950. It has been hard to fully swap from the native browser on my N9 (especially since my native browser has the iOS6 User Agent and Qt 5), but it is a very solid, and finished browser. Pinch to Zoom is extremely fluid, and pages load quickly.
Not really anything bad I can find about it, except that I haven’t found an option to make it the default browser.
Verdict: Recommended Install
Fennec (Firefox)
Finally we have Fennec or Firefox for Maemo. Its a decent browser, and with the ability to have Flash support, makes it hard to beat. however, the UI is average, found to be a resource hog and besides support as default browser and for flash, it doesn’t really offer anything over the other browsers. The ability to use SOME firefox addons is nice, but there is definitely a limited number compatible.
Verdict: Give it a try
So, from that, it seems fairly clear that I would choose the best browser to be either Opera or Helium. I am leaning more towards Helium. Mainly due to the UI, and the fact I can use the native keyboards. Its a great browser that I would recommend to all Harmattan users to at least try.
Have you used some of these browsers? Have your say in the comments section below!
Michael

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Smoked salmon pizza

Ingredients
For the pizza base

 175 g ’00′ flour

40 g semolina, plus extra for sprinkling
Pinch of salt
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp fresh yeast
1/2 tsp caster sugar
175 ml warm water

For the smoked salmon topping:

100 ml crème fraîche
1/2 lemon
1 X 80 g packet smoked salmon, trimmings
Small handful, tarragon, leaves, chopped
2 tbsp capers, drained

Directions:

1. Mix the flour with the semolina and salt and add the olive oil.

2. Combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir until the yeast has dissolved.

3. Gradually add the liquid to the flour and mix until it comes together as soft dough.

4. Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead until smooth. Return to the mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap.

5. Leave to rest in a warm place for 10-15mins – until the dough rises slightly.

6. Dust the work surface with flour and roll the pizza base out to a rough circle, about 0.5cm thickness. Sprinkle with semolina on both sides and transfer the dough to a heated frying pan.

7. Cook, on a moderate heat for about 5-7 minutes on each side until lightly coloured. Turn out onto a board for serving.

8. Spread the base with crème fraiche which has been sharpened with a squeeze of lemon.

9. Top with salmon slices and sprinkle with tarragon and capers.

Chicken Musakhan

Ingredients:

2 chickens cut into quarters
Lemon juice
Salt as desired
1 tsp. allspice
3 1/2 c. finely chopped onions
1 tsp. sumac
1/2 tsp. cumin
Black pepper
Arabic bread
Fried pine nuts

Directions:

Rub chicken with lemon juice and salt and set aside for 10 minutes, then rub the rest of the spices too. Put chicken in baking pan, cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Cook onions in oil until softened. Add allspice, sumac, cumin, salt and pepper. Cut arabic bread in two, making two flat rounds. Dip each half in the onion mixture covering the bread with oil. Put the coated bread in a baking pan and spread some of the onion mixture on top. Sprinkle some pine nuts on top.

Repeat with the pieces of bread. Remove the chicken from the oven. Put each chicken half, skin side down, on top of bread. Fill each chicken half with onions mixture. Sprinkle with fried pine nuts. Return to 400 degree oven until nicely browned. Serve hot with plain yogurt. Serves 4-6 people
You can serve it with plain yogurt on the side.

Eggs with garlic and sumac

Ingredients

Egg, 6 large 400ml

Olive oil 30ml

Butter 30g

Cloves garlic, crushed 30g

Dried sumac 10g

Dried mint 5g

Sea salt 10g

Garlic spiced yoghurt 100g

Preparation

1. Crack all eggs into a large bowl, being very careful not to break any of the yolks.

2. Heat oil in heavy frying pan with the butter. Stir in garlic and sumac and stir for 2-3 minutes. Slip the eggs into the pan, moving the bowl so that each falls into its own section of the pan. Sprinkle the dried mint over the eggs and cover the pan with a lid. Reduce the heat and cook until the egg yolks are set to taste.

3. Sprinkle a little sea salt over the eggs and divide them into portions. Serve immediately with garlic spiced yogurt and an extra pinch of sumac.

Weekend Watch: Symbian Xeon^4 Based on Belle Refresh on Nokia N8

In this video we see an update to the Xeon^4 custom firmware theme on Belle Refresh for Nokia N8. It’s looking rather slick, no? The animations aren’t so jarring and nausea inducing as previous custom firmwares have been (the ones with randomly spinning screens?!)

by Jose Antonio Gil Gonzalez

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