(CLICK ON IMAGES FOR FULL-SIZED VERSION)
I've been honored to participate in the testing phase of Donald C. Kirker's new mobile browser for Palm Garnet: Universe 3 (now in Public Beta).
Donald has been a 1-man powerhouse of development and organization over the past months, and has produced a product worth keeping an eye on. However, much to my regret, I cannot recommend it at this point in time. It has too many rough edges and lacks support for significant sites and functionality.
That's not to say you shouldn't consider it when it goes into full release. Donald has been very responsive to the comments of his testers, and has already added a lot of additional functionality because of their comments.
So, exactly what is Universe 3? It is pretty neat stuff: a browser that supports Java (without requiring installation of the Java VM), allows you to have 3 tabs opened simultaneously and has a built-in RSS reader. Although some of its functionality requires the use of a stylus, Donald has done a very good job of building in a lot of support for Garnet's 1-hand navigation. The 'fun' aspect of the browser is the way it really emulates a desktop browser: using your Palm or Treo's D-pad like a mouse, you move an actual 'pointer' cursor around the entire screen, and then click the D-pad button to execute commands. If you look at the first graphic, you will see Universe to the right of Blazer, both at the Yahoo!News mobile site.
Blazer is better optimized for mobile sites, and allows you to open a section or article, just by clicking the corresponding number on the Treo's keypad. However, compared to Opera Mini or Xiino, the 'pointer' system on Universe is pretty nice.
The browser is fairly fast in loading websites, and does a nice job of rendering them for the Palm and Treo screen real-estate. On the other hand, it inexplicably will not open some important websites, such as CNN Mobile. Bloglines, another of my key sites will be rendered, but Universe will not open up my feeds...it just keeps looping back to menu page. With Skweezer, it will open the page, but won't allow you to enter a URL for 'skweezing'. This is particularly frustrating, as I am forced to use the full CNN site, and it takes forever to load. Universe will support the Google Optimizer, so that is something; however, Skweezer does a better job of re-formatting large sites for the Palm OS, and I miss it.
Another major shortcoming is how Universe deals (or doesn't deal) with graphics. Take a look at this image; it is of the Wunderground.com weather site. On the left the site's radar map is open in Blazer, and on the right the same page is open in Universe. 'nuff said? Universe's GIFLib skews graphics on a lot of sites, and will not support animation.
Finally, there is the 700p's godawful bugs. Blazer gets a lot of snap, crackle & pop out of PTunes, when it is in background mode while I am browsing. Opera Mini adds a slur or two to the mix, but Universe has them all beat. It takes the sound issues of the first two mentioned browsers, and then makes the music sound like its underwater (or, seriously gargling with Listerine).
I currently have only the Treo 700p to test Universe 3 upon, so I don't know to what degree (if any) my issues are related to its inherent abuse of applications. I would urge anyone who wants to support a new and classy browser paradigm to download the public beta, put it through its paces and post your experiences at the feedback site. You will help in the development of a new and better option for your browsing pleasure...I have that kind of faith in the efforts of Mr. Kirker, and his Universe 3 Browser.