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Internet access on the Nokia 808 PureView is provided by the Web app, which has been updated to version 8.2 from version 7.4 which was provided in Symbian Belle.
The most obvious change is the return to a standard menu from the image grid provided in the Symbian Belle version.
For those who like choice, there are alternative browsers available from Opera in the form of Opera Mini (for Smartphones) and Opera Mobile (for non-Smartphones), both of which work on Symbian Belle.
Browsing speed is enhanced based on its pre-fetch functionality which some people like, and others don't because the phones UAP is not visible to websites as a result.
The new, default web app on the Nokia 808 PureView is quite fast at webpage loading, aided by defaulting to loading mobile versions of webpages.
If you want to view the full version of webpages you need to find the websites load full version hyperlink. When the full version of the TechRadar site was loaded the main issue was that the minimum zoom was not small enough, where as Opera provides a fully zoomed out view showing the complete webpage width for easier navigation.
Loading the mobile version of the TechRadar website took a measly 4 seconds and loading the full version from the hyperlink at the bottom of the mobile site took a further 13 seconds.
These times were recorded using a 2MB Wi-Fi connection resulting from local infrastructure limitations. If Wi-Fi is unavailable, there is also the option for mobile data connection instead, but this is a lot slower.
Zooming in and out when a page has been loaded is achieved using pinch to zoom functionality and the browser supports in-page text searching to help you find what you're looking for.
The bookmarking system is nice and simple as with previous versions, with a star button at the centre of the bottom soft button bar.
This provides access to the Bookmark menu displaying a current bookmarks list and a new bookmark button. The fastest way to bookmark a page is a simple long press on the page, which is accompanied with a set page as homepage, send page, allow pop-ups and select text.
A quick check on the Adobe website identified that Flash is not supported in the default driver, but this is nothing new as other operating systems have moved away from Flash also, with iPhone and Windows Phone being prime examples.
Overall, Symbian is still a very poor competitor to the likes of Safari Mobile and the Android browsers, with limited functionality and slower browsing speeds a constant feature.
