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The browsing experience on the Nokia Asha 503 is not fantastic. The tiny screen hinders any full-page websites, but as long as the site supports a mobile version browsing is smooth. The user interface is snappy without much lag, but pages were not the quickest to load even when using a strong Wi-Fi connection.
There is only one browser available for this device, and it is Nokia's own default one. Searching the store for an alternative is pointless. The browser has everything you need but those little extras the likes of Chrome or Safari can provide - like remembering your login information - are non existent.
When you open up the Internet app the search bar is along the bottom of the screen and a page appears with a grid of the browsers options. They are basically groups of bookmarks and they are separated into Featured, Entertainment, Apps, News, Social, Information, Sport, Mail, and Downloads.
Each section has several site suggestions, so you should not be stuck for finding content straight away. It's hard to get excited about a page of bookmarks, but it is customisable and you have the option to add sites to the list.
The search bar is simple but effective, and on its right hand side is the much-needed refresh icon. On the left hand side, the window icon will load up your open pages, with a maximum of six allowed at any one time.
Swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen to reveal a menu of options. Here you will be able to find tabs for Recent, Favourites, Downloads, Web Apps, Feedback, More. There is nothing revolutionary here but the basics are catered for.
Overall, the Asha 503 will enable you to do all the basics, but there is a serious lack of features that users of higher-end devices will notice are missing.
There is no online syncing of pages with other devices because the Nokia Asha 503 only supports the default browser. Zooming in and out of pages is also not intuitive, as the pinching gesture found on most other modern smartphones isn't used here.
You probably won't be surprised to hear that the device doesn't support Flash, although there are not many devices on the market that do support the dying platform. The screen won't allow you to fully immerse yourself in whatever you are viewing thanks to the low resolution and its small size.
