Before smartphones were a common sight, the mobile market was heavily influenced by feature phones. These phones were small, pocket-friendly, and despite lacking quality apps, they were still the heart of distant communication. It was this time around companies like UCWeb and Opera released Internet browsers, pumping life into feature phones.
In this article, we will talk about UCWeb and its browser – the UC browser. It is a special browser in many ways, as it has evolved over the years. Today, the browser is available for every major device — Android, iPhone, Windows, Symbian, and even old phones supporting Java apps.
UC Browser Holds The Top Spot
UCWeb, as a Chinese company, has managed to penetrate the feature phone market in India – so much that it currently captures 35% of the market share. In its early days, the UC browser offered what was probably the most sought-after request from its customers: the ability to load webpages quickly and, at the same time, save the bandwidth.
From the tests conducted, UC browser loads Facebook 130% faster than other mobile browsers. Its underlying technology allows you to smoothly access sites even when connected to 2G/EDGE network.
UC Browser For Smartphones, And Its Features
If capturing feature phone market wasn’t enough, UCWeb is all set to go after smartphones with a complete redesign of its popular browser. In our brief conversation with UCWeb India team at the GMIC Bangalore event, we were explained the features that makes this Chinese browser what it is today – the best in this noisy world of browsers.
Even the fastest Chrome, the elegant Opera, the sluggish Safari lacks the features bundled with UC browser. For starters, UC browser allows you to download files using its built-in manager, and then it organizes your downloads by videos, music, images, documents — now that’s neat!
Partnering with content websites has allowed UCWeb to display interesting websites on its browser’s homepage. This list, however, cannot be edited.
Syncing data to the cloud, a practice very common these days, is available too. And then, the ability to download YouTube videos and watch them offline – without installing any plugins or addons – is a feature many will enjoy.
If you prefer browsing sites privately, switch to incognito mode by going to the settings panel. And if late-night surfing makes you rub your eyes with both hands, the “Night” mode is a life-saver.
You can swipe left or right to close tabs, but you cannot rearrange them on iPhone.
Next, you can wirelessly transfer downloaded files to your computer. From your File Manager, click on the WiFi signal button to activate Wi-Fi sharing — the process requires you to type the given IP address into your PC’s browser and enter the password. No third-party app required.
Long story short, UC browser is impressive — we are not sure how it compresses websites and loads them quickly, but we do know it delivers on its promises. Big time.
