Sony touts PS3 internet browser as better than Internet Explorer
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Oct 27th 2008 at 6:30PM }
The use of additional processing power should help enhance the browsing experience, making it less sluggish than before. Sony also made changes to the way the browser implements JavaScript, with a 280% increase in performance there. The changes are so drastic that SCE's Shinji Noda believes the PS3's internet browser beats Internet Explorer 7.
While this may be an achievement to the Sony firmware team, we're doubtful many use their PS3s regularly to browse the web. Regardless, we're glad these changes were made: it's so much easier to browse PS3 Fanboy on firmware 2.50.
[Via IGN]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Spam @ Oct 27th 2008 6:36PM
Let's be fair here - it's not exactly hard.
Lars @ Oct 27th 2008 7:05PM
Haha, you beat me to it!
I actually would say the ability to zoom beats any browser. I used to use my Wii's browser all the time for the same reason. And there's no reason the content should be different on different browsers. We have standards, people... Use them!
decompiler @ Oct 27th 2008 7:53PM
d4mn, you beat me to it...
Kevin PSN: Keviseg15 @ Oct 27th 2008 8:43PM
@ decompiler
yeah he beat you to it by around hmmm lets see 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Tyba @ Oct 27th 2008 9:00PM
Honestly, until I can watch episodes of my favorite TV shows from the PlayStation browser it'll be pretty useless to me. I can watch episodes of Heroes on NBC.com from Safari, why they can't make the PS browser flash compatible is beyond me...
Pablos102030 @ Oct 27th 2008 9:10PM
@Tyba: Did you even read the article? It is flash compatible.
Yare @ Oct 28th 2008 9:44PM
Lars:
ctrl+mouse wheel has zoomed in most browsers for years.
SimbaDogg @ Oct 28th 2008 2:51AM
yeah, so internet explorer stinks, has been a resource hog for a long time. but the ps3 browser being better than IE7/8beta? yeah right. sony, get your head out your ass...fix the browser so java actually works properly. i still cannot get to watch videos on cnn.com/video for the life of me. until then, not sold. if you have to have a caveat like "our browser is great on these sites, BUTTT it doesn't work on these..."
heypaul @ Oct 28th 2008 10:43AM
It may technically be "Flash compatible," but when you try to watch shows off the likes of NBC.com or ABC.com, it still gives you the message "Your browser does not support Flash 5." So whatever version of Flash they stuck in there, it doesn't have the full feature set of 5.
On another note, doesn't Ctrl+mouse wheel just make the text bigger, which just gives the impression of zoom, as opposed to the PS3 browser offering a true zoom?
Jeebus @ Oct 28th 2008 1:58PM
Firefox 3.0 zooms everything, the entire page, though not as smooth as the PS3.
Laurens Holst @ Oct 28th 2008 3:01PM
@heypaul: Sounds more like the method the sites uses to detect the presence of/compatibility with Flash is flawd. I bet they’re checking the browser name whether it is IE, Firefox, Opera or Safari, and if it’s not one of those it tells you ‘not compatible with Flash’. Not much Sony can do about that, then.
Dan @ Oct 28th 2008 4:34PM
own a ps3 and the browser is not better by any stretch of imagination. I can't watch more than 4 you tube videos before it runs out of memory and numerous drop down lists don't work. E.g www.digiweb.ie www.autotrader.co.uk, it also struggles with large images in forums.
stuart @ Oct 27th 2008 6:38PM
it needs a whole of work and changes to be as good as IE
Vince UK @ Oct 27th 2008 7:26PM
To be fair to the man he didn't actually say that the PS3s browser was better in every way to Explorer 7:
"Takase believes PS3's Javascript performance, while not up to the level of Google Chrome, beats Internet Explorer 7."
Averna @ Oct 27th 2008 7:58PM
To be fair, IE is the worst browser out there and technically the ps3 browser is better than IE. The only issue with the ps3 browser is the input device, which is easily fixed.
Gambit07 @ Oct 27th 2008 6:38PM
PS3 browser: will get you 280% faster to porn sites.
iamkid @ Oct 27th 2008 9:50PM
i really do need to get to trying that, i was dissappointed before when i tried, and it said 'it doesnt support flash nine.' great browser update. i actually tried it today, and it did do exceptionally well on youtube
kentuckyfried @ Oct 28th 2008 12:55AM
lol
I gotta try that.
DelSource @ Oct 27th 2008 6:39PM
I use it all the time. And even after 2.50 it is still not good enough. Takes too long to load. Not enough memory. Doesn't display all sites correctly. Not enough memory.
Did I say not enough memory?
Devin @ Oct 27th 2008 7:08PM
Yes, but what you are speaking of regards performance....try running IE7 on PS3 and see how it runs....
Either way, it's hard for me to believe that IE7 is worse than the PS3's browser considering how many people use it and how many websites were developed specifically for it.....but I must say the browser is soooo much better with Flash 9 support....so much better...
decompiler @ Oct 27th 2008 8:03PM
"it's hard for me to believe that IE7 is worse than the PS3's browser considering how many people use it and how many websites were developed specifically for it"
@devin: that's called monopolistic tie-in, buddy... people use ie7 because the computer they bought had windows on in and they don't know any better. companies develop to it for the same reason.
i'm one of the web developers that works for 100% cross-browser, cross-platform support, and let me tell you something: while i have to admit that version 7 has been the best version so far, internet explorer is the biggest pain in the tookus to work with, hands down.
@everyone: please, educate your friends and families about the alternatives to ie.
Devin @ Oct 27th 2008 8:40PM
@decompiler
I use Firefox and have noticed NO difference between the two browsers at all because I only use it to visit a couple websites a day and that's it, so I'm probably not the best buy to talk about this subject, but what I was really meaning was IE7 probably runs better because "most" websites support it and expect that "most" users are using it. Of course, I am assuming when I say this that IE7 is used more than any other alternatives, and hopefully I'm wrong b/c that means I would have learned something today....
Extinction @ Oct 27th 2008 8:34PM
PS3 has more than enough memory to browse websites. iPhone does with 128, I have a UMPC with 512.
benny boy @ Oct 27th 2008 6:40PM
I have noticed a huge difference from when I used the browser about 6 months ago. With a mouse and keyboard, it's soo much better now.
Matt Hargett @ Oct 27th 2008 8:03PM
Are they retarded, or think that we are?
Try bringing up the acid2 (http://acid2.acidtests.org) or acid3 (http://acid3.acidtests.org) in the PS3 browser. It's beyond pathetic; acid2 doesn't even render at all! Why they didn't use khtml or webkit is beyond me.
I was so excited about the Flash support, and that I would be able to listen to pandora.com on my home theater system. No dice. Facebook? Forget it. Netflix? Amazon?
What's the point of this browser, exactly?
Extinction @ Oct 27th 2008 8:49PM
Apparently you're retarded, since they only claimed PS3 does javascript faster than IE, and that's it
JaffaBoy @ Oct 28th 2008 9:40AM
Hell, these dont work at all on my work pc...and that using IE6
So dont just blame the PS3
DigitalMark @ Oct 27th 2008 6:43PM
i use it many times instead of turning on the pc. it's not one of the seven wonders but works and it's more quick than waiting for windows to start LOL
Devin @ Oct 27th 2008 7:09PM
Especially if you have it connected up to a 65" and all your friends are sitting around.....
devilmaker @ Oct 27th 2008 6:44PM
I used it quite regualrily when my computer wasn't able to access the internet (it turned out to be a viral infection). Other than that it isn't used much anymore...
Robby @ Oct 27th 2008 6:48PM
I hope they incorporate Silverlight, so Netflix Watch-It-Now can be streamed to the PS3!
simandsim @ Oct 27th 2008 7:06PM
I hope you die and take the abomination that is silverlight with you
Lars @ Oct 27th 2008 7:08PM
I want to use Netflix on the browser too, but I say Netflix should stop using Silverlight. Using these proprietary systems just adds to the problems.
Does it make you want to jump on Windows and view it there? Yes. And that's exactly why MS invented Silverlight, and that's exactly why I hate it.
Sim and Sim @ Oct 27th 2008 7:20PM
Actually Silverlight works on all platforms in one way or another.. Safari on a OSX and firefox on everything else that isn't Windows... So it is cross platform... but its just not javascript or very "web 2.0" if you can still use that without being very vague....
Jerses @ Oct 27th 2008 6:53PM
I only use it to watch porn. And that means i need more cache. It will also be usefull to have like a ESC key... if you try to close it or hide it it will still be in the background.
Devin @ Oct 27th 2008 8:26PM
LOL!!! love the honesty
Moe-Ali @ Oct 27th 2008 8:27PM
Hahahahaha @ Jerses comment
its funny how sony says the developers haven't used even a 1/3 of the ps3's power and they took all that time just to make it run flash nine lol and withh what .. using an spu!!!! i love my ps3 and i love sony products but they have to get back to the way they used to be
omac @ Oct 27th 2008 6:55PM
I use the browser regularly and I have noticed the difference. It's great to use hulu.com on my t.v.. It almost makes me want to cancel my direct tv - ha!
schuyler @ Oct 27th 2008 6:56PM
I use it pretty often... not as much as my computer but it's quicker to boot up than my computer and it's far easier to get to when I'm sitting on the couch.
imdaboss @ Oct 27th 2008 7:16PM
i never use internet explorer i dont know who does lol but google chrome is nice i wish they would get a deal with them and use googlechrome cuz its faster then any other browser
massive_98 @ Oct 27th 2008 6:56PM
I use it all the time to check news sites and watch Youtube videos. Google/Youtube work flawlessly with the PS3 browser so I'm satisfied.
If the PS3 got an email client I'd be able to ditch my 7 year old PC and just use my PS3.
I'd probably even pay up to 8 bucks for an email client like Outlook Express.
simandsim @ Oct 27th 2008 7:06PM
Why not just use gmail and POP in your email addresses?
I find that much handier than having to resend myself all those vital emails when I'm switching OSs or computers
Lars @ Oct 27th 2008 7:11PM
Agreed. GMail is so much better than any email client. Plus excellent and fast email searches. Oh and tons of storage.... I was always hitting a limit on every other service I used, including work.
Laurens Holst @ Oct 28th 2008 3:07PM
You guys obviously never heard of IMAP. It replaces POP, and using IMAP, you get the same benefits of being able to access your email from everywhere (including from webmail), but then with the added benefit of being able to use it through a convenient feature-rich email client of your choice. Pretty much all email services support it nowadays.
bnz @ Oct 27th 2008 6:58PM
There may be a difference, but i agree with the people that it is still not good enough. Also, the Flash9 support may be nice, but it is far from being good. Anyone who has attempted to play a gametrailers.com video in HD resolution knows what i mean. It surely can't be a thing of processing power that it doesn't work - after all the PS3 is capable of playing blurays with much higher resolutions and bitrates.
Paul from NY @ Oct 27th 2008 8:03PM
What is this guy smoking? PS3 browser needs alot of work. Just scrap it and incorporate firefox. Cmon guys , lets work together on this. Firefox & PS3. BTW - Install playon media from themediamall.com. I can watch my netflix watchnow directly to my vizio. Its awesome.
adolson @ Oct 27th 2008 7:04PM
I use it 95-99% of the time I'm at home. I am so used to browsing the web with the gamepad now, that I don't like doing it on my PC anymore. I am actually strongly considering that text pad thing for the DualShock 3 because the only annoying thing about using the browser is having to grab my keyboard and put down my controller. It would be nice if the character limit was increased, and several other things changed, but overall, I love it, and surfing from the futon = win.
Fane @ Oct 29th 2008 6:31PM
I concur. When I'm at home, I only use the PS3 browser. I would love it to be improved, but it serves my needs.
I would like to have more Options settings (e.g., the ability to turn on/off animated ads, block pop-ups, etc.), like Firefox.
Oh, and the fact that it loads a blank page instead of a half-completed page is not good (needs PSP down-res feature), although I haven't seen this much lately *touches wood*.
don_sf @ Oct 27th 2008 7:12PM
i hav had to use the ps3's internet browser as my main browser for the last month (not anymore though).
we should take a second to appreciate sony's efforts. Considering what the ps2 could do and seeing what the ps3 can do, it is very impressive. I had the mouse and keyboard connected, and it has been pretty nice to use.
Unfortunately, saying the browser is better than internet explorer is just utter blindness.
There are lots and lots of compatibility and reliability issues. e.g. facebook. Security is another big problem. PS3 always has problems with higher security websites - like when shopping.
And like one guy mentioned, memory is quite an issue.
I can carry on outlining faults but i should point out that the machine is certainly powerful enough to give an absolute flawless internet browser. Sony just needs to bring some people in and sort it out. i appreciate its a work in progress, and will continue to get better over time.
bottom line is the ps3's internet browser is NOT better than internet explorer.
Popfrogs @ Oct 28th 2008 11:05AM
RTFA. He was saying the new JS engine and other things are better than IE7, and he's right.
Sure, it still has compatibility issues with some sites, Hulu still doesn't act right 100%, etc. etc.
Personally, I'd throw down $5 to buy a PS3 browser that is webkit-based like Safari. If it was an actual app that launched instead of a crippled XMB application, it could use lots of memory and power to browse the web properly. The memory limitation comes into play because the PS3 browser can only use a very small XMB sandbox to store data in temporarily. I don't even think it has hard drive caching.
Games get access to about 256mb of main memory right? So why can't a standalone browser do the same?