Full HTML Glory on your Small-Screen Phone!

Opera Mini has been a boon for all those people who want the full HTML browsing love of the iPhone, but are confined to a device that costs as much as one EMI of the iPhone itself. Here comes along another competitive app, named Bolt which boasts “lightning fast browsing” on any phone that supports Java apps, that are supported by almost every phone with a color screen today.

Its latest version (1.5) was launched recently and is very similar to the Opera Mini in terms of functionality. Bolt claims that “many of the most significant upgrades occur ‘under the hood’, but you are sure to notice the results. Version 1.5 is the most reliable, fastest browser we have ever released – more than 15 per cent faster than Beta3.” A complete web site can either be viewed in a split-screen mode, wherein a tiny thumbnail of the entire site covers the top end, and a magnified version is showcased at the bottom. One of the star features of Bolt includes the ability to play back videos off any web site. How convenient watching videos on a slow EDGE connection is a matter of personal choice, but its a nice feature nonetheless.
Although Flash Video (FLV) format is supported, the browser cannot handle Flash-based content on web sites. Also supported are subscriptions to RSS feeds, highlighting text for copy-paste and the regulars like favorites and history. It also has a built-in download manager and a pop-up blocker. For people keen to use secure web sites, the browser supports a 128-bit secure (SSL) connection; a standard mode of encryption used by such sites. We tried the app out on a Windows Mobile phone and it handled full-fledged web sites quite well. Navigating through pages was an easy affair. We’d definitely give Bolt our thumbs-up!