The reasons are many and they're my usual reasons for choosing anything computery... speed, customisability, synchronisation across devices and above all else, reliability. Google Chrome has offered me all this since day one and every time I've looked back at Internet Explorer it's always seemed so cumbersome and old-fashioned by comparison.
So you might think it'll be a pretty one-sided contest between the Samsung Galaxy SIII and the Nokia Lumia 820/920 this week, given I can use Chrome on the Galaxy but it's not yet available on the Lumias.
And you'd be right.
I just don't get this thing between Microsoft and Google, I don't get it at all. Why can I run Google Chrome on my Windows PC, but not on my Windows Phone? How is that logical in any way? Why would Microsoft put people off buying their phones, by not letting them use the browser they prefer? Or is just Google not letting Windows have Chrome for their handsets and wanting to keep it all for the Android army? No, that can't be it, because you can get Chrome on your iPhone too. Why? Why? WHY???
The Windows Phone 8 OS did make a few little concessions to consumer demand with their browser, most importantly by letting you choose Google as your default search engine instead of Bing, which also now works heaps better than it used to. The Windows 8 phones certainly load web pages nice and quickly, and their Gorilla glass screens make the sites look amazing... up to a point.
That point, of course, being video. I've heard Flash content is on the way out and it's going to be replaced by something called HTML5. Trouble is, I've been hearing that for over a year now and it hasn't happened yet. That means the vast majority of us have been missing out on watching video content on our phones, even though they're so damn smart and the screens are supposed to be so bloody amazing. What a waste. I can't even watch my OWN videos on the Newstalk ZB website with my Lumia 820.
The Galaxy S3 on the other hand is a whole other kettle of constantly evolving fish.
First up, the S3 has it's own default browser but I couldn't tell you what it's called because I've never even used it. Like I say, I'm a Chrome man so why would I choose anything else? I was already logged into the phone under my Google account, so when I fired Chrome up all my bookmarks and saved passwords synced straight over. I LOVE not having to think. It was Chrome, just like I was used to on my PC, but on my phone. Then I got to that same point, Flash video.
Disappointingly, Chrome on the S3 wouldn't play it either - or WOULD it? I did a little research (and I mean, literally the 3rd Google entry down) and discovered I could be using a browser called Skyfire instead. Somehow, this app plays Flash straight off the bat.
"This is stupid," I thought. "There must be a way to make it work on Chrome as well." A little more research (even littler than before) and I discovered another app cryptically named, Flash Player. Don't be confused, it isn't ADOBE Flash Player, it just installs it for you - and although it specifically said it WOULDN'T work on Chrome, it did. Yay! I'm now a happy man, dialing up old episodes of 11ish and glennzb tv so I can watch myself being hilarious to my heart's content.
It's not all good news for the Galaxy. These phones all have nice, big, clear screens, so god knows why I would want to be redirected to the mobile versions of sites like Facebook and Google when the fully functioning Desktop versions are perfectly readable. The Windows Phones have a setting to select the Desktop sites by default. As for Chrome on the S3? Dammit! You have to go into Settings and choose the desktop option every time you visit the site. More internet craziness that makes no sense to me whatsoever.
The ability to watch Flash videos still tips the scales mightily in the Samsung's favour though and there's one more mysterious difference that makes the Android interface just that little bit more user-friendly - for some reason, and again who knows why, I can push the little star button on my Facebook page to highlight this post. Not so on the Lumias. It's a small thing, a dumb thing even, but it's the small dumb things that all add up to a better browsing experience.
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