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Show HN: Javelin Browser

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Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#71

Post by AdamFernandez »

jessedhillon wrote: post #38

I like it a lot. But I have a tangential question: has anyone found a good writeup on rise of the use of adjectives like gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, amazing to describe apps? Aside from my personal opinion, I'd like to know if anyone else has observed and written about this trend.

I have not seen a write up on this, but whenever I see it, it seems strange. Calling your own app 'gorgeous' or 'stunning' may come off as conceited. Those are subjective terms. If the UX is positively impacted by the appearance, call that out in the copy. I think it would be better to let your users gush over the appearance of the app using subjective terms in reviews or testimonials.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#73

Post by cruisername »

adrusi wrote: post #59
fooqux wrote: post #16

I've been using your browser for a couple months now (I think I saw it mentioned on Android Police if you're curious) and I've been liking it. It looks slick, and works exactly how I think it should. The one problem I have with it is one I'd like other opinions on, both for my curiosity and your benefit. Frankly, it's not my daily driver because I don't know who you are and don't trust you. Using a (no offense) no-na…

Firefox is open source. You don't have to have personally looked at its source or know anyone who works on it to trust that it's not recording your information, thousands of people have looked at its source, and if even one of them noticed something suspicious, the entire world would know about it. Javelin isn't open source, so you're right, you have to have some amount of faith in an unknown group of developers. Per…

Ever heard of the underhanded C contest? The writing of bugs/features that are well hidden and look like they were not intended is a real thing. Bugs go undiscovered for as much as 20 years, at least from our perspective. And mere suspicion is hardly enough for a call to arms.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#74

Post by esolyt »

nubela wrote: post #24
fooqux wrote: post #16

I've been using your browser for a couple months now (I think I saw it mentioned on Android Police if you're curious) and I've been liking it. It looks slick, and works exactly how I think it should. The one problem I have with it is one I'd like other opinions on, both for my curiosity and your benefit. Frankly, it's not my daily driver because I don't know who you are and don't trust you. Using a (no offense) no-na…

I'm also the developer of http://getgom.com (VPN as a Chrome extension using SPDY SSL proxies), and as a fellow Singaporean when our government openly does surveilance, I __completely__ understand where you are coming from. To be fair, I'm not sure how I can solve his problem though. Open sourcing could be a plausible answer. But fighting Google Play clones and what-not is really time-consuming and as an indie dev, m…

Did you promote your app on http://www.reddit.com/r/android? If not I would strongly suggest that. They are a very active and passionate community.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#75

Post by junto »

eli wrote: post #41
niklasni1 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I don't have Google Apps on my phone at all. If it's not in F-Droid or available as an apk from the developer, it doesn't get installed.

That seems limiting. Is it because you don't trust Google?

You are forced to have a Google account to use Google Play.

Once you have a Google account on your phone it is privacy game over.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#76

Post by phpnode »

nubela wrote: post #10
phpnode wrote: post #9

I think you're making a mistake by offering this for free. The kind of people who care enough about their web experience to install a new browser are the kind of people who won't mind parting with a few £$€ to do so. To be profitable, free apps must target the broader market, but this is a relatively niche product. I don't think you'll get enough IAP fast enough to be sustainable.

Why do you think Javelin is not suited for the broad market?

Because the average user doesn't even know what a web browser is, they just open up "the internet" on their phone. They are not going to change something that they're not even aware of. It's also demonstrably true that the average user doesn't know or care about privacy enough to make this choice anyway. You don't have the resources to change either of these things.

So, disregard the average user. Market this as a paid product which offers a superior web browsing experience for the technology connoisseur and the privacy concious. These people, on average, have a lot more money, are easier to sell this product to, and don't mind paying.

Another reason to just charge money for this is that this provides assurances about your income stream which should mean that you are less likely to consider anti-user practises in order to generate income at some point in future.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#77

Post by bfung »

higherpurpose wrote: post #15
nubela wrote: post #5

Developer here! I've been working on Javelin since Feb this year and this is the 4th iteration, and on Reddit (r/android), and just a quick interesting byte. Javelin actually started as a "porn" browser! See: http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1xblv9/hey_reddit_s... PS: I'm headed to SF in October, anyone wanna grab a beer/coffee? I'm contactable at hello@javelinbrowser.com

I remember that one, and I remember thinking that it looked pretty good, but will fail because of the name. Good to see you changed it.

Javelin still has a simple innuendo back into it's roots ;)

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#78

Post by Nowyouknow »

jonalmeida wrote: post #32
blntechie wrote: post #13

I used it for about 3-4 months when 'Stack' was introduced but went back to Link Bubble + Chrome. I couldn't exactly remember why I went back to LB + Chrome but mostly due to 'Stack' being too rigid to my liking compared to Link Bubble (back button not closing the stack, no easy jumping between stacks, scrolling and stack animations kind of wonky etc.) All things said, I loved the browser experience. Especially easy…

I'm on a Nexus 5 and have major memory leak issues with LB (I've reported them) if you keep the "bubble" open for too long. Chrome is very heavy as well in general, so Javelin is a really nice refresher what a fast browser feels like. I just bought the pro version and I'm going to use it for a while before I comment more on it.

I had the same with LB (also N5) and just started using Flynx. Much better experience so far. It's free too.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#79

Post by korzun »

ClifReeder wrote: post #60

I notice that you use www.theverge.com in a number of the screenshots for Javelin. The writers at The Verge, the developers that build the site, the designers that make it beautiful - are all paid through ad revenue. Please consider at least adding the ability to whitelist sites if you are going to bundle ad block. *Full disclosure - I am a developer at Vox Media, the publisher of The Verge.

I don't think this mobile browser is going to make a dent in The Verge's ad revenue.

Re: Show HN: Javelin Browser

#80

Post by robotfelix »

To me, including "mobile-first" as one of your key value proposition seems a little odd.

My immediate reaction was to wonder whether any mobile browsers aren't mobile-first? From my (incomplete) knowledge of smartphone browsers they all feature interfaces designed for smartphones and smartphones alone.

There must be a better word to use in your tagline - I notice you decided on using "Truly Mobile" further down ;)

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