Chinese software developer UCWeb, part of the Alibaba group, recently released an updated PC version of its flagship product, UC Browser. The browser received several significant updates, and proprietary cloud technologies, with which it became possible to synchronize between multiple devices. Also, the browser has become fully compatible with Windows 10 and is optimized to work with the touch screen.
Overview of UC Browser for PC: an updated “squirrel” for Windows
The popular Chinese browser is available for more than 3000 different mobile devices from more than 200 manufacturers and is compatible with all major operating systems. In this review, we analyze what is interesting in the PC version and whether it can become a worthy alternative to the more well-known desktop browsers.
The browser is very simple and easy to use. Although the browser interface is based on the simple and popular Chromium, its distinctive feature is the ability to personalize the browser and customize it. The user can change the design of bookmarks, wallpapers, themes, and settings menu.
In the new PC version of the browser, there is a function of cloud synchronization of tabs between multiple devices. You can sync themes, bookmarks, data, extensions, and URLs. You can easily switch from the mobile device to the computer and continue working.
The UC Browser fully meets the modern requirements for the convenience and safety of surfing the net. In the Russian segment of the Internet at the time of writing the review, UC Browser occupied the 4th position in popularity, second only to such giants as Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (according to statistics from StatCounter).
The main tasks that ordinary users are interested in are the high speed of opening websites and the ability to display/playback any content – the UC Browser does an excellent job. At the same time, according to the developers, their product consumes fewer computer resources in comparison with the same Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, when it comes to a large number of simultaneously open tabs. Nowadays, both expert and inexperienced users want to get UC Browser Free Download to test its features.
Interface
The first thing that throws when you start UC Browser is the ability to choose the style of the new tab page (home page). The user can choose the classic tiled design or style in the spirit of “Opera Neon”: the reference elements are movable (you can drag the mouse to any area of the home page), have a circular shape, and instead of sketches, only the site labels/logos are used.
If necessary, users will also be able to install one of the many styles available for download from the UC Browser internal online resource.
Other interface features:
- Turn on / off the bookmarks bar and search bar.
- Autocomplete text when entering website addresses or search queries into the address bar.
- Browser control with mouse gestures and hotkeys.
- Switch tabs with the mouse wheel.
- Ability to start playing videos in a separate internal window.
- Ability to connect external plug-ins (using the Google Chrome online store or manually connect any Chromium-compatible extensions).
- Turn on / off the function of running background applications after closing the browser (i.e., the browser can be closed, but you can leave music or video playing if external plug-ins are used to play them).
- Ability to create screenshots of a selected area of a page open in the browser (the “Scissors” tool) and others.
Innovations That Make Your Internet Experience Better
Also, according to the developer, the technology allows you to pause the download and compress traffic to 50% and speed up the browser. Two-way synchronization occurs automatically, works seamlessly, and very quickly. To synchronize files, users have free access to the UCloud.
Also in the browser has changed the download manager. The downloaded files are now divided into categories: videos, programs, images, torrents, etc.
UC Browser for Windows supports multi-download a variety of formats. The distribution of data occurs on the nearest servers. Thus, the boot process is made more stable, faster, easier; If you use the mobile version, then the content is optimized for the corresponding screens. Among other advantages is the ability to share information on social networks using a browser.
Interesting statistics – at the end of 2012, UC Browser successfully reached 400 million active users, which included the largest base in China and the fastest growing audience in India. It was in India in October 2012 that UC Browser bypassed Opera in the category of free apps on Google Play (32.82% of the market for UC Browser and 26.91% for Opera).
As for one of the main innovations, UCWeb adheres to the globalization strategy, tries to make the browser more convenient and useful for users of each country, satisfy all needs, localize and adapt all content to the maximum. Currently, the browser is used in 150 countries and regions around the world in 11 languages, including English, Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese.
One of the advantages is the ability to display tab thumbnails, which is very convenient when there are a lot of them.
Now, UC Browser is already available for Windows 7 and 8, so that users of personal computers and laptops can enjoy surfing the web with pleasure. Stable and fast browsing, Speed Dial convenience, various search engines. Compared to the mobile version, the excellent extensions of the old features and the addition of new ones:
- Video playback – directly using UC Browser for Windows 7, you can play any video on a web page.
- Block overly annoying ads – you can always choose whether or not to open this or that pop-up window, by default, to keep it closed;
- History – an opportunity to go to where you already were or, if necessary, to “clear the history”;
- Saving images to a computer
Conclusion
The updated UC Browser for PC has received Russian support and the ability to synchronize data, which will be very convenient if you use this particular browser on your smartphone. Also, UC has several interesting “special features,” like the ability to customize the interface for yourself.