3 Main Issues With Maxthon 3

By | May 17, 2012 | 26 Comments

The 3 Main Issues With Maxthon 3If you’ve been following FavBrowser for a while, then you will know that we like Maxthon quite a lot. It does a lot of things right, however, there are still some flaws that can ruin your experience, especially if you are as judgmental as we are.

So what are those flaws?

1. Clunky Speed Dial

3 Main Issues With Maxthon 3

The main issue with the Maxthon 3 Speed Dial is the fact that it’s rendered in HTML, which can feel very clunky from time to time, especially when compared to other web browsers.

- Hit CTRL+A and it highlights everything like you were on a web page
- Open a new tab and it will take ~1 second for a speed dial background and sites to load (feels like it’s being re-rendered every time you hit CTRL+T).
- Huge and ugly speed dial search engine bar can’t be removed, as well as speed dial navigation (if you are using only 12 tabs).

2. Cluttered UI

3 Main Issues With Maxthon 3

Maxthon settings page is beautiful but the rest of UI is just a mess; it has icons all over the place and feels like the old version of Opera. Although you can hide some of them, in the end, you are left with something that looks like this (see picture above).

3. A Lack of Customization

3 Main Issues With Maxthon 3

I am sure that there are a lot of people, who don’t really care about that as the very same thing can be said about Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or to some extent even Firefox. However, if you are coming from browsers like Opera, prepare to be disappointed.

Conclusion

In the end, the mainstream market is all that matters for a lot of companies and unless this trend changes, we don’t really expect developers to spend resources on features, that will be used by a very small percentage of the user base. Those who want customizable UI already switched to Opera or similar web browsers.


About (Author Profile)


Vygantas is a former web designer whose projects are used by companies such as AMD, NVIDIA and departed Westood Studios. Being passionate about software, Vygantas began his journalism carrier back in 2007 when he founded FavBrowser.com. Having said that, he is also an adrenaline junkie who enjoys good books, fitness activities and Forex trading.

  • http://twitter.com/pneumatig Pneumatig Gdynia

    There is more I don’t like in Maxthon, for example it doesn’t (at least by default) restore my last session. Besides I hate all things like transfers, or notes popping up in separate windows. Thats why although Opera pisses me off more frequently recently, I still don’t see other browser I could use. 

    • Przemysław Lib

      And how often its useful for majority of web surfers?

      Look at SETTINGS and complain ONLY after determining that there are no settings for it!

      (In other words: Do not require Maxton Devs to read your mind over air over 500+ miles ;) )

      • http://twitter.com/pneumatig Pneumatig Gdynia

        I really don’t care about majority of web surfers. And I don’t care about settings. It was my personal opinion, and if I have full rights to expect from a piece of software to work as I would like it to work (and as you might already guessed I don’t care about devs also). Maxthon is not that kind of software. Opera is closest to perfection :P (for me). It at least asks me what to do on start (restore session, open blank etc.), this way I even know that there is an option for it (and I could bother to find it if I would like to).

        In other words: I don’t expect devs to guess what I want, I just check what they have done, and based on first impression I decide to use it (or not). 

        Even if Maxthon is the perfect browser (after customization), then I loose. But that’s fine, cause I don’t care. :P

        I would start to care if Opera wouldn’t exists. ;)

  • Yoyo

    These chromium based browsers and Safari, IE and FF .. as far as I know Opera is the only browser that can handle more than 200 tabs can keep CPU cycles less than 20 % … if other browsers can do it please let me know … as long as it can be done by other browser Opera will be my main browser :)).

    • apád anyád

      For me FF handles 300+ tabs without bigger problems (though, it gets slow, but that is only because of the weak CPU).

    • http://twitter.com/pneumatig Pneumatig Gdynia

      Yep, good point. I often tend to work in few windows opened (each window for tabs related to some other project, and always one for casual surfing). Firefox was a pain in the ass to work with even 30 tabs (at least in the past, I haven’t check it since 5 versions or so :P). 

  • Guestyguest

    Saying that Firefox lacks means of customization is a blasphemy. >:/
    Not even taking into consideration dozens of addons that let you customize the UI as you want there are ‘about:config’, for Christ’s sake.

    • Guestyguest

      ‘Blasphemy’ used here in an ironic and sarcastic manner, of course, just to show that it is pretty unwisely to assert that Firefox lacks for customization.

    • http://www.favbrowser.com FavBrowser.com

      If I need add-ons, it’s additional clutter, not customization.

      I could also edit Maxthon skin files and customize on my own but this is not necessary a valid solution

      • Armin

        Forget add ons, you can still customize Firefox just as much as Opera without them. Putting Firefox in the same sentence as Internet Explorer or Chrome just seems out of place when speaking of customization.

        • http://www.favbrowser.com FavBrowser.com

          How to remove the orange Firefox menu button?

          I would check the latest versio to see if that’s now possible but after latest auto update, Firefox crashes upon the launch every time and I don’t feel like losing my previous session is a good way to fix that

          • Guestyguest

            1. Go to about:support;2. Click ‘Show profile’s folder’;3. In the opened window go to ‘Chrome’ folder;4. Create a text file ‘userChrome.css’ if it doesn’t exist there;5. Open this file in notepad and type in
            #appmenu-button { display: none; }6. Save the file;7. Restart Firefox.

          • http://www.favbrowser.com FavBrowser.com

            Editing skin files is not exactly an option, in that case Maxthon would be as customizable a

          • Guestyguest

            To FavBrowser.com

            Gee… Man, those are excuses. To customize context-menus and search engines’ order in Opera I have to manually input changes into the respective program files, which should put Opera in one line with Firefox, following your logic.

        • Truth It Hurts

          How to I change my tab go like(wrap to multiple lines and my tab width to 100 without an addon ?

          • Guestyguest

            1. There are probably 5 users who want a tab wrapping feature. That’s why this wans’t implemented.
            2. If you would really wanted to change your tabs’ width, you would have googled and found out how you could do it through ‘about:config’.
            I’m not gonna tell you. I just don’t want to. Google it.

          • Fhgfighi

            I do think they no longer have minimum tab change in FF now. If I want to use it I have to use FF 3 I think.
            http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/753291 

          • Guestyguest

             To Fhgfighi

            Wrong.They do have it.
            Even in Firefox 13 beta.

          • Fhgfighi

            you mean browser.tabs.tabClipWidth ?

            it is not Browser.tabs.tabMinWidth .

            more info for you, http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.tabs.tabMinWidth 

            if I can Open FF 12 and I can set it to open tab 100 pixels without an addon … I really doubt it

          • Guestyguest

            To Fhgfighi

            Hmm… This is a strange thing but on my laptop I have this option (‘Browser.tabs.tabMinWidth’) in Firefox 13 beta.

            But there is no such option on my friend’s PC with the same version of Firefox (13 beta).

            I don’t know what is the cause of it.

            In two days I will be able to attach a screenshot when I get home.

          • Guestyguest

            Got it. You were right.

            The reason was this addon – https://addons.mozilla.org/ru/firefox/addon/custom-tab-width

            It added the above-mentioned ‘browser.tabs.tabMinWidth’ into the ‘about:config’.

            Adding ‘browser.tabs.tabMinWidth’ without the installed addons doesn’t change the width.

      • Guestyguest

         Yes, that’s why I pointed out that there is ‘about:config’ too, which provides more  (at least, not less) customization options than Opera’s ‘opera:config’ does.

  • grg

    Tested this browser awhile back. I stopped using it because they dont have nothing to protect themselves from  /LSO/Flash cookies. Also no ”Ghostery” extension. A Deal breaker for a guy like me. I do share the pain about the speed dial. I remember how it was ehh umm.

  • http://my.opera.com/rafaelluik Rafael

    Icons doesn’t hurt me… hehe

    But yes, the slow “Quick Access” page is the major weak point for me.

  • angel_bee

    i don’t get your probem dude: why even bother to mark a webpage? and then duplicate? weird practices you’re using to prove a point. speed dial works fine here, got nothing to complain about. Mx3 is one of the most customizable browsers out of the box. full stop.

  • http://virus-removal.jupitersupport.com/ Virus Removal

    Yes, those are the exact things which will get us bored and funny about Maxthon

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