Categories: NewsTech

Pen, a very lightweight Android web browser that has all the basics

Google Chrome is very good, but it is indisputable that over time it has added some things that might not be to everyone’s taste, in addition to having gained some “weight”. If you are looking a light and simple browser, Pen is a very good alternative that takes up less than 10MB of storage.

Pluma is a simple browser, like Google Chrome in its beginnings, that has a data saving mode, supports dark mode and you can block some elements, including cookie notices.

Light as a feather

{“videoId”: “x7zpk1r”, “autoplay”: true, “title”: “13 GOOGLE CHROME TRICKS you probably didn’t know about”}

Its developers do not specify it, but Pluma seems to be based on Android WebView, so the heavy lifting of rendering the pages is “outsourced” to this component. Thus, the size of Feather can be maintained … well that, featherweight. The download is about 3 MB and the browser itself needs a few 7 MB of storage space, not counting the cache of the pages visited.

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The advantage of using WebView instead of relying on Chromium, like many other alternative browsers, is that the size of Pen can be kept very light, while web pages are displayed the same as always. The interface is simple and, in a way, classic, with a lifelong address bar, where you can easily touch and edit the address, unlike Google Chrome.

A peculiarity of Pen is that the toolbar is shown in the bottom of the window, something that for the moment has not finished curdling in Google Chrome. This keypad includes quick buttons to share a web address, start typing a web address, create a new tab, or view open tabs. That is, everything is more at hand if your mobile has a relatively large screen.

Pluma is a featherweight browser, with everything you need and suitable for entry-level mobiles or Android Go

This tab view also opts for a classic layout, in list form and without grid previews no groups. The menu does not lack the typical options such as loading the computer version of a page or direct access to bookmarks, downloads or search on the page.

Although lightness is its first asset, Pluma includes some additions, including an integrated ad blocker, which you can activate or deactivate at will, in addition to being able to activate the so-called Increased privacy. It is also possible to see all the elements that have been blocked on the web pages that you have opened.

The offer closes with the dark mode (also forced for web pages if you wish), a data saving mode and the possibility of choosing if you want your search engine to be Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia.