UC Browser for BlackBerry Release Candidate Download Available Now

UC Mobile Ltd is on the verge of releasing their first version of the UC Browser for BlackBerrys. You can grab a copy of the release candidate at uctest.ucweb.com:9415/test/. The download page uses WML so you need to use your BlackBerry browser or another WML capable browser like Opera desktop or Opera Mini to be able to view it. There are separate download files for Blackberry OS 4.2+, 4.5+ and touchscreen OS 4.7+ BlackBerrys.

I don’t have a BlackBerry anymore so I can’t test the new release but according to the company, the UC Browser for Blackberry has the following advantages:

Faster – the UC Browser is a proxy based browser like Opera Mini and Bolt.  Pages are pre-rendered and compressed and images are resized on the server before they are sent to the phone.  This makes all proxy browsers much faster than tradional direct browsers especially on slow connections.  According to the table from UC (below) their new BlackBerry browser is even faster than Opera Mini.

Speed Test UC Browser for BlackBerry vs. Opera Mini

Reduced Data Consumption –  UC’s server based compression reduces data usage by up to 85% which is great for making the most of a capped or pay by the KB data plan. Another table from UC again shows off its claimed advantage over Opera Mini:

UC Browser vs Opera Mini Data Traffic Comparison

Start Page Site Navigation – Similar to Opera Mini’s Speed Dial, UC Browser on all platforms has pre-populated start page links to popular sites which users can edit to point to their own favorite sites.

UC Browser for BlackBerry Start Page Navigation 1 UC Browser for BlackBerry Start Page Navigation 2

Powerful download manager supporting large file downloads, multiple tasks and pause/resume – UC Browser’s signature feature, the download manager supports pausing downloads, resuming interrupted downloads and downloading files in the background while continuing to browse. It even has the ability to split large files into smaller segments to get around operator or device limits on download size.

UC Browser for BlackBerry Download Manager 1 

User Experience Features – the UC Browser for BlackBerry has “remember current page” and “clear all browser history” support and other features to enhance the user experience.

 UC Browser for BlackBerry - Reopen Last Page Prompt

Themes – the browser supports themes with several available for download.