I saw the iSwifter Flash Web Browser in the App store and thought I would try it out for my iPad. If you have an apple product you know that the one thing it will not do is allow you to do anything on the internet requiring Flash. This can be annoying so I was willing to give the Browser a try.
My experience with the iSwifter App
The App is supposed to let you visit websites that use flash on your iPad/ iPhone. While I was able to get on these sites while there the browsing was slow like dial up and between screen changes was a weird blurry look as though I was seeing a video of me browsing the internet rather than actually browsing the internet. I do not know if my suspicion is true but if feels as though I am inputting things on my ipad and the program is accessing them on some other browser and then returning a video to me of that browsing experience. This is the only way I can describe the experience with blurry screen transitions and horrible lag.
I tried to play a game on a site that requires flash. It is a game I play a lot on my computer and it is timed. I normally finish with about 4 minutes to spare. Because of the lag I finished with only 3 minutes to spare. I can not imagine using this sort of browser.
Just to clarify, I was using the app on my iPad with the highest speed DSL wifi. I have no issues browsing on my laptop, or on any of the regular browsers on my iPad, or iPhone.
Downloading the “Free” Trial
The App said that I could try it for free so I figured what the heck did I have to lose? The App downloaded just fine and I could use it with Flash but it kept popping up an ad to buy the full version for $4.99. The ad implied that if I paid the money that I would not only get rid of the pop up ad but that the app would function better. I was able to get on a site and see that I could use Flash but it was slow and the look of the website appeared as though someone was showing me a bad recording of the web browsing experience.
The Paid Version
I know I should have my head examined but I fell for the pop up ad which implied that the shortcomings that I was seeing in the Free version would vanish when I paid my money. Well, this is not what happened. The only difference was that I was not seeing the pop up ad to upgrade.
YouWeb L.L.C. Customer Service
When I contacted the developer through their website instead of being offered a refund or some help with how to get the app to work without feeling like I was on a cheap dial up speed version of the internet, the person who responded was defensive and rude. I ended up chalking it up to my own stupidity and kissed my $4.99 goodbye
Security
I can not say that I trust the security of this browser either. Based on the fact that it seems that the browser is sending me info from some other browser and back again I have to wonder what happens to any passwords I may enter. I can not say for sure that it is not secure but based on my experience as well as the responses I got from customer service I just do not trust it to be completely secure.
Unusual amount of high ratings in the App Store
Considering how horrible my experience was I found it a little suspicious that the App store had so many glowing reviews. Buyer Beware!
For More Information
If you would like to visit the developers website for more information go to www.iswifter.com.
Final Thoughts and Rating
I am sorry to have to give this one star and I do not recommend it. I really wanted to like this one but it’s just horrible.
