UC Browser HD for Windows 8 Arrives in Style: Download Now

While there are a plethora of decent browsers available for Windows 8, none of them come even close to what big players like Firefox, Google Chrome and IE10 have to offer. Opera has been around for a while, but is still struggling to steady its ship. A biggest rival of Opera, in context of the mobile browser segment, UC Browser has ventured into the desktop browser as well. With all guns blazing UC Browser HD for Windows 8 has arrived in the Windows store. The download link of UC Browser HD for Windows 8 is provided at the bottom of the article. Previously, Chinese version was made available for the selected set of users.

Fortunately, UC Browser HD with English language support has been added for the general public usage. Unlike any of the traditional desktop based browsers, the approach adopted by UCWeb developer is quite different. They have released almost an identical copy of mobile web browser with tons of improvements beneath. The browser itself is free from any of the UI overhaul or options. The bare minimal UI embraces Modern UI element of the Windows 8 OS.

TL;DR Version

UC Browser HD is equipped with very less options. The blazing fast speed loads the webpage in a blink of an eye. However, the browser is not suited for the power user, who often likes to wander around. The options or settings are scarce. Right click context menu options are next to none. There are no add-ons, PDF reader, developer tools, advanced password management and other options present. In short, try UC Browser HD for Windows 8 only if you are only concerned about the speed. The speed is like not like anything we have seen before. A jaw-dropping speed and refreshing UI are the only surprising elements in this browser.

In-depth Analysis of UC Browser HD

What would you want in an ideal web browser? Possibly a decade back, the answer of this question would have been fastest possible response time. But the people of this century need not only faster response but also need the support of a plethora of add-ons or extensions, developer tools and much more to expand the functionality of the web browser. The browser is not a browser anymore, but a suite of tool with many functionalities. Well, this is how Firefox and Chrome have outranked Internet Explorer. UC Browser does exactly opposite to that. It has been around here for a while and is a very popular browser among Android, Symbian and Java based device users. Even, it is one of the best browser available for Samsung bada and BlackBerry device.

UC Browser HD brings a refreshed new user interface. The idea of providing simple browser with less options to tinker with is what makes it different from everything else. For example, take a look at the below screenshot of a UC Browser interface. You will scratch your head for a while to find out the options, settings, tool etc.

Old Speed Dials

The first thing that you would notice is options for speed dials. Do you visit some sites often? Well, speed dial is a handy way to visit those websites more easily. A small + button will let you add new Speed dial or website.

In case, if you want to edit the existing speed dial, then right click on tile and you will see a small pop up bar beneath. Just click or tap on edit and change the entry. Else you can delete the entry altogether.

Open in Background

How about opening a page or website in the background? If you want to open any webpage in the background, then right click on the link and select “Open in background”. This shall open a new tab in the background and you can continue exploring the presentation tab. A handy-dandy feature, indeed.

Settings

There are some basic settings available to tinker with. Click or the bottom right corner option to see the set of available settings.

Following settings are available

• Bookmark Sync
• Webpage Pre load
• Lock Tool Bar
• Incognito mode
• History
• Change Wallpaper
• Save forms
• Language

All the above options are self explanatory. You would require to open a UC account to sync your bookmarks automatically to their server.

Change wallpaper—This option will give you an option to change the background wallpaper. You can either add system wallpaper or select wallpaper from your computer. This is as simple as you can get.

There is also an option to change language to Chinese if you prefer that. Currently, only Chinese and USA English languages are supported.

UC Browser employs Google as a default search engine provider. You can switch to Yahoo, Bing or Wikipedia from the bottom right option. There is also an option to see the download process, downloaded content besides integrated search option.

Long press image to save them. Also you can quickly close the tab by double clicking on it.

Our Take on UC Browser HD for Windows 8

In initial testing, we found that PDF files are not supported by the browser. Instead of opening them up in the browser,they were presented with the download option, as you can see from the screenshot. The UC Browser HD for Windows 8 is a nice new addition to the Windows family, but as a full-fledged browser it has a long way to travel. There are many things needed to be done in order to become a darling of the users. No web add-ons or extensions are there to expand the functionality of the browser, which is a big joke. There are next to no right click options made available to the users. Let’s not talk about options for developers, password saving and etc. In short, it is a browser with minimal functionality. Don’t forget to explore our Windows 8 exclusive category to find more awesome Windows 8 apps.

The speed offered by UC Browser HD is quite impressive, much of the credit goes to their efforts to provide compressed data to the end-users. Have you already downloaded it? What’s your take on UC Browser HD for Windows 8? Did you find it fascinating?