If you can't log in to some of your favorite websites from your Windows Phone, then you probably need to try using a different mobile browser.  The mobile version of Internet Explorer does not provide the same level of functionality as the desktop version.

A lot of people mistakenly believe that installing the mobile version of flash player will solve the problem.  However, Macromedia Flash Player for Pocket PC does not work in concert with Internet Explorer, so pursuing this course of action is usually a waste of time.

Mobile Browsers for WM5.0 - 6.5

If your Windows Mobile device runs WM5.0 - 6.5, there are some great free mobile browsers you might want to check out:

SkyFire was released out of Beta development last May.   SkyFire supports Flash Web pages, so you'll have better success accessing pages that require Flash.  SkyFire:

• Runs on Windows Professional and Standard (touchscreen and non-touchscreen) phones with the Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0, 6.1, or 6.5 operating system, as well as Nokia E and N series phones.
• Does not support Windows Mobile Classic devices (no phone function)
• You can download the free software directly to your mobile device from its standard browser using this mobile link:  SkyFire

SkyFire is not my preferred mobile browser because it's pages are small and I have to use the zoom feature a lot.  Nonetheless, I've found SkyFire works the best on websites that render the other mobile browsers practically useless (like Windows Live Office).

Opera Mobile is a free mobile web browser that's been around for a long time.  Many newer Windows phones include some version of Opera Mobile on the device, but these versions are often somewhat crippled.  I usually wind up downloading and installing the full featured version to my windows phone.  Opera Mobile:

• Runs on Windows Professional and Classic (touchscreen) devices (phones and non-phones) with the Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0, 6.1, or 6.5 operating system, as well as Nokia E and N series phones.
• Is not supported on Windows Standard devices (no touchscreen).
• You can download the software directly to your mobile device from its standard browser using this mobile link:  Opera Mobile
• Tabbed browsing allows you to have up to 3 pages open at a time.  Unfortunately, opening multiple pages can be a memory drain on a mobile device
• You can save web pages and images and view them later with no internet connection.

Opera Mini is a free mobile web browser that is a Java application.  In order to use Opera Mini, you'll need to have a Java engine installed on your Windows Mobile device. 

You can view these articles to learn about how to install and use Java applications on Windows Mobile devices:

• Java Applications on the IPAQ hw6900
• Opera Mini on the HTC Fuze

Fennec Alpha 3 for Windows Mobile is the mobile version of Firefox that is currently under development.  I tried it out several months ago and was unimpressed.  Perhaps one day it will rival some of these other browsers, but I uninstalled it after a few hours because I found it to be unusable.

What about Pocket PCs that run earlier versions of windows mobile?

If you have an older Pocket PC that runs windows mobile 2003se or an earlier version of Windows Mobile, you don't have many choices.  I've used Opera Mobile 8.65 for several years on my IPAQ hx2415 (which runs Windows Mobile 2003se).

Internet Explorer		Opera Mobile 8.65

Opera Mobile 8.65 is a real memory hog, especially if I open more than one tab, but it gives me full access to websites I can't use in Internet Explorer.

Opera Mobile 8.65 was not free, but was worth the money I paid for it. Unfortunately, Opera recently removed the link to this version of Opera Mobile from its website and now it does not appear that it can be purchased any more.  However, you can:

• Download a 30 day trial version of the software from Opera's FTP site; and
• Contact Opera about purchasing Opera Mobile 8.65 here

What's your favorite mobile web browser?

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