It’s no secret – despite my love for all things BlackBerry, I’m not a fan of the web browser.  When compared to alternatives such as those found in Android, webOS, and the iPhone, it falls short.  That being said, Bolt has launched version 1.6 of their popular browser, which can be set as the default browsing tool.  What’s more, Bold v1.6 offers better page rendering, the ability to stream videos, and the ability to upload large files.

The full press release can be found after the break, and you can download the new browser at boltbrowser.com.  Get your download on, and report back with your findings!

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bitstream Inc. (NASDAQ: BITS) today announced the availability of BOLT 1.6, the most fully-featured mobile browser available for mobile phones of all types. BOLT 1.6 delivers the industry-leading data compression ratio and offers the best website rendering, displaying full Web pages just as they appear on desktop computers. BOLT 1.6 outscores competing mobile browsers earning a perfect 100 percent on the Web Standards Project’s Acid3 test. The Acid3 test, created to help browser vendors ensure proper support for Web standards in their products, tests Web 2.0 dynamic Web applications and visual rendering, including Web fonts.

This newest release of BOLT includes a number of important design enhancements, as well as incremental improvements driven by BOLT’s users. For all mobile data networks that support it, BOLT 1.6 now offers full socket-based connectivity which can increase the page rendering speed of BOLT by as much as 15 percent. BOLT 1.6 also includes a new password manager, allowing usernames and passwords to be saved by the browser for easier and faster logins to users’ favorite websites and online applications.

Responding to a frequent request from BOLT’s BlackBerry smartphone users, BOLT 1.6 can now be set as the default browser on their smartphones. A version of BOLT created specifically for BlackBerry smartphones not only has all the features of BOLT, but also includes default BlackBerry shortcuts and optimizations.

Downloaded over 2.8 million times since its February 2009 debut, BOLT has also been selected by handset manufacturers around the world as the standard browser on new lines of mobile phones in production.

With advanced features like the ability to stream video from the most popular video websites, copy and paste, upload files such as photos and videos to websites, and order and arrange favorites into custom folders, BOLT is also the most fully-featured mobile browser. BOLT is able to operate on the widest variety of mobile phones – from feature phones to smartphones – running efficiently on an estimated 3 billion handsets already in the market.

BOLT’s Unique Capabilities Include:

• Best of breed page load speeds
• Most accurate page rendering
• Displays full websites just as they would appear on desktop computers
• Streams videos from popular video services such as YouTube
• Copy and paste text
• Uploads video and photo files directly to websites from browser
• Only major WebKit based cloud computing browser

Recognizing that some mobile phones currently in use cannot support robust applications and some network providers limit the size of application downloads, Bitstream created a light version of the BOLT mobile browser, BOLT lite^TM. BOLT lite contains all the essential features of the BOLT mobile browser, retaining BOLT’s feature-rich functionality, best-of-breed download speeds and desktop PC-style page layout in a smaller package optimized for entry-level devices.

BOLT and BOLT lite are both available for free download at http://boltbrowser.com.

About BOLT

The acclaimed BOLT mobile browser has the most faithful rendering of Web pages of any browser in its class. This fast mobile browser quickly and accurately displays Web pages on mobile phones just as they would appear on desktop computers. BOLT is the only browser for mobile phones of all types to support streaming video from popular media sharing sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Based on the same WebKit rendering engine used by the iPhone’s Safari and Android’s Chrome browsers, BOLT is compatible with the majority of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones. BOLT features a patented split-screen viewing mode, intuitive keystroke shortcuts and copy/paste functionality, and offers a user-friendly, feature-rich mobile browsing experience for even entry-level mobile phones. Download BOLT for free at http://boltbrowser.com – the mobile Internet has never looked this good on your phone.

About Bitstream

Bitstream Inc. develops software technologies and applications for the graphic art and mobile communications industries. Bitstream develops award winning fonts and font technologies that enable device manufacturers and application developers to render the highest quality text in any language, on any device, at any resolution. The company’s MyFonts brand is the world’s leading provider of fonts to consumers. Bitstream’s Pageflex brand enables marketers to easily produce customized communications in print, email, and online. Bitstream’s latest offering is the BOLT mobile browser, which has been installed by millions of users worldwide since its release in February 2009.

Via: CrackBerry