Safari for the iDevice sucks. Lucky for us there are plenty of alternative iOS browsers. And lucky for you I’ve whittled my list down to six: Life Web Browser, Atomic Web, Perfect Browser, Bolt, Opera Mini, and 360 Web Browser.
If you’re interested in abandoning Safari in favor of something more useful then have a read. If not, heck I don’t know, maybe you should go fly the copter.
Life Web Browser ($2.99 | iTunes +)
As advertised: Swipe through websites like photos; queue news articles and Google searches; rearrange open windows; download sites to your left and right so you rarely see a loading screen; add favorite sites; multi-touch gestures; visual bookmarks; single address bar for URL and search; Google suggestions built into the address bar; and full-screen web browsing. iPad only sliced view to see if the next pages are loaded.
My take: This app is beautiful on the iPad. See for yourself. On the iPhone, it’s still nice, but lacks the cool “sliced view” available on its big brother. Life also allows users the ability to add an unlimited number of pages and reorder them as they see fit (unlike Safari which doesn’t allow reordering any of the 9 available webpage slots).The Q feature is pretty cool. Open a site, tap the Q, and then tap on page links. They’ll be added to a numbered stack that you can view by tapping the up and down arrows. It works pretty well, but sometimes the pages aren’t loaded (or queued) as they are supposed to be.
The biggest drawback is its inability to import bookmarks, lack of privacy settings, and lack of any kind of in-depth customization. Is it worth the pricetag? Not yet, but it’s a couple of updates closer to becoming my Safari replacement.
Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Atomic Web ($.99 | iTunes +)
As advertised: Experience desktop features including adblock using URL filters, in-page searching and search engine plugins, tabs, multitouch gestures, user agent switcher (IE, FF, Safari), passcode lock (kind of wonky) and privacy mode (not at all wonky); fullscreen browsing; Facebook/Twitter integration; offline viewing; download files and send them to Dropbox, iTunes file sharing, or by e-mail; AirPrint friendly; and multi-touch gesture controls.
My take: Atomic is my go-to browser. It’s got just about everything I need to ditch my laptop in favor of either iDevice (more so the iPad than the little fella). If the advertised features don’t tickle your fancy then re-read ‘em. Atomic’s new download manager feature is fantastic. Surf, tap, and send any file to Dropbox. Still in doubt? Watch it go head-to-head with Safari.
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Perfect Browser ($.99 | iTunes)
As advertised: Full-screen browsing; unlimited tabs with background loading, display web pages just like Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Opera or Chrome; TV out; print webpages and documents using AirPrint; offline viewing; import bookmarks; nothing is ever recorded and cookies are automatically discarded; two levels of security with the option to block cookies; available scroll bar; in-page searching; and gesture recognition
My take: I wouldn’t go so far to say this is a perfect browser, but it is pretty good. No bookmark syncing or download capabilities, but it’s better than Safari.
The downside is that Perfect isn’t universal. It’s $2.99 iPad counterpart is basically the same thing only bigger. Why would I pay a combined $3.98 for something that Atomic can provide for $.99?
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
Bolt ($4.99 | iTunes)
As advertised: Bolt is the only IE or Firefox “compatible” web browser allowing you the limited compatibility to see or visit some IE-only websites; shake for full-screen view; uses secured HTTPS Access so you can access a bank or a credit card web site in a secured channel in a public WIFI or 3G; uses little RAM memory so you can still use apps or games after browsing; and deletes your browsing history.
My take: This browser is way to limited to be so expensive (and requires an equally expensive app if you want to put the browser on your iPad). No bookmark importing. Limited bookmarking capabilities. Yes it can render some IE-only sites, but you never really know which ones are going to work. The browser is incredibly fast, but I wouldn’t recommend it to IE users. To the developers I’d suggest lowering the price, making it universal, and releasing some worthwhile updates.
Overall Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Opera Mini (free | iTunes)
As advertised: Uses Opera servers to compress data by up to 90% before sending it to your iPhone; sync bookmarks and Speed Dial with a desktop PC or mobile phone; up to 6 times faster browsing than Safari; view all your open web pages and quickly switch between them. Watch their demo.
My take: Opera is fast. It syncs bookmarks, albeit with its own desktop software. No download manager. No privacy mode. And, what makes this browser my least likely to use is how it handles pages. It’s fast because it renders pages on their servers. Pages with user’s private information (username/password) to the sites being visited. If you’re a casual surfer this browser is great. If the sites you visit require your private credentials I suggest looking elsewhere.
Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆
360 Web Browser ($.99 | iTunes)
As advertised: Firefox Sync; download manager transfers files from your desktop to/from your iPhone, supports a queue for multiple downloads, and allows editing of file names; 360 Arc enables users to access over 25 functions easily: bookmark adding, text search, FS toggle, nav tabs, plug-ins, and more; favorites list; custom themes (2 free + available in-app $ themes); intelligent tabbing lets users set tab’s privacy mode and browser orientation in addition to having default preferences for all of them; offline mode; multi-touch gestures; remember passwords; smart search; password lock; ad block; and fullscreen view. Watch their demo.
My take: Firefox sync is a huge plus. The download manager is great, but 360 needs a Dropbox/cloud component. Its interface is pretty, the Arc is cool, and it’s fast, but 360 lacks any kind of iPad version and until then will also lack my allegiance.
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
Do you have a favorite browser? Do you use any of these? Take the above poll, share your thoughts below, or send me an e-mail at TiTy@y2kemo.com.
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