Best Free Web Browser for Android [1]
Introduction
Although Android devices come with a default web browser, there are many others available that offer extra features designed to make your browsing experience easier or more enjoyable.
Due to a bewildering array of choices in the Play Store, choosing a mobile browser on Android is not a simple task while there are a wide variety of Android devices in the market, from very low resolution, low powered small screens, to screamingly fast big screen tablets that would put some PCs to shame.
This means that no one solution works best on all those devices, even before you consider the personal choice and different browsing habits of the user.
All is not lost though. There are a number of factors that may make your decision easier, and I will try to cover those in the article to point you in the direction of apps that are likely to work in your situation.
For those looking for a quick solution, read the Short Answer; and if you want a little more detail, see the Long Answer at the end of this page.
Rated Products
[4]
Opera Browser (for mobile) [4] [5]
The browser to beat for all round performance, reliability and ease of use
Platforms/Download: [field_blackberry_download] | [6]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [7]
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more... [5]
[8]
Dolphin Browser [8] [9]
An excellent choice for a mobile web browser with impressive add-ons and other features
Platforms/Download: [field_blackberry_download] | iOS [10] | [6]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [7]
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more... [9]
[11]
Opera Mini [11] [12]
A fast and light browser for those who have slow download speeds or high data costs
Platforms/Download: [field_blackberry_download] | iOS [13] | Windows (App) [14] | [6]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [7]
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more... [12]
Platforms/Download: [field_blackberry_download] | [6]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [7]
| Our Rating: 3.5/5 |
Read more... [16]
Other Free Web Browsers for Android
These are other web browsers for Android not rated currently in this review but included here for reference.
- Chrome Browser [17]
- Firefox for Android [18]
- UC Browser [19]
- Maxthon Web Browser [20]
- CM Browser [21]
- Puffin Web Browser [22]
Related Products and Links
You might want to check out these articles too:
- Best Free Web Browser for iOS [23]
- Best Free Android Apps [24]
- Best Free iPad Apps [25]
- Best Free iPhone Apps [26]
The Short Answer to Using A Mobile Browser
In my opinion, if you have a reasonably recent piece of hardware running a recent version of Android, then the best choices are:
1st Choice: Opera Browser [4]
Alternative: Dolphin Browser [8]
If you have an older machine, or lower spec hardware:
1st Choice: Dolphin Browser Express [15]
Alternative: Opera Mini [11]
The Long Answer to Using A Mobile Browser
As detailed above, various factors may affect the decision as to your final browser. I discuss these factors in more depth below, and then will try to offer a review of every browser.
Limiting Factors:
-
Small screen size & resolution
The smaller the screen, the more important it is that your browser does not waste any of that valuable screen real estate with superfluous buttons. If screen size is limited, you may in fact find that the built in browser is best customised to work with your hardware restrictions. If you want to try alternatives though, features like full screen mode and good zoom and pan controls are a must. The ability to effectively re-wrap text to fit within the screen as you zoom will also be essential.
1st Choice: Dolphin Browser Express [15]
Alternative: Opera Mini [11] -
Low powered device
On a low powered device, you want the browser to load quickly and add the minimum of overhead. You may well be best ignoring features such as Flash (often resource hungry) and add-ons in order to obtain snappy browsing speeds1st Choice: Dolphin Browser Express [15]
Alternative: Opera Mini [11] -
Limited data connection speed/limit
Websites are getting bigger...
In the early years of the Internet when dial up modems were the norm, website designers would spend hours honing their sites to be the smallest possible, to ensure a speedy experience for their users. With the advent of cheap broadband that is largely no longer the case. Instead designers seem sometimes locked in a battle to see how many images and flashing ads they can fit on one page at once!However, on a mobile, data speeds can still be in dial up modem territory. Whilst 3G and (in some places) 4G have helped, the extra speed often comes with a pathetically small data limit, even on so called 'unlimited' data plans.
If you regularly browse image laden websites, or spend all your time watching YouTube videos, you might find that you hit your data cap sooner rather than later. If you're lucky, you'll just be limited to a slower speed until the end of the month - if you're not so lucky you'll suddenly find charges on your bill for the extra data.Some of the browsers below attempt to help, by collecting the pages for you on their servers, compressing larger images and files, then squirting the smaller, leaner file to your mobile device. In most cases, you won't notice the quality difference, but you may notice the faster load times.
If you are on a very small data cap, or need the fastest browsing you can on a slow data speed, then the clear choice here is Opera Mini (or Opera Browser if the phone is more capable). Both these browsers include the 'Opera Turbo' technology, which aims to reduce the amount of data each webpage uses.Note: For the privacy conscious amongst you, the Opera Turbo technology means in effect that Opera acts as a 'proxy' for your connection and could, in theory, read everything your browser shows. If you are using secured browsing (https://) websites then the connection is direct and this cannot happen. In practice, this is unlikely to be an issue for many, but it is something to be aware of.
1st Choice: Opera Mini [11]
Alternative: Opera Browser [4] -
Current desktop ecosystem
It may not appear initially relevant, but this factor could end up being the decisive factor in your choice. If you run a particular browser on your main computer, and want to sync bookmarks easily between your PC and android device, then you will need to choose one that is compatible. In most cases that will mean using the same software on both, although in a few cases there are workarounds.In general however, the Opera Android browser will only sync with the Opera desktop browser, Firefox and Chrome likewise.
You may need to decide whether the ability to sync bookmarks is important to you. If you tend not to browse the same pages on both, or in fact specifically want to keep the bookmarks separate, then you can ignore this factor entirely when making your decision.If you do want to sync though, bear in mind that when browsing certain sites on your Android device, the site may detect you are using a mobile browser and serve up a different page without some of the frills, giving you a different experience. There are ways to avoid this, although often the mobile pages are easier to use on a smaller device and more touch friendly.
There are alternatives that will synchronise your bookmarks between any browser but they are generally not free and so outside the scope of this website.
1st Choice: dependent on users' needs
-
Compatibility / Accessibility
For some, the websites you surf will restrict your choice of browser. Particularly in corporate environments, internal web apps may only work on certain browsers. Services such as banks, which require you to log in, may not work well on certain mobile browsers, if at all. Many browsers are also not well adapted to those with accessibility issues, such as limited vision, poor finger control. In this area, the reviewers' knowledge is limited so any suggestions, comments or experience is welcomed in the comments below. In general however, it may be that Dolphin Browser is the one to work best here, purely because it has so many add-ons [27], some of which may make it easier to customise the browser to your specific needs
1st Choice: Dolphin Browser [8]
Editor
This software review is copy-edited by Jojo Yee [28]. Please help edit and improve this article by clicking here [29].
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