Which is the best mobile browser?
The mobile internet has changed radically in the past two years. If 2 years ago we were limited to the carrier's home page and to WAP pages that were customized to mobile browsing, today the mobile browser can display almost any page you want, including YouTube - which is amazing. Also, the 3.5G network and the WiFi connection that's integrated in almost any device, assure that the internet will work almost at the speed of your broadband connection at home. It seems that nothing will stop the mobiles from developing except the small screen.
We took the major browsers for a test drive and came back with a conclusion.
So, which is the best mobile browser?
Nokia s60 browser:
The Nokia browser at the s60 series relays on the device joystick for all the browsing actions, including zooming and navigation through the pages. Because of this, the whole browsing activity is not comfortable and we missed a lot of the page because we didn't know it exists (although this has been fixed in the latest s60 version).
On the plus side, the latest device comes with built in flash, so you can watch movies on YouTube from about anywhere with 3G reception.
Bottom line: in a world without the iPhone and the Android - this would be the best browser.
The Android browser:
The Android has been launched recently and its browser is of a very high quality. It's based on Webkit, and its main feature is fast loading and easy navigation using the touch screen and full keyboard.
On the down side, the browser still has some issues and tends to crash from time to time. Also, the initial browser load is rather slow.
Bottom line: after Google will make some improvements, it will give a good fight against the Apple safari.
Apple's Safari:
The safari has been the default browser for Mac for a long time, and when the iPhone was released apple has integrated the safari in a "mini" version that takes full advantage of the multi touch screen - and the result is amazing. About 90% of the iPhone users use the safari on a daily basis, the browsing using the WiFi is fast, comfortable and so easy - double tap for zoom and drag the webpage to move around. In addition, using iTunes you can sync your bookmarks with your PC/Mac.
The only problem with the safari is that it doesn't yet support flash, but the rumor has it that soon it will.
Bottom line: The best mobile browser in the world.
The Sony Ericsson browser:
The Sony Ericsson browser is similar to the Nokia browser. Web pages load very fast and it has easy to use navigation and zooming functions.
The only problem we had, was with the device itself - the screens in the devices we checked were small and made the surfing more complicated.
Bottom line: A browser for people who don't use the browser on a daily basis.
