There are practically more browsers for Android phones than there are phone models themselves, but if you still haven’t found the one for you, check out UC Browser.

Features

UC Browser has a number of features that help it stand out. For a start, the home page has a selection of quick-access links, helpfully divided into topic areas, like Entertainment and UC's own recommendations. It goes without saying that there's also tabbed browsing, and plenty of tab management options. It's also got a nice window browse function, and a bunch of options that display clearly when your hit the Menu key.

UC Browser also has a number of features that other browsers don’t – namely a night mode and share by SMS/Whatsapp. Even so, it doesn’t have any quick features for sharing by other, more common means, like Twitter or Facebook.

Usability

Unfortunately, UC Browser’s main problem is the display - it’s plain ugly. Ok, so it’s clear and easy to read, but webpages viewed with the app look like something from 1993 – at first, we thought we had a connection problem! We also had issues displaying video while using UC Browser, but couldn’t tell from the developer’s website which video formats are supposed to be supported.

Conclusion

UC Browser is a mixed bag – strong in areas, and weak in others. We think prospective users would be better off waiting an update or two before trying.

What's new

Better Homepage: You can add more websites you like on your homepage. You can also find more interesting websites and services by using our site navigation page.
Auto Reconnection for Download: In an unreliable network environment, UC Browser will reconnect failed download tasks for you automatically.
Improved Language Display: Persian, Arabic and Korean text can be displayed normally on webpages.
Memory Optimization: Less memory usage when opening many tabs.

Installation

By pressing the Download button, you'll be taken to the Google Play Store from where you can download this app

Download UC Browser 9.0.1 in Softonic

Version 6 of the pint-sized program has borrowed much more from its desktop-based big brother, so if you enjoy using Opera on your PC or Mac then you can now look forward to a similarly smooth ride on your mobile with Opera Mini.

The user interface in Opera Mini 6 is more usable than ever. The hub of the app is the Speed Dial feature, whereby you can set one-click shortcuts for up to nine of your favorite sites. Just like in the desktop version, these display thumbnail previews of the sites to make things as clear and simple as possible.

Opera Mini utilizes a tab-based interface, meaning that you can load multiple pages at once simply by clicking on the plus arrow in the top right-hand corner. Version 6 includes the ability to open links in the background, just by holding down a link and selecting 'Open in new tab'.

Navigating with Opera Mini

Other navigational aids include an auto-complete feature in the address bar, and a built-in search bar. Unfortunately this search bar only supports Google and is not customizable with other search engines.

Viewing pages in Opera Mini 6 is a delight. As with the previous version, you can opt to view the whole web page on screen or simply tap to zoom in to a particular area. The latest version finally adds support for pinch-to-zoom, provided you have a multi-touch device that supports this features. If not, you can zoom incrementally.

Other features

For those who love to tinker around with stuff, Opera Mini 6 is sure to please because the program is simply rammed with options. You can alter image quality, font size, and screen orientation, and there is a wealth of privacy settings too. As you'd expect, there's support for bookmarks and browser history, too. Opera Mini 6 also adds support for sharing links via Facebook, Twitter or email.

Unlike the latest desktop version, Opera Mini doesn't support extensions. This is a shame, because it would be great if developers could add functionality to the browser through third party plug-ins, as they can with Firefox Mobile.

Load times in Opera Mini are as impressive as ever thanks to Opera's unique server-side rendering technology. It compresses images and graphical elements before delivering them to you. This makes pages quicker to load, and is ideal for those who pay for data by the KB. If you want a more all-singing, all-dancing web experience then try Opera Mobile instead, which doesn't compress pages like Opera Mini, and which supports HTML 5.

Opera Mini 6 is one of the leanest mobile browsers around, delivering pages quickly but not skimping on features.

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Opera already has two Android browsers, Opera Mobile and Opera Mini, which are exactly the same - except Mini reroutes traffic through Opera servers to compress data.

This newer Opera browser app is a completely redesigned version. While it retains many of the features of Opera Mobile and Opera Mini, the Opera browser looks more modern and adds some new features.

Features of Opera browser

Like Opera Mini, Opera browser offers a Speed Dial feature, which appears when you launch the app. Here you can place shortcuts to your favorite sites for one-click access. Unfortunately, this is the only way to save favorites in Opera browser, and you can't add bookmarks by starring pages like you can with the older Opera browsers.

Slide across to the right from the Speed Dial and you'll access the Discover section. This offers a selection of latest web content from a variety of sources. You can customize this content based on what country you're in and what subjects you're interested in (food, health, sports, technology, etc.)

One of the most important features of the Opera browser is its Off-Road mode. When this is turned on it all of the sites you visit will be compressed to make them faster to load (using the same technology as Opera Mini). This is great if you're using 2G networks or if you want to save on your data plan.

Other features of Opera browser include:

What's it like to navigate with?

Using the Speed Dial in Opera browser feels very much like the iOS experience. Shortcuts take the form of icons, which you can pick up and drag around. Like iOS you can create folders out of different web page links by dragging icons on top of each other.

Accessing your browser history with the Opera browser is simpler than it is in most other Android browsers. Slide to the left from the Speed Dial on the front page and you'll see all your recently visited sites listed in a very clear way.

The Android Opera browser allows you to bring up a context menu simply by long-clicking on an item. If it's a link it will give you options for how you want to open it, and if it's an image you'll get the option to save it to your device.

The tabbed browsing experience in the Opera browser is slicker and easier than it is in Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. The panel is larger, meaning you can see more of each page in the preview thumbnail and swiping through the open tabs is smoother. There's a handy drop-down menu next to the tabs for opening a private tab or closing all tabs.

High speed, low cost

Loading pages using the Opera browser can be very quick, especially in Off Road mode. Although you shouldn't be waiting for pages to load for too long, the inclusion of a progress bar would've been nice for cases where lots of data needs to be downloaded first.

Opera browser users the same WebKit rendering engine used by Safari on iOS and by Google Chrome. It supports web standards very well and during our tests we experienced no problems with pages not displaying properly.

It's a shame that Opera browser doesn't support Flash, or at the very least, Flash Video. If you're a big fan of Flash content you'd be better off with a browser such as Skyfire or Puffin Browser. Check out our post about how to play Flash on Android devices for more.

Summary

Opera browser is a smart, user friendly browser that can load web content quickly. It's in beta release and is missing a few features, but we like it.

Download Opera browser 14.0.1074.57453 in Softonic

Essentially, Opera Mobile looks and feels like Opera Mini for Android, retaining the same user interface and offering all the great features of that program.

The main difference between the two browsers is the way web pages are rendered by the software. Opera Mini serves compressed versions of pages from the Opera servers in order to speed up loading times. Opera Mobile on the other hand, renders the full HTML of the page, making it slower to load pages, but significantly improving the quality of images and other multimedia elements on the page. The Turbo option within Opera Mobile lets you switch to the compressed page mode if you want to speed things up.

Apart from this, Opera Mobile is virtually identical to Opera Mini. This means you get a very comfortable user interface, with Speed Dial feature, whereby you can set one-click shortcuts for up to nine of your favorite sites. Support for tabs means you can have several pages running and once, flicking between them using an elegant thumbnail preview bar.

Viewing an moving around pages with Opera Mobile is a delight. You can pinch to zoom into an area of the page, then instantly snap back to full screen view with the touch of a button.

Other features of Opera Mobile include bookmarks, download manager, mobile or desktop views, and a Google search bar (unfortunately you can't change this to another search engine, though). The Opera Link feature in Opera Mobile allows you to sync your bookmarks, start page, history, etc. with your desktop version of Opera.

The latest version of Opera Mobile for Android now supports Flash content, as well as HTML 5 audio and video, making it great for enjoying interactive rich web content.

It would be neat if, like Firefox , Opera Mobile included support for add-ons. The ability for third party developers to extend the functionalities of the app would be a very welcome one.

Opera Mobile isn't the quickest of Android web browsers, but its slick interface design and useful features make it well worth a try.

Download Opera Mobile 12.1.4 in Softonic

Skyfire’s major selling point is undoubtedly its built-in support for video and high level of social media integration. It’s also fast, with easily-navigable history, downloads and bookmarks, and excellent settings designed to get the most out of your media-rich browsing.

Audio and Video

Skyfire focuses on video, especially Flash, which traditionally has a hard time on mobile devices. Unfortunately, the app lags behind in other formats, as it doesn’t currently support Windows Media, Silverlight or QuickTime. Even so, it has an in-built video player that grabs your video from the original site and plays it in a really user-friendly interface.

Easy Access

This app scores well on instant-access and multi-service social media integration. Skyfire’s bottom bar gives you access to a variety of sharing services, most notably Facebook, but also some other, interesting options, such as Fireplace (a Facebook personalization feature), Google Reader, various sharing options and an Ideas feature, although it's not 100% clear how this works. What's more, Skyfire allows you to both remove, re-order and edit these quick accesses.

All in all, Skyfire is an interesting browsing experience. It’s easy to use, fast, has good options and focuses on two of the most important features for mobile browsers today – social media and entertainment. Skyfire has bunches of options that should help you tailor the app precisely to your needs, and we were real fans of the ability to easily toggle between as the desktop or mobile version of webpages - as well as the extensive security options.

Skyfire is an excellent mobile browser, and has really come into its own in this latest version.

Download Skyfire 5.0 in Softonic

Dolphin Browser makes it easy to browse for sites and enjoy their content on your mobile, thanks to its excellent browsing features. Pages are opened in the form of tabs (you can have up to eight open at once). You can flick between sites effortlessly by clicking on the tabs or sliding the screen down to access the thumbnail window view, where previews of all the currently-open sites are displayed.

Other helpful browsing aids in Dolphin Browser include a bookmarks panel, which slides out from the left of the screen, giving you quick access to your favorite pages. You can easily customize the order of the bookmarks by clicking and dragging them around the list.

Dolphin Browser includes a Speed Dial for fast access to commonly visited pages. There's also a Webzine feature for reading Facebook, Twitter and news feeds in a comfortable way, through timelines with thumbnails.

Touch friendly

Dolphin Browser features full multi-touch support. You can navigate around sites with the flick of a finger, zoom in by tapping or pinching (a feature which is sorely missing in Opera Mini and Firefox Mobile.

On the subject of touch, this latest version of Dolphin Browser HD adds even more support for touch gestures. This allows you to draw a letter or a symbol on the screen to access a particular site or perform a function. For example, writing an 'f' will open Facebook; or drawing left and right arrows will move you back or forward through pages. You can even create your own custom gestures!

Getting around quickly

Handily, Dolphin Browser includes address auto-complete, which speeds up URL entry by suggesting likely matches from your bookmarks or from the web. There is no search bar to speak of in Dolphin Browser, but if you type a word into the URL bar and hit Enter you'll be taken to a Google search results page. There's even a voice search feature powered by Google, which works very well.

Dolphin Browser is very quick and it includes full support for HTML5. Unlike Skyfire, Dolphin Browser doesn't support Flash video within the browser, and instead it'll prompt you to launch a separate player.

Plug in to new features

There aren't a huge amount of advanced features built into Dolphin Browser, which may be part of the reason for its streamlined performance. However, you can beef up its capabilities by installing add-ons, which are accessible from a slide-out panel on the right of the screen. Among the downloadable extras are a password manager, YouTube search, ad blocker and Google Translate.

Given its slick performance and ease of use, we rank Dolphin Browser as the best alternative browser for Android.

Download Dolphin Browser 9.4.1 in Softonic

While there are many web browsers for Android, the beta of Chrome is easily the fastest. Much like its partner for desktops, Chrome is dedicated to loading websites and allowing you to browse quickly.

If you have used Chrome before, Chrome on Android will be familiar. The interface is optimized for small screens and most websites load in their native versions, meaning you are not going to be looking at mobile versions of sites.

Chrome connects to your Google account and can import your bookmarks. The connected accounts also send pages from desktop Chrome to your device to read later.

Text heavy sites are easy to read and do not require a lot of zooming. Chrome’s scaling of pages is very intelligent and does not skew text in favor of sidebars.

Looking at YouTube and Vimeo, Chrome had no problems opening and playing video. YouTube opens into full screen in landscape mode and it was possible to play a video inside Chrome on the Vimeo website.

Tabbed browsing in Chrome is the best available on any mobile browser. In Tab view, tabs sit behind each other, shifting up and down as you tile your device. There is no lag between opening different tabs and even with six tabs; Chrome was still able to open content within a couple seconds.

Chrome’s simplicity and performance shoots it past any other browser available.

Download Chrome 27.0.1453.90 in Softonic

How does Firefox look on a mobile?

The browser has a resemblance to Firefox for Windows, but it has an interface suited for mobile devices. For instance, pages can be opened simultaneously in the form of tabs, which you access by tapping the number icon next to the address bar. It's an intuitive way to control multiple tabs without filling the screen.

Like the desktop version, Firefox for Android also includes support for extensions, or Add-ons as they're known in this case. These allow you to power up the Android browser with more functionality.

What makes it different from other mobile browsers?

The variety of Add-ons is great to customize Firefox. Just like the desktop version, the variety of Add-ons can improve web browsing or add social media functions.

Other useful tools that are pre-built into Firefox for Android include a slick bookmarks manager and a start page that will show the top sites you have visited. Zooming in and out of pages has improved a lot since the early alpha release of Firefox. Now you can pinch to zoom, or double-tap for a quick in/out view, making page navigation effortless.

Another neat feature of Firefox for Android is its support for Firefox Sync. This grants you access to all the bookmarks, history and running tabs of the desktop version of Firefox, so you don’t have to worry about entering addresses manually.

Improvements from the beta

Firefox has added Flash support for phones, but this official release doesn't support tablets right now. The browser is fast and meets the same performance of Chrome Beta for Android. The only problem that could occur is installing multiple Add-ons could slow the browser down.

Firefox is a very good Android browser and it makes for a comfortable way to use the web on your phone.

Download Firefox 21.0 in Softonic

The biggest change for Opera Mini Next is a new start page when you start the app and it is capable of learning your common sites and content. Once the app has enough data it will show the content automatically.

The app installs separately from the standard Mini and Mobile apps, so you can have them installed at the same time. Opera Mini Next is a test version so it has a tendency to be unstable. Some options in Opera Mini Next may not work correctly and some websites do not function properly.

Opera Mini Next is an insight into the work that Opera is doing with their browsers, but is not recommended for casual users.

Download Opera Mini Next 7.5.1 in Softonic

As Android browsers go, Miren Browser is a winner. It has everything you’d expect, and then some. It’s free, fast and attractive. Download it now!

For a start, Miren Browser has a practical homescreen that gives you instant access to bookmarks, your most frequently visited sites, history, downloads and RSS feeds. You’ll also be able to add sites of your choosing to the 8 quick-access buttons available. The app is fast and smooth, with pages loading in a blink of the eye.

Miren Browser’s options are divided into two groups, Common and Advanced. Between the two, you have plenty of choices and should be able to configure the browser exactly to your liking. Among the more interesting settings are a night mode and auto-stop of downloads when you leave a Wi-Fi network.

You’ll be able to store Miren Browser on your SD card to save space. There’s also a nice customizable widget and, crucially, you can exit the app directly. There’s also a good download manager and excellent sharing options. Finally, to top it all off, Miren Browser handles video impeccably!

Miren Browser is the best browser currently available for Android. Period!

Download Miren Browser 1.2.155 in Softonic

Everything about Boat Browser is easy. The interface is large and crisp. Swipe gestures work well, the icons are large enough even for bigger-handed people to manage easily and the zoom feature is second to none. It handles video well, and has a set of both normal and advanced options that should keep both all levels of user pretty happy.

As you would expect, Boat Browser supports tabs. These are easy to manage, with a nice tab browsing feature available by clicking the bottom-right icon on the screen. The options in this bottom bar are useful. The star allows you to manage your favorites, which the + allows you to perform various options on your current page, such as setting as a homepage, adding to favorites or sharing.

Boat Browser also has a few features that you don't see in all browsers that definitely make the experience a bit smoother. For instance, there's a night mode, screenshot function and the ability to exit the app completely, in our opinion an undervalued option in many apps. You can also move Boat Browser to the SD card, lightening the load even more.

Boat Browser is an excellent browser option for those who want an all-round high performer.

Download Boat Browser Mini 3.9 in Softonic

Chrome Beta requires Android 4.0 and higher just like the official app. The app allows Google to test features and updates before they are pushed to the stable Chrome browser. Chrome Beta is slightly unstable and has bugs because of the experimental updates that are being tested.

Features

The newest features in Chrome Beta updates with saved passwords and autofill entries taken from your synced desktop browser. This update also includes "an experimental data compression feature" for bandwidth savings.

Quality

While you should be able to browse normally, Chrome Beta is not meant for normal use. When Google announces a new feature in Chrome Beta, you will be able to test it and help Google develop features in its official browser.

What's new

Our latest release contains stability and performance fixes. More information can be found on the Chrome Releases blog at http://goo.gl/CCPRW

Installation

Clicking the download button will take you to the Google Play Store, where you can download this app.

This app cannot be found through search on Google Play

Difference between versions

Chrome Beta is not a finished app, expect bugs and possible crashes.

Download Chrome Beta 26.0.1410.26 in Softonic

Mirroring the standard features in Firefox on Android, the updates to Firefox Beta are not final builds and will have plenty of bugs. Whenever something crashes in the browser, that information is collected by Mozilla to improve development.

Firefox Beta is a great browser to see what is coming up for the stable release of Firefox for Android.

Download Firefox Beta 22.0 in Softonic

Connecting to services like Twitter, Facebook, Google Search, and Wikipedia, biNu offers low data usage for quicker response time. The interface of biNu is very simple and does not take advantage of the abilities of Android devices. It also looks much more like Java and Symbian interfaces.

It works well enough for users on slow networks or older devices that cannot normally connect to popular services, but you may be losing some of the quality of the first party apps. You will be happy if you need to access these networks while considering data usage.

biNu is a content portal app for users with slower networks.

Download biNu 4.1.0 in Softonic

Firefox Aurora provides a preview into the changes for Firefox for Android. The biggest addition to Firefox Aurora is the ability to install web applications. They work just like regular apps but rely on Firefox Aurora's rendering engine. This creates an ecosystem between Mozilla's products.

Given that this is a pre-release, Firefox Aurora is very laggy and buggy. The browser loads web pages quickly enough but using apps from the Firefox Marketplace really slows the program down. While there Firefox Aurora didn't crash much, there is considerable lag navigating its interface.

Applications from the Firefox Marketplace work well and act as stand-alone apps, placing an icon on your Android's homescreen. There aren't many apps available in the marketplace but that will change as Mozilla grows its app store.

Overall, Firefox Aurora provides a usable preview into the future of Firefox on Android but it's lag will prevent it from becoming your default browser.

Download Firefox Aurora 18 a2 in Softonic

xScope Browser - Web & File is also a file explorer, saving you from installing a separate app like Astro for examining your files. From an aesthetic point of view, xScope Browser - Web & File is modern, slick and skinnable, but you'll have to download the extra themes separately.

Using the browser - and tabbed browsing - is especially comfortable when you hold the phone horizontally, although anyone with fat finger syndrome might struggle with both tabs and options.

Although xScope Browser - Web & File boasts a file explorer, we have to admit that it's not the most impressive. While it might sometimes be handy to take a look at your files from inside your browser, the feature isn't very flexible, simply allowing you to browse, copy and send. If you're looking to do any real file management, we recommend that you look elsewhere.

In all xScope Browser - Web & File is a nice app. While it won't be knocking apps like Dolphin or Miren off their thrones, it's a very usable option and well worth a look if other browsers aren't to your liking. It's easy to use, has plenty of options and the file explorer is a nice touch - as long as you aren't looking for serious power.

While not the strongest contender in the Android browser pack, xScope Browser - Web & File is a very decent option.

Download xScope Browser - Web & File 6.50 in Softonic

It is simple to use. The main wall shows the same information it does on the original app, but Facebook Pages Manager also includes the option to view Insights and statistics about your posts. You can updates the page's status, add photos, and filter posts not normally seen through the webapp and standard Facebook app.

Using the same user interface as the Facebook app, Facebook Pages Manager is great for users who have their own page or multiple pages they manage. For normal users, Facebook Pages Manager is an unnecessary app.

Facebook Pages Manager is another specific-use app from Facebook.

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Along with accessing your GameStop PowerUp account, you can browse the store, purchase games and accessories, and search for local stores. GameStop Mobile Android is mainly a portal to the GameStop store than anything else, but if you have a PowerUp account, you can access it through the app.

The GameStop Mobile Android app is good for frequent customers, but does not have much use unless you are a member of PowerUP.

Download GameStop Mobile Android 2.6 in Softonic

The free app condenses content from USA TODAY into an easy-to-access interface to help you stay ahead of current affairs on the go. You can check the latest headlines in six different categories (news, money, sports, life, tech and travel). Each of these can be broken down into subsections to give you instant access to the news that you want to hear about.

The Scores section in the USA TODAY application displays the latest scores in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAAF and the NCAAB. This is great for quickly checking how your team is doing, but unfortunately it lacks text commentary, game analysis or latest standings.

Latest forecasts from the Weather Channel are integrated into the Weather section of USA TODAY. Here you can access the current conditions in your city, along with five-day and hourly forecasts. You can set favorite locations and flick through forecasts for these cities just by swiping your finger.

Perusing the Photos area of the app is good fun. You can view the day's news in pictures, as well as view images from USA TODAY relating to sports, celebrities, science, travel and weather. The Snapshots section is also worth checking out for the fascinating polls that USA TODAY often runs.

It's a shame you're not able to zoom into the text in the USA TODAY application, because the font size might be a little too small for some.

On the whole though, this application provides a comfortable and entertaining way to enjoy USA TODAY on your mobile phone.

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Everyone interacts with some form of media – visual or auditory. GetGlue is a social app that shares your habits through the network and connects users of similar tastes.

The GetGlue experience is relatively simple. Users search for the media they are interacting with, such as a TV show, movie, or video game, etc., and check in with it. On the user profile it shows check-ins, reviews, likes, and other information. Users of GetGlue can also become “gurus” of that specific title by writing reviews and interacting a lot with that particular title.

GetGlue users who utilize the app a lot can earn GetGlue stickers and discounts with a large list of media providers. So in addition to being an entertainment social network, GetGlue works with the media providers that their users are product fans.

The only main problem with GetGlue is that it is very specific in the library of content. Most English language products can be found in GetGlue, but fans of international media will probably not find what they searched for.

GetGlue is a fun social media experience and with expanded content will be even better.

Download GetGlue Android 2.4.1.13 in Softonic