Dolphin Browser HD 7.3 (for Android)

If you're looking for an excellent alternative to the stock Android browser, Dolphin Browser HD 7.3 (free) is your app. It's not the fastest, but the latest version retains its Editors' Choice?designation for bringing together the most complete collection of thoughtful features in a mobile browser, without compromising on performance. Version 7 massively improves upon last year's version 5 by adding multi-device sync and a slick new RSS reader. Dolphin also carries your basic features like Flash support and Add-ons, while improving its killer feature: customizable gestures.

So if you're fishing for the UI sensibilities of?Firefox 10 (free, 2.5 stars) and the multimedia aptitude of?Opera Mobile 11?(free, 3.5 stars), reel in?Editors' Choice Dolphin Browser HD 7.3.

Dress for the Occasion

For those accustomed to the stock Android browser, Dolphin is a fluid transition. Users can access everything from bookmarks to browsing history by clicking the phone's Menu button. Moreover, Dolphin mimics Firefox: swiping in from the left reveals a Bookmarks drawer; swiping from the right unveils Add-ons and Themes, should you care to dress your browser for holidays?be it Christmas or Halloween.

The latest version freshens up an already crisp interface. Contextual menus are backlit with fluorescent green. The left sidebar gains a "Quick Access" drawer for key functions (such as Settings), a search button, and single-click bookmarking. The right panel loses Settings, but makes room for a visual tabs button. And every time you open a new tab, Dolphin now uses Speed Dial, Opera's visual bookmarking system, to automatically populate it with your favorite websites.

Add-ons make customizations more meaningful, bringing LastPass, Web to PDF, and Amazon Search into your mobile browser. The selection isn't expansive, but there's utility to be gained. While Dolphin matches Firefox step-for-step when it comes to Add-ons, it's a sloth when it comes to syncing. Dolphin Connect lets you sync bookmarks and custom gestures across all your Android tablets and smartphones. Syncing with iOS devices is on its way, Dolphin promises.??

Meaningful Gestures
One of Dolphin's cleverest features is so obvious that it seems like it ought to be standard fare for any mobile browser. Gestures lets you draw symbols to perform commonly used actions. You click the Gesture button, pinned to either the bottom left or right-hand corners of the screen?for left and right-handed users, I'm presuming?to reserve the screen for your Gesture. For example, to refresh a webpage, draw a circle. To open a new tab, an N. In addition to eight preloaded gestures, you can even create your own Gesture: I used a B to open bookmarks.

Sleek Mobile RSS Feed
I thought Dolphin's new Webzine feature would be superfluous, but it's now the first thing I open after launching Dolphin. Webzine aggregates online publications onto one page, in a series of thumbnails. Tap a thumbnail to scroll through the publication's news feed, which displays titles and summaries in boxes. Tap a box to open the original article in a new page. Webzine supports hundreds of titles like The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and TechCrunch. Webzine's interface is very clean, with ample white space to help you scan articles quickly.?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Bf6frWVTUyc/0,2817,2383132,00.asp

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