iPad Web Browsers

The essential web browser that should be on every iPad is Atomic Web Browser. It has the best user interface, the best feature set, and the best speed of the browsers tested. Atomic does a great job at making sure the user has many options to suit their needs; some highlight features include passcode lock, color themes, privacy mode, ad blocker, customized multitouch controls, full screen mode, desktop web page rendering, turn images off to conserve data usage, and many more. The reason why Atomic Web wins over other third party solutions is the great feature set and the ability to easy access that feature set. (Reviewed at version 3.0)

Skyfire is a decent browser with a major feature going for it: the ability to play the Apple-hated Flash video format. Although some websites aren’t supported, the browser does a good job of playing video on those sites that it does have support for. Skyfire also has other neat features, but when it comes down to it, this would probably be a better secondary browser for playing Flash videos.

Ultimate Browser is a feature-packed web browser for the iPad. The app allows you to push website links to your desktop, friends with Ultimate Browser, and your other devices running the app. You can also download files with the built-in download manager and later share them on your PC or Mac. Ultimate Browser also features social network integration, the ability to store pages for later viewing, ad-filtering, tabbed browsing, full-screen browsing, multi-touch gestures and a whole lot more! I wasn’t kidding when I said it was “feature-packed”. The only disadvantage, in my opinion, is the ‘ordinary’ user-interface it has to offer. Overall, for its amazing price, it definitely seems worth picking up.

A1 PERFECT Web Browser is the closest competition to Atomic Web Browser since many of the features overlap. But execution of those features simply falls short. The best example of where A1 Perfect does not execute is in the multitouch gesture support. Atomic Web offers the ability to customize those gestures to eighteen different settings per gesture, but A1 Perfect has only two options and two gestures versus the five different gestures available on Atomic Web. The even bigger problem with feature execution is only by reading the description in the AppStore is the user aware of this feature. A1 Perfect is a notable web browser but feature execution is where this app fails to be essential. (Reviewed at version 1.0)

Do you use Google Chrome as your default desktop browser? Well, if you do, iChromy is the iOS web browser for you! The app's interface is an exact clone of Google Chrome and offers several additional features as well to ensure a spot on your homescreen. iChromy includes essential browser functions such as tabbed browsing and an "omnibox" where you can either go to a website URL or search via Google directly from the address bar, the exact same way Chrome has implemented the feature. iChromy also takes up minimum screen space to offer you a comfortable, full-screen browsing experience; furthermore the app includes a reading list feature which lets you save pages for viewing offline. The app also has various social networks integrated within the app to make sharing pages a breeze. Overall, the app is fantastic, fast, and mimics one of the most popular desktop browsers out there. Oh, and did I mention it’s free?

Maven Web Browser is another feature filled web-browser for the iPad. Some of the app’s features include reader mode for offline viewing, dual screen mode for viewing two pages at one time, gesture support, and private browsing. Also completely unique to Maven is its bookmark jog-dial and track pad. The jog-dial allows you to quickly access your favorite websites while the track pad allows for easy page scrolling. Overall Maven is a pretty decent browser, being universal with a decent price tag.

Sleipnir Mobile is a web-browser completely focused on how you use your tabs. The app offers a unique user-interface that allows you to manage your tabs in style; you can drag-and-drop tabs to group them according to color and also view the tabs you have currently opened at the bottom of your screen. Sleipnir also offers a variety of gestures to give the app that natural feel; you can flick down to close a tab or draw an “L” on the screen to view your last opened tab. Furthermore you can sync your bookmarks with their Fenrir Pass service, share websites via and use an integrated web search that features different sites and services. Overall Sleipnir seems worth picking up given that it is free and has a positive 4-star rating.

Journey has been a great app for the iPhone, however, its upgrade to the iPad version has been less than stellar. The features are limited and badly executed. Tabbed browsing is a feature but the interface for this is one of the poorest reviewed today. The biggest reason why this app fails is the lack of features. (Reviewed at version 1.4.1)

Desired by many business professionals is the ability to share webpages off the iPad using the VGA output. Expedition is designed especially for this use case. Taking a design cue from Keynote for iPad comes the ability to use "laser pointer mode" making highlighting key areas of the website to colleagues easy. A very simple app that is good at what it does. (Reviewed at version 1.0.1)

Parents that want to share iPads with their children comes this app. The main use case of this app is to protect anyone using the iPad from coming across explicit material on the web. To keep a child safe on the web, an iPad user can disable Safari through the Settings app thereby forcing a child to use Safe Browser to browse the web. Testing this app discovered the filters work well, and so most parents would feel comfortable handing an iPad to a young child by installing this app. (Reviewed at version 2.5.1)

Wanting to browse the web with two pages open at the same time? BrowserDuo is a great choice, either browse the web with one page or in two pages oriented in horizontal or vertical mode. Use one page to watch video which the other to take part in a chat room. Bring an iPad to a sporting event to have both teams rosters up at the same time. This is a great app that brings a new type of functionality to the iPad. Being a specialized browser, this app fails to be essential because of the limited feature set. But makes a great supplementary browser. (Reviewed at version 1.0.1)