Web Browser: Which is best?

**Zulu Warrior** · 10-03-2012, 08:45 AM

Hey guys,

I've been trying to figure out which browser runs the best on this phone for a while now. I have and use Firefox because that's what I've always used on the desktop. I know on desktops at least that Chrome can tend to use up a lot of memory but it is still pretty fast. What do you guys like best? Share some benchmarks if you have them.

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**GrooveRite** · 10-03-2012, 08:47 AM

Chrome a resource hog?!?!? Are you crazy!! If anything, Firefox is the bigger hog here! Believe that!

**Almeuit** · 10-03-2012, 09:05 AM

I love chrome on PC but haven't tried it on my phone yet. I currently use dolphin browser.

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**bsannes** · 10-03-2012, 09:05 AM

I like douphin beta. It is really fast and love the features.

**cgardnervt** · 10-03-2012, 09:13 AM

Stock browser works fine with the last update. However Chrome works too but no flash....So right now as time stands I use both depending on my needs. Nothing set as a default.

**Roboticz** · 10-03-2012, 09:23 AM

I use Chrome on my tablet... it's blazingly fast... especially after the Jellybean update. The only thing that pisses me off is that it doesn't support flash. So I end up going back to the default browser when I need flash.

On my Samsung SGS3 I tend to use the stock broswer.

**funkylogik** · 10-03-2012, 09:32 AM

to be honest. in my experience its been finding the fastest full-featured browser that works with my keyboard (smart keyboard pro)
i wanted to like chrome but find it slow and doesnt work well with my keyboard.
dolphin hd is faster and nicer but same problem.
i used firefox pretty much since gettin the s3 coz its fast and works well with my keyboard but to get full-screen you have to install an add-on and its faulty.
now i use Maxathon, its fastest browser ive used (other than opera-mini which is lightening fast but lacks features), the bookmarks (favourites) were hard to get used to but actualy work really well, full-screen is natitve to the app and is perfect.
choice of browser is a very indevidual thing but right now mine is Maxathon without a doubt

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess

**NewMind83** · 10-03-2012, 10:26 AM

I've been using chrome, works great for me. I rarely use flash anyways.

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**Zulu Warrior** · 10-03-2012, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by GrooveRite

Chrome a resource hog?!?!? Are you crazy!! If anything, Firefox is the bigger hog here! Believe that!

Yeah I have found several benchmarks online where Chrome used way more resources than the others on a desktop. Desktop programs are different, I realize, but it is something I've seen. I'd post a link but I'm on my phone and don't wanna go through the hassle right now. I'll try to find it for future reference.

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**Suntan** · 10-03-2012, 01:24 PM

I personally favor Opera Mobile.

There isn't one browesr that is markedly faster than all the others with *every* webpage and the features that the various browsers offer differ. So it is more subjective than objective. Therefore, the correct answer is for you to load them all up and take a couple of days trying them out. Then pick the one you like the best.

-Suntan

**Dukins** · 10-03-2012, 01:49 PM

I like ics brower+ fast just like stock but with extra features.

**jamesino** · 10-03-2012, 02:26 PM

I found the stock one to be pretty good, although it has some downsides. Compared to Dolphin or Opera, it's harder and takes longer to swtich between tabs/windows. But it does display all the webpages properly and quickly.

Opera you sometimes have to clear the cache, or else it'll just say this webpage cannot be displayed. It also cannot display facebook mobile properly and since there's no stable Facebook app for Android, it's a bit crucial for users to who facebook.

Dolphin sometimes refuses to display or load a page even though the stock browser can load it just fine. Not sure why it does that.

**Rev2010** · 10-03-2012, 04:12 PM

Which is best is a purely subjective opinion. You'd be best off downloading the most popular of them and giving each a try. I did and found I like Dolphin the most. I've been using it for months now and couldn't be happier. It's fast, has it's own bookmarks so I don't have to see the un-deletable included ones like YellowPages, has access to the bookmarks from the menu button (easier one handed operation than the built in browser), and works with mobile Flash since I had it installed before it was killed off by Adobe. It's also decently tweakable - I didn't like the dolphin icon slider thingy but found where to remove it.

Rev.

**unlmtdRW** · 10-03-2012, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by Rev2010

Which is best is a purely subjective opinion. You'd be best off downloading the most popular of them and giving each a try. I did and found I like Dolphin the most. I've been using it for months now and couldn't be happier. It's fast, has it's own bookmarks so I don't have to see the un-deletable included ones like YellowPages, has access to the bookmarks from the menu button (easier one handed operation than the built in browser), and works with mobile Flash since I had it installed before it was killed off by Adobe. It's also decently tweakable - I didn't like the dolphin icon slider thingy but found where to remove it.
Rev.

I'll add my 2 cents for Dolphin Browser as well, for all the reasons Rev said. I really like how easy it is to work with the tabs and bookmarks are a snap, and it's responsive. I've used it the past year on my NOOKcolor tablet and loved it. I downloaded Firefox to my S3 b/c that's my go-to browser on my desktop, but found it really irritating on my S3; slow, clunky working with different tabs (probably b/c I wasn't used to it). I really wanted to like it and gave it a few days, then downloaded Dolphin and haven't looked back.;-)

**jamesino** · 10-06-2012, 11:20 AM

Are you guys using the Dolphin Lite version or the full-paid version? is there a difference in speed, cpu usage, battery usage betweent he two?

**jamiethemac** · 10-06-2012, 12:22 PM

Chrome is fantastic, and it syncs with my laptop perfectly. I found firefox to be slow and buggy.

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**robrecht** · 10-06-2012, 01:30 PM

I use ICS Browser+, really like the shortcuts and the form entry memory. Biggest failing of almost all browsers on SG3 is the lack of resize text after pinch-zoom. See also these earlier threads:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sam...t-browser.html

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sam...w-browser.html

**unlmtdRW** · 10-08-2012, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by jamesino

Are you guys using the Dolphin Lite version or the full-paid version? is there a difference in speed, cpu usage, battery usage betweent he two?

For me (can't speak for Rev2010) no Dolphin Lite or paid... just "Dolphin Browser" currently v8.8.2 (free). This is the only Dolphin browser I've ever used (well, it was called Dolphin Browser HD before), so can't speak to any differences in the areas you noted.

**f1nzup** · 10-08-2012, 03:45 PM

I use Opera Mobile. It is the only browser that I have found that will pinch-to-zoom any size text, and to me that is the number one thing my browser HAS to do. Coming from HTC where their native browser already did this, it was an adjustment, and it didn't take me long to find Opera Mobile.

**funkylogik** · 10-09-2012, 03:33 AM

Originally Posted by f1nzup

I use Opera Mobile. It is the only browser that I have found that will pinch-to-zoom any size text, and to me that is the number one thing my browser HAS to do. Coming from HTC where their native browser already did this, it was an adjustment, and it didn't take me long to find Opera Mobile.

opera has been around for phones since before smartphones and is well respected.. Opera MINI is VERY fast on slower phones or in bad signal areas but when it comes to full-featured browsers on the s3, i find opera MOBILE slow compared to the new generation of browsers.
i use HSPA+ 3G though, maybe on LTE you dont notice much speed difference?

global s3, UK. Ask me anything and ill reply even if its just an intelligent (or stupid) guess