There is more choice than ever before when it comes to picking an internet browser that meets your business and home computing needs. Selecting the best one for you will depend on what device you are going to be using the internet browser on and what you are going to be using it for.
Google is pinning its hopes for a bigger share of the internet browser market on Google Chrome and is aggressively pushing it to consumers. At the same time, Mozilla is improving its Firefox browser and Microsoft its Internet Explorer. When it comes to mobile browsers for smartphones and tablets, Opera and Apple are coming out with some exciting new products too.
So which is the best browser for you?
When it comes to speed, the top browsers – IE9, Safari 5.1, Firefox 9, Chrome 16 and Opera 11.6 – all deliver high-speed browsing but there are differences when it comes to things such as JavaScript performance which affects the speed at which web apps and more complex websites work. Looking at JavaScript performance, Firefox is the clear leader, completing speed tests in an impressive 189.4ms, followed by Safari in 219.6ms, IE9 in 247.9ms, Opera in 254.3ms and Chrome in 291ms (all these performance figures are based on running a new computer without any of the plug-ins or extensions that can dramatically reduce the speed of your internet browser).
Talking of add-ons, your best choice for the number of add-ons available is Firefox. It is by some distance the most adaptable and expandable web browser with add-ons including ad blockers, Twitter interfaces and Gmail. Opera is another contender because of the way it integrates email, newsgroups and online chat and sidebar tabs for games and apps.
Many people are now looking for the best browser for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. As you’d expect, for Android devices the Android browser is a good bet but for smartphones Opera Mobile has a slight edge. With tablets, the standard Android browser just about edges out its competitors. Apple’s Safari browser has improved massively for in its performance on their iPad device, now featuring tabbed browsing and iCloud syncing on the iPad 2 and iPad 3. It’s not only faster but much more reliable than using non-Apple browsers on your iPad.
As you can see, which internet browser you decide to buy very much depends on what you intend to use it for – games, apps, email, online chat – and the device you will be running it on.
