Blogging Tips

As you’ll see from the first half of this list yesterday, I took to the time to mention each feature along with my likes and dislikes for each iPhone/iPod Touch Browser. So, needless to say the list is pretty extensive, which is why I decided to break it up into 2 parts (which both are still pretty long). Hopefully, this info will come in handy for some!

This is Part 2 of “6 Free Browser Alternatives for the iPhone and iPod Touch”. To see the first half of this list, be sure to check out Part 1 from yesterday.

Blueberry

Features

• This browser is optimized especially for Twitter.
• It hides your web page history.
• There’s a button that lets you open the current page you’re viewing in Safari.
• There’s only one menu, the Twitter menu, which allows you to go to the Twitter home page, view the people you follow, view the public timeline and go to Twitpic.

Likes

• It’s totally free – there is only ONE version so, there’s no paying for a “full” version.
• Twitter search is integrated within the search bar – not Google.
• There’s a button that takes you straight to your @mentions, which is pretty convenient.

Dislikes

• Though it’s called “web browser WITH Twitter” it should be called “web browser FOR Twitter”. Even though you can view other web pages with Blueberry, there’s no browser type functionality at all to go along with it; you can simply perform Twitter actions and that’s it.

If you don’t like any the numerous Twitter apps out there and prefer the mobile site, then this browser is for you. I personally feel that this browser is even lacking with Twitter functionality but it is a good start; it definitely needs an update.

Tiki’Surf

Features

• Bookmarks are displayed as icons as opposed to a list.
• You can use Google search via the top right bar to search the web.
• There is a default start page which contains Google search, a link to their mobile sites directory, access to their interactive tutorial, a link to leave feedback and a link to ask questions.
• You can share the current web page via email.
• You can copy the current URL to the device clipboard.

Likes

• It’s totally free – there is only ONE version so, there’s no paying for a “full” version.
• There is a short interactive tutorial to help you get started with Tiki’Surf.
• “Instant visualization of your bookmarks: just by running your finger above your bookmarked sites you get an instant snapshot of the actual site always updated.”
• Save time by tapping and holding a category to visualize the sites in that category without having to actually dig deeper; the sites within that category will appear above the category area.

Dislikes

• There are 6 categories for your bookmarks and they’re not customizable.
• You can only have 6 sites within each category; you’ll start out with 6 default sites that you can then replace according to your own preference.

If you’re someone who has a lot of frequently visited sites that you need to access quickly, then this browser is for you. Though lacking in other features, it’s beautifully made and a real time saver when it comes to accessing bookmarks.

Mercury

Features

• Private mode can be turned on (off by default). While on, the browser won’t save any history and cookies will be cleared upon exiting. Also the font color of the URL will change to purple so that you know you’re in private mode.
• You can choose to hide images in order to speed up the loading time of web pages.
• You can choose to remember history or disable this feature in the browser settings.
• Pages can be saved for offline viewing.
• You can save ANY page as your home page.
• You can share the current web page via email.
• Rotation lock allows you to look the screen so that it stays in that position no matter how you turn your device.
• You have three options for starting the browser: with your personalized home page, the bookmarks springboard or your saved tabs.
• You can use Google search via the top right bar or the address bar to search the web.
• There’s multi-touch support like mobile Safari.

Likes

• Full screen browsing – the tab bar is automatically hidden but can be brought back with the tap of a single button; the bottom icons remain in place.
• Tab support with favicon view; tabs can also be opened in the background.
• You get an internal springboard for your bookmarks – save your bookmarks as icons as opposed to a list. If you’re someone who saves a lot of bookmarks on the iPhone/iPod Touch springboard then you can save space by using the internal springboard provided by Mercury.
• Address bar history – when entering a new web address you get a drop-down list of possible matches.

Dislikes

• You can only have up to 4 tabs open at a time (the full version supports up to 10 tabs).

Full Version Additional Features ($.99)

• You can save pages along with images.
• You have four options for starting the browser: with the dashboard, your personalized home page, the bookmarks springboard or your saved tabs.
• The toolbar is customizable – choose which buttons are displayed and which are hidden.
• You can import your bookmarks from your desktop browser (it’s not specified as to which ones).
• There are tap and hold features for links and images in order to open links in a new tab, copy links, mail links, save images or email images.
• You can search using Google, Bing, Yahoo and Wikipedia as opposed to just Google (in the lite version).
• You can password protect the browser so that no one can use it but you.
• You have the ability to edit the bookmarks on the internal springboard and organize them by folders.
• You can hide/display scroll bar, dashboard, status bar; you can also shake the device to hide the toolbar.
• Supports Google mobilizer so that web pages are loaded faster.

Well, I think I saved the best for last! Mercury is definitely my top choice when it comes to browsers for the iPhone/iPod Touch and even better, the lite version seems to be good enough; no need for upgrading!

So how about you? Do you use an alternative browser or do you just stick with mobile Safari? If you do use an alternative browser, which one do you use?