Internet Browsing Apps for Your iDevices

Even though the iPhone and iPad come with Apple's own Safari browser, it is not your only choice for web surfing. If you browse through iTunes, you'll undoubtedly find numerous third-party browsing apps that come at a premium. However, I'm going to show you several browsing apps that are completely free and great to use.

1. Taptu Touch Search

This one definitely my absolute favorite app for browsing the Internet. The app is specifically designed for mobile touchscreen-based devices like your iPhone. 

It has a very nice interface, with a search box at the top, trending searches in the middle and recommended websites along the bottom.

If you go to the 'Featured' section, you'll be presented with Top Sites and New Sites to explore.

You can refine your search according to 'Categories' as well.

Anytime you come across a website you love, you can save it too under 'My Taptu' section for easy and fast reference.

Other options allow you too search by blogs, images, videos, news and Wikipedia.

2. Opera Mobile Browser

Opera mobile browser for the iPhone is simply a delight to use. One the main screen, you can assign up to nine websites that you visit frequently for easy browsing. As you can see here, I have assigned CNN, The New York Times, e-How and IGN, among others, as the main sites here for fast browsing. 

What i like about this browser is how clean and clear the whole interface looks, especially if you choose to hide the tabs and other buttons when looking at a website.

3. Google Mobile App

Google, being the definitive search engine for most web users, also have developed a mobile version of their portal for iPhone and iPad users. 

The mobile Google app retains most of the features of the desktop version, so if you're a heavy Googler (is that the correct phrase?), you should have no problem getting yourselves familiarized with this app. 

If you go to the Apps section, you'll find some of the more popular features of Google such as Books, Docs and Photos.

Another great feature of the app is the ability to do a search using voice command. Simply speak into your phone's mic, and the app will analyse your verbal command and do the search accordingly. As of now, the voice-search function supports English and Mandarin vocals. 

However, I should point out that this voice-search feature is more often than not a "hit-or-miss", so don't expect accurate search using this function every single time.

4. CoolIris Picture/Video Browser

Ok, technically, this is not a full-fledged browser, but it is nevertheless a great app for pictures and videos browsing. Anyone using Firefox browser will be familiar with CoolIris, and I can tell you that both the desktop and mobile versions are very, very similar.

If you like CoolIris on your desktop, you're gonna love this even more. The design is really good, and you have to hold your phone horizontally (this is the default setting) to fully enjoy the features of this app.

You can search for pictures or videos via categories. When you come across a picture you like, you can choose to save it to your ipPhone or inside the app via the Favourites tab.