The developers behind the ever-popular Dolphin web browser for Android have rolled out an update to the app, bumping it up to version 10. The latest release sports a complete UI overhaul, improved search, an all new Web App store, and enhanced speed dial integration with support for up to an impressive 60+ shortcuts. It’s a substantial update and an important release by the company that has been hard at work to refine users’ browsing experience ever since 2010 – the time when Dolphin went out on Google Play for the first time. Let’s take a closer look at what the latest release has brought to the table in terms of features, functionality and, of course, looks...
If you currently are or have previously been a Dolphin user, you are surely going to welcome the change. And even if it’s your first run with the app, just get ready to be blown away by its flattened design and snappy internet browsing. The obvious mainstay of the app is its revamped UI. I’ve never been a fan of flashy textures anyway, so I found Dolphin’s new minimal looks even more appealing. Tabs look fantastic, navigation is intuitive and the whole design just looks better. Pressing menu now pops up a horizontal bar at the bottom where you can perform actions like exiting the app, opening bookmarks or accessing the settings.
Moving on to the Speed Dial, you can easily add a plethora of web apps here for quick access to your favorite social networks, news sites, blogs, entertainment portals and so on. Tapping and dragging an icon over another instantly creates a new folder, just like the speed dial feature in Opera. Not only does it look better, but it also keeps everything more organized and accessible. There’s also a ‘Dolphin’ button at the bottom-right, on which you can tap and hold to access gestures/sonar, tabs overview and the aforementioned horizontal bar.
The new Web Store is another great addition to Dolphin’s arsenal. The web apps basically consists of popular websites like BBC, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, eBay, Flickr, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tumblr and more. Just tap New on the speed dial to open the web store, followed by tapping [+] next to item you wish to add. The home screen now also tracks your most visited websites and keep them quickly accessible in a dedicated folder. Swiping from the left and right edges of the screen bring up Bookmarks and Add Ons bars, just as it used to do before.
Dolphin’s search engine capabilities have also been improved, letting you choose among different search options on the fly. The app displays search suggestions for quickly jumping to your queries and now lets you enter the queries straight into the address bar itself. While typing the text, you can select the search engine of your choice in addition to the default Google via the minuscule buttons at the bottom just above the keyboard. The available options include YouTube, Wikipedia, eBay, Twitter and Amazon by default, but you can also choose which shortcuts to display here from the Settings > Search Engine screen. Lastly, users can also toggle Flash support from the settings, provided Adobe Flash is already installed on their device (which you can easily get by sideloading its APK).
After trying loads of web browsers on Android, I can safely say that Dolphin Browser v10 simply provides the best web surfing experience on the platform. Try it out for yourself, and don’t forget to give us your feedback.
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