The general browsing experience in smartphones is getting better, but there are some phones that have provided an overall experience that stands out from the rest. We know many of you already have your favorite solution, whether it being on a platform or network level. Still, here are the phones that we have found to be the best for browsing (and they all include high-resolution displays):
Browsing comparison
(Based on infoSync test results) |
| Phone |
Browser |
Connectivity |
Screen |
Specs |
| iPhone 3GS |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
- Safari Mobile
- 3.5" screen |
| Touch Pro 2 |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
- Opera Mobile
- 3.6" WVGA screen
- Euro 3G only |
| Nokia N97 |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
- S60 Browser
- Flash Lite 3
- 3.5" screen |
| T-Mobile G1 |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
- Android Browser
- 3.2" screen |
| Palm Pre |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
- WebOS Browser
- 3.1" screen |
| Graphics by infoSync World |
 Even with stiff competition from Palm and Google's Android (not to mention Nokia's solid Web browser), the Apple Safari browser is still the best on a mobile device. Pages look perfectly accurate rendered on our iPhone 3GS review unit, and even large pages that usually resist a mobile browser, like CNN or the New York Times, render very nicely in Safari. We're still waiting for Flash support. We've seen Flash on recent smartphones, like the Nokia N97, and it was useful but not impressive on that device, which makes us even more curious as to how it would perform on Apple's iPhone 3GS, which is built for speed. The iPhone 3GS does get a nice speed boost in Web browsing over its predecessor. Though our local AT&T networks aren't taking advantage of the faster 7.2Mbps HSDPA radio built into the iPhone 3GS, at least not yet, we still saw a marked improvement over the last generation Apple iPhone 3G, especially on the most complicated pages. CNN loaded up to 15 seconds faster on the iPhone 3GS, and our own homepage loaded similarly fast.
 The HTC Touch Pro 2 ships with Opera Mobile for Web browsing, and this is a great choice, much better than the standard Internet Explorer. Even over a slower EDGE connection, Web browsing was fast and page layout was mostly flawless. The zoom bar just below the screen was very useful and provided smooth zooming to read text up close. We wish that Opera Mobile let us open more than 3 tabs at once, but this didn't cause much trouble. We were happy enough with fast page rendering and near-perfect layout on all the pages we tried, especially our own homepage. The HTC Touch Pro 2 doesn't use Flash Lite, which is especially disappointing since we've seen much more basic, cheaper phones from HTC, like the HTC Ozone on Verizon Wireless, that do use the streaming multimedia technology. As a consolation, the Touch Pro 2 does come with a dedicated YouTube viewer, so at least we could get some of our streaming video needs satisfied.
 The Nokia Nseries devices always impressed with their Web browsing ability, and the Nokia N97 does an admirable job, but the transition to touch hasn't added any new features, and some of our favorites are now missing. The mini map is gone, replaced by a simpler zoom slide that adds an extra couple of steps to browsing long Web pages. T-Mobile's G1 uses a touchable sort of mini map, and we wish Nokia would have gone this route. The browser rendered pages very nicely. Our own homepage looked perfect on the phone's screen. Still, both CNN and the New York Times refused to offer up their full desktop versions to our Nokia N97 review unit, and there was no way to change the way the browser describes itself (desktop vs. mobile) in the settings. Though pages loaded quickly, whether we were using the 3G HSDPA network or our own home Wi-Fi umbrella, we still wish the browser was more responsive. Flicking through pages or double-tapping to zoom in on text always produced a slight lag, and we wish these gestures would simply spring to action.
The Nokia N97 comes packed with Flash Lite 3.0, which means the phone can play videos directly from the YouTube Web page. In fact, though the phone seems to come with a dedicated YouTube app, this was only a link to the YouTube mobile page. Viewing the desktop version of YouTube in the Nokia N97's browser, we were able to play videos within the Web page itself, and the Nokia N97 did a better job handling Flash content than any other mobile phone we've seen. Pages still slowed to a halt while a video was playing, but video playback was completely watchable, if not smooth.
 The T-Mobile G1 isn't using the new Google Chrome Web browser, but the browser on the phone is simple and effective nonetheless. With the new Google Android Cupcake update, the Web browser has been updated to use the latest Webkit and Javascript engines. It's a faster experience than before, and, while not quite revolutionary, offers a modest improvement. Complicated pages, including our own image-heavy homepage, came through with no trouble, and the responsive touchscreen made browsing through pages a snap. Even better, Google has an accelerating mini-map that you can open to fly through extra-long pages, like the New York Times homepage, with ease. There weren't any features on the T-Mobile G1's browser that you won't find elsewhere, so don't expect Flash or even Google's own Docs Web app to work properly. But for straight Web browsing, the T-Mobile G1 was a solid performer.
 The Web browser on our Palm Pre review unit was very good. It used a simple interface without any fancy mini map or zooming tricks, but it was also very quick and responsive. Whether we were browsing Sprint's EV-DO network or our local Wi-Fi network, the browser on the Palm Pre loaded pages quickly. The browser gets a nice set of tricks thanks to its multitouch controls. iPhone users will recognize the pinch zooming techniques, though it didn't seem as responsive as it does on the iPhone.
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