360 Web Browser for iPhone and iPad Mobile Browsing with Style

360 Browser iPhone iPad Download Manager-2

360 Web Browser | Download Manager and Firefox Sync [rating: 4/5]

I have owned every iPhone that has been released and while there has been an incredible change in the way things are done from phone to phone, one has changed very little and that is Safari. I have always found myself wanting more from my mobile browser and imagine my surprise when after years of waiting 360 Browser has brought me a refreshing and delightful experience. The features of this browser seem never-ending with file downloads, Firefox Sync, Multi-Touch gestures, customizable search options and many more. 360 Browser manages to add tons of features while keeping things manageable for even the most basic iPhone user.

One of the first things you notice about this browser is its sleek yet simple design. You are greeted with a tutorial that will help guide you through the basics and explain some of the features and how to access them. I found this helpful but I always like the hands on approach when trying to learn a new application.

The overall appearance of this browser was very impressive. You will notice that it appears as though any other browser that you would find on your desktop computer. There is an obvious blend of PC browser and mobile browser at work here. You still have a menu bar at the top of the screen with tabs below it and is accompanied by a toolbar at the bottom of the page that most mobile users will be familiar with. One exception will stand out, the 360 Arc button. To access the 360 Arc, you hit a button on the toolbar and a circular orb with several options appears in the center of the screen with loads of options. I was very impressed with the way this packs so many tools in a single button. The transition effects are also pretty clean and slick.

This browser takes the best of both worlds (PC & Mobile Safari) and puts them in one browser with a very clean shell. The browser sports the normal address bar along with your choice of search bar. The search bar is just another example of how customizable this browser is with choices of Google, Wikipedia, IMDb, Dictionary, eBay, Yahoo, Bing and Ask searches. Full Screen mode is pretty cool as well. I have found it to work quite well and really makes browsing much less painful. The overall use of this app is fairly similar to any other browser with exception to all of the added functionality of the extras. There are literally dozens of configurable pieces of this app to allow you to browse in your style.

The plug-ins for 360 Browser cannot go unmentioned. They bring an even greater PC browser feel to an already great app. The plug-ins can be easily downloaded from the settings menu and they even provide a brief description of what it is that they do. There are plenty of plug-ins to get started with and I truly hope they continue to develop these because it adds great value. Plug-ins that caught my eye were Firebug lite, Translate to English, Evernote clipper (I’m an avid Evernote user) and Clip Converter. There are plenty more where these came from, even social site share plug-ins for sites like Facebook. Firebug for example allows you “examine html, css and many other aspects of a website”, while Clip Converter brings “Flash to MP4 conversion” to 360 Browser users. As you can tell by these examples, the plug-ins play a vital role in adding even more functionality and depth to an already incredible mobile browser.

There are tons of features but I’d like to mention a few of my favorites. Download manager was something that I was skeptical about at first but after using it became one of the more intuitive parts of this app. I used it to download a PC application and it did so without issue. There is also a media player built in to allow if you should to download multimedia materials. 360 Browser also supports themes which allow you to literally “Bling” out your browser with a diamond covered theme.

One gripe I had about the themes in this app was that when I first set my eyes on the “Carbon” theme I wanted it. The problem you might ask? It was a $1.99 and the 360 Browser app is only a mere $0.99. This seemed a little strange to me that you would pay less for the application than the theme so I passed on the carbon fiber theme. You will notice however that you are given the choice of 4 extra themes, one of which is the Bling theme. Firefox Sync was very cool but tabbed browsing beat it out in my top three of extras. I forgot how much easier it was to used tabbed browsing as opposed to Safari’s click button and scroll method. It isn’t necessarily the time saved but the ease of use and the ability to do something that you have become so accustomed to on your home computer. The extras on 360 Browser really take it to the next level for me.

360 Web Browser for iPhone and iPad is worth every single cent you pay for it. For a under a dollar you can greatly enhance your browsing experience on your iPhone and even replace some applications you might use for downloading files. Be sure to give this app a chance and check out all of its features. At first glance you might think that this is just your ordinary browser but you must take a look under the hood of this highly powerful browser to get a better idea of everything you can do with it.

Pros

  • Added functionality with small learning curve
  • Tons of extra features
  • Very sleek

Cons

  • Learning a new browser
  • If you don’t try the extra you’ll never know how awesome it is

$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Productivity
Updated: Jan 31, 2011
Current Version: 2.1
2.1 (iOS 4.0 Tested)
Size: 16.5 MB
Language: English
Seller: Saloni Srivastava
© 2010 Digital Poke
You must be at least 17 years old to download this app.
Frequent/Intense Mature/Suggestive Themes
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

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