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360 Browser

Thumb from page to page, literally

By Cliff Joseph, 14th April 2011

iOS App of the Week There isn’t a proper version of Firefox available for iOS, but the 360 Web Browser is perhaps the closest alternative I’ve seen so far. Version 3.0 has just been released and its feature list is ridiculously long, including an option to sync with Firefox, a built-in download and file manager, the ability to upload files to a Dropbox account, and a plug-in architecture similar to Firefox.

360 Browser makes use of a phone-friendly scroll-wheel-style UI

In the end, though, the main thing that prompted me to cough up the mere 59p developer Digital Poke is asking for the browser was simply its highly efficient browsing interface.

There are two key features that give it the edge over Apple’s Safari. Its tabbed browsing is much better for working with multiple web pages than Safari’s long-winded open-and-close juggling act.

There's a standard web view (left), but the browser can also go full screen

Then there’s the "360 arc" control system: a circular on-screen menu similar to the scroll wheel control of the original iPod.

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COMMENTS

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All Reader Comments (13)

Highly Rated

Posted Thursday 14th April 2011 09:54 GMT

GrahamS

Looks interesting

But I would like to have seen it compared to other iOS browsers (e.g. SkyFire and Opera) rather than just Safari.

SkyFire is my standard browser at the moment mainly for its abilities to change browser agent, render flash video, browse full screen and support private browsing.

Posted Thursday 14th April 2011 15:43 GMT

ThomH

@Jolyon

There's some sort of refund mechanism, but I've never been clear exactly how it works. There was a minor uproar amongst developers when it was first announced since Apple were taking 30% of the original sale, but then supplying 100% of the refund from the relevant developer's account. I suspect they may just have decided to make the feature a little obscure rather than deal with the matter properly.

Posted Sunday 17th April 2011 08:28 GMT

Gordon 10

Try atomic web

Works well for me. Similar feature set and multitouch commands - shake for full screen mode works well on iPhone. Only complaint is ad block filters are a little too aggressive.