Camino for Mac

CNET Editors' review

by: Jason Parker on December 10, 2009

Camino is a relatively fast and lightweight Web browser that uses the same rendering engine as Firefox, the other open-source browser from Mozilla. This Mac-only browser has long been known for its Mac-like "feel" (unlike Firefox, which is less Mac-like by design), and this last major update only reinforces that experience.

The new Gecko rendering engine (shared by Firefox 3) is arguably the most important change in Camino 2, giving it a big boost to speed and security compared with previous versions, but the browser has also added quite a few thoughtful new features. The most flashy addition is Tab Overview, which provides a visual overview of all your tabs (similar to Safari's "Top Sites" but with tabs), and a few other tab innovations, such as a scrollable tab bar. Camino also now features an "Annoyance Blocker" (blocking not just pop-ups and ads but even Flash animations on a site-by-site basis) and a history of recently closed pages, so you can quickly reopen that page you didn't mean to close.

Many of new features in Camino 2--everything from content zooming to support for Growl, AppleScript, and modern Web standards--just let this browser catch up with Apple's Safari and Camino's sister browser Firefox (and Camino can probably never compete with Firefox's many extensions and add-ons). But users of the "big two" browsers will find a lot to like here, and migration from one browser to another is easier than ever, especially with third-party helper apps. If you're at all intrigued by Camino--or dissatisfied with your current browser--Camino is absolutely worth a try. (Or if you wait, you can count on seeing many of Camino 2's features copied or co-opted by future releases of the competition.)