Skyfire for Android

Though Web sites are more mobile-friendly than ever, some folks still want the full computer experience on their phones and tablets. Skyfire Browser offers all of that with a customizable toolbar on the top and bottom of all of your Web pages. Sadly, it doesn't give you any extra speed over the default Android browser and the toolbars take up too much screen space.

Skyfire seems like it's better built for tablets than it is for smartphones. If you use it on a 4-inch-or-less Android gadget, the toolbars are just in the way. They take up too much of the page, which means repeated scrolling to read articles. Pages just won't look like they're supposed to, more often than not. Luckily, the toolbars go away for a full-screen experience when you start scrolling. When they're on the page, the extra features do make browsing faster. You can go to Facebook, Twitter, or several other sites without having to launch a second app. Sadly, that's the only way the browser increases your surfing speed. Pages just don't seem to load any more quickly than they would in Android's default browser. That means other downloads tend to blow Skyfire out of the water.

Just like on your computer, it pays to download a different browser than what comes standard. However, with so many options like Dolphin, Opera, and Chrome to choose from, Skyfire just doesn't do much to stand out. Tablet owners will like the added features, but these may cause more trouble than they're worth on smartphones.