Atomic Web: A Better iPad Browser
By Jared Newman | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 7:12 pm
After reading about Atomic Web for the iPad a few days ago on Gizmodo, I surrendered $1 to the App Store and gave it a try. Now, I’ve happily banished Safari to the farthest reaches of my home screen, as this browser alternative looks and feels like Safari but with better features.
Atomic Web’s main lure is tabbed browsing. On the iPhone, I never had much use for tabs, because I don’t frequently read on the small screen, and therefore don’t get into the routine of opening background windows while scanning for interesting articles. On the iPad’s big screen, bouncing between pages is essential.
Atomic Web handles tabs like a desktop browser, displaying them directly underneath the address bar. When you press and hold on a link, a contextual menu allows you to open the page in a foreground or background tab. Switching between tabs is instantaneous — a huge relief given that Safari sometimes has to reload pages if you stray for too long.
Tabbed browsing isn’t Atomic Web’s only advantage. There’s also full screen browsing, find in page, multi-touch shortcuts (two-finger swipes with customizable actions), support for a couple dozen search tools, private mode, an ad blocker and customizable colors. It also comes with some cool bookmarklets — special functions that masquerade as bookmarks — including quick access to Google Translate.
I only have one complaint with Atomic Web: When you quit the browser, it has to reload all your pages again next time you start up, even if you set the browser to preserve all open tabs after quitting.
My other gripe with the browser isn’t Atomic Web’s fault, and speaks to a larger issue with the iPad: You can’t set Atomic Web or any other alternative browser as your default. Safari is part of the OS’s core, so you can’t make Web apps open in Atomic Web from the home screen, and other programs, such as TweetDeck, automatically launch Safari when you want to view something in a proper browser. The best you can do is install a bookmarklet in Safari that jumps to Atomic Web with your current Web page, but it’s one extra step.
That those drawbacks haven’t deterred me from forgetting Safari exists is a testament to how much Atomic Web deserves its $1 asking price.
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Any Must Have Apps For the iPad? - MacTalk Forums Says:
April 18th, 2010 at 9:16 pm[…] Havent tried it myself, but this one might be: Atomic Web: A Better iPad Browser […]
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Atomic Web Browser » Blog Archive » Atomic Web Browser Press Says:
April 18th, 2010 at 9:20 pm[…] Atomic Web: A Better iPad Browser https://www.technologizer.com/2010/04/18/atomic-web-a-better-ipad-browser/ […]
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Atomic Web – the iPad’s best browser « The Neoteric Says:
May 12th, 2010 at 7:31 pm[…] of the Facebook and Twitter integration (and come to expect it, really), though it seems as though the biggest crowd-pleasing feature is tabbed browsing. For all of the thought Apple puts into UI, I think they dropped the ball by not even including […]
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Multiple Google Account Sign-Ins Tested on Some Lucky Users Says:
July 14th, 2010 at 3:29 pm[…] it’s my turn. Switching between browsers is too bothersome, and enabling private browsing in Atomic Web doesn’t allow for multiple log-ins. I hope Google extends multiple sign-ins to its mobile […]
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iChromy: An Alternative iPad Browser With Chrome Envy Says:
May 26th, 2011 at 10:17 am[…] Chrome flattery aside, iChromy’s greatest asset is stability. When tab overload threatens to crash the browser, iChromy quietly shifts memory away from background tabs that you haven’t opened in a while. These pages reload when you access them again, but it’s a small price to pay for having lots of open tabs with minimal crashes. I’ve been playing with a preview version of iChromy on an original iPad for a few days, and it’s far better at avoiding crashes than my previous iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser. […]
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iChromy: An Alternative iPad Browser With Chrome Envy | All Update Gadget Information Says:
May 26th, 2011 at 7:20 pm[…] Chrome adulation aside, iChromy’s biggest item is stability. When add-on overkill threatens to pile-up a browser, iChromy sensitively shifts memory divided from credentials tabs that we haven’t non-stop in a while. These pages reload when we entrance them again, though it’s a tiny cost to compensate for carrying lots of open tabs with minimal crashes. I’ve been personification with a preview chronicle of iChromy on an strange iPad for a few days, and it’s distant improved during avoiding crashes than my prior iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser. […]
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iChromy: An Alternative iPad Browser With Chrome Envy – JailBake Says:
May 26th, 2011 at 8:43 pm[…] a few days, and it’s far better at avoiding crashes than my previous iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser.Otherwise, iChromy is a no-frills browser. It lacks many of Atomic’s powerful features, such […]
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iChromy: An Alternative iPad Browser With Chrome Envy « Apple Hot News Says:
May 26th, 2011 at 10:56 pm[…] Chrome flattery aside, iChromy’s greatest asset is stability. When tab overload threatens to crash the browser, iChromy quietly shifts memory away from background tabs that you haven’t opened in a while. These pages reload when you access them again, but it’s a small price to pay for having lots of open tabs with minimal crashes. I’ve been playing with a preview version of iChromy on an original iPad for a few days, and it’s far better at avoiding crashes than my previous iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser. […]
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iChromy: An Alternative iPad Browser With Chrome Envy | myeyefi.co.tv Says:
May 27th, 2011 at 9:11 am[…] Chrome flattery aside, iChromy’s greatest asset is stability. When tab overload threatens to crash the browser, iChromy quietly shifts memory away from background tabs that you haven’t opened in a while. These pages reload when you access them again, but it’s a small price to pay for having lots of open tabs with minimal crashes. I’ve been playing with a preview version of iChromy on an original iPad for a few days, and it’s far better at avoiding crashes than my previous iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser. […]
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iChromy: An Alternative iPad Browser With Chrome Envy | myeyefi.co.tv Says:
May 27th, 2011 at 5:54 pm[…] Chrome flattery aside, iChromy’s greatest asset is stability. When tab overload threatens to crash the browser, iChromy quietly shifts memory away from background tabs that you haven’t opened in a while. These pages reload when you access them again, but it’s a small price to pay for having lots of open tabs with minimal crashes. I’ve been playing with a preview version of iChromy on an original iPad for a few days, and it’s far better at avoiding crashes than my previous iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser. […]
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iPad Users : iChromy – Chrome Style Web Browser | Leies Life Says:
May 28th, 2011 at 11:04 am[…] Chrome flattery aside, iChromy’s greatest asset is stability. When tab overload threatens to crash the browser, iChromy quietly shifts memory away from background tabs that you haven’t opened in a while. These pages reload when you access them again, but it’s a small price to pay for having lots of open tabs with minimal crashes. I’ve been playing with a preview version of iChromy on an original iPad for a few days, and it’s far better at avoiding crashes than my previous iPad browser of choice, Atomic Web Browser. […]
April 18th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Interesting. I would give Apple major props if they allowed you to change your default browser in iPhone OS. Anything they can do to make me feel less like they’re locking me into their system would be impressive.
April 18th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
This doesn’t look or feel anything like Safari on any platform (or even like an iPhone/iPad app). It looks like Opera or a Linux browser and the buttons are on the wrong side of the tabs.
April 26th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
“…install a bookmarklet in Safari that jumps to Atomic Web with your current Web page…”
How do you do that exactly? I’ve found Safari on iPad to have ZERO functionality, so I don’t understand how that is possible within it.
April 26th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
@Matthew,
When you’re in the Atomic browser, there’s an option in settings called “Install Bookmarket.” This jumps you to Safari and opens a page with instructions on how to install the bookmarklet, which lets you jump from Safari back into Atomic with whatever page you’re viewing.
I’ve actually added this bookmarklet to the bookmarks bar in Safari, just in case I ever end up in that browser and want to get back to Atomic in a hurry.
May 26th, 2010 at 10:25 am
I just picked up my iPad; and I have to agree that Atomic is awesome! I ran the spirit JB, and installed Browser Change, so Atomic is my default–if I click a link in Mail, Atomic opens it up. Still doesn’t save pages on close though.
July 15th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Does Atomic Web, or any other browser project (via the iPad VGA adapter, or course) so that I can connect my iPad to a classroom projector.
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:57 am
"I only have one complaint with Atomic Web: When you quit the browser, it has to reload all your pages again next time you start up, even if you set the browser to preserve all open tabs after quitting."
i share these complaints as well… and therefore not worth the switch from safari imo
August 9th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Time for a class action lawsuit to have the ability to remove safari from the guts of apple's OS, just like with Microsoft and IE. How long before that happens, or is apple special?
August 26th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Try jailbreaking! You can change the setting so it will use any browser you want as the default!! Right now I use atomic as my default browser. It's great!
September 6th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
How do you find a word or phrase in the page?
December 7th, 2010 at 11:26 am
@Allyn
The app 2screens is projectable and has a built in browser, but also the capability to open PDFs, docs, etc. It also has a whiteboard mode.
March 12th, 2011 at 10:31 am
I was sold on atomic web for my iPad and iTunes does not have it?.. Now what