Aarde Web Browser Review

In terms of overall browsing experience, Apple's mobile Safari browser is a best-in-class program. Pages load quickly, navigation is easy, and the app is function-rich enough to feel like more than just a souped-up phone browser. Still, users have long asked for Apple to incorporate several key features into Safari, including true tabbed browsing, ad blocking, and, of course privacy control. As yet, though, requests to Cupertino have fallen on deaf ears, leaving third party developers to pick up the slack. Enter NicheVision Labs' Aarde Web Browser, an app that promises full desktop browsing for the iPad. In our experience, the developer has delivered on its promise of long sought-after features, but the app suffers from instability and a number of questionable design choices.

An initial load of Aarde Web Browser reveals a user interface that is spartan and antiseptic; the main browsing window contains forward and backward navigation buttons, the URL window, tiny reload and bookmark buttons, and a search window that allows the user to choose between a number of popular search engines. The only other object on the screen is a curious green orb. Its color seems appropriate, in retrospect, because this unassuming button might just be Aarde's kryptonite.

Nearly all of the app's features must be accessed through that little green ball. If you can get the button to respond to your touch--which, often, it does not--only then will you will be able to access tab control, bookmark management, privacy features, and ad blocking. By having nearly all of the app's features consolidated in this one menu, NicheVision Labs has created a browsing logjam in which even the simplest of actions requires sifting through subscreens: Closing a tab, for example, means tapping through two menus.

The problem of interface clumsiness is compounded by a lack of touch sensitivity and responsiveness. Often, three or four taps are required before you can access a menu or execute a function. Activating web links does not work much better, and there is usually a noticeable delay between selecting a link and the app registering the tap.

Sluggishness extends to page loads, as well. For example, a full load of the New York Times homepage took 11 seconds on mobile Safari, while the same site took 45 seconds to render in Aarde Web Browser--and that was with only one tab open. With three tabs open, page load times nearly doubled in some cases.

The browser is also plagued by a few other technical foibles. While crashes were not pervasive, they were still frequent enough to be an annoyance. We noticed an especial lack of stability when switching from portrait to landscape orientation, and vice versa. Additionally, the user options menu is only available in full-screen portrait mode. While this may be a minor quibble, it still reflects a general lack of thought or design consistency.

That said, Aarde Web Browser is not without several rays of light. To begin with, it has seamless native integration with Instapaper, so you can easily save pages for offline reading. It also contains its own internal notepad and the ability to share links, images, and videos with social networking sites.

The app's primary claim to fame should be its private browsing feature, however. Indeed, this is the one aspect of the browser that truly shines. Users have the option of browsing in private mode, in which cookies, cache, and history will not be stored. They can also purge saved browsing data at any time from within the app, as opposed to having to go through the iPad's settings menu to do so, as one must with Safari. In our tests, these functions worked well and as intended.

Aarde Web Browser tries to be all things to all people but ends up looking like a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. While its bevy of features is initially impressive, the app suffers from poor design and execution, both of which make the browsing experience feel frustrating and broken. If you have concerns about nosy family members or coworkers poring over your browsing habits, maybe Aarde is worth its $1.99 price tag, but if you are generally content with your current level of iPad Internet security, we caution you to stay away.