Many popular websites–including Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube–use JavaScript because it makes those sites more immediately responsive, and JavaScript-heavy pages behave better in Chrome. Google’s browser really shone in our JavaScript test, far outdistancing its competitors. And what Chrome lacks in flashiness, it certainly makes up for in performance. It may not be perfect for everyone, but Chrome is a well-rounded browser that should meet most people’s needs.Ĭhrome’s minimalist design isn’t eye-catching, but its lean toolbar leaves more room for viewing Web pages. Sandboxed design helps prevent malware infectionsĪdd-ons for Chrome 17 include popular mobile games.Chrome wins our top spot thanks to its ease of use, numerous extensions and add-ons, and superb performance.Lets you close slow or frozen pages without restarting the browser.
Nevertheless, it offers more security options than most competing browsers, and it processed HTML 5 code quickly. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 earned a rather low score for its features: It doesn’t offer themes for your browser, and you can’t sync favorites unless you use Windows Live Mesh. We had expected the browser’s Facebook integration and social-reading sidebar to slow its performance but in our hands-on testing, RockMelt worked faster than most of its rivals, and it permits you to share links and chat with friends on Facebook without having to go directly to the social network. RockMelt 0.9, the browser built on Google’s Chromium framework that comes integrated with Facebook, was the surprise third-place finisher. Mozilla’s Firefox 10 finished a close second, processing HTML 5 graphics faster than any other browser and sporting a huge library of add-ons to make browsing easier and more fun.
For our appraisals of five popular mobile browsers for the Android operating system–Chrome for Android Beta, Dolphin Browser HD, Firefox for Android, Opera Mini, and Opera Mobile–see “ The Best Browsers for Your Android Phone.” And for advice on how to get the most from your laptop/desktop version of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari, see “ 21 Ways to Buff Up Your Browser.”) Among the PC browser contenders, Google’s Chrome version 17 narrowly captured the crown as the top performer overall in our tests, thanks to speedy JavaScript rendering and page load times, excellent security tools, and a respectable array of add-ons and features.
(To download any of these six browsers, visit our handy downloads page. We examined the latest versions of six widely used desktop and laptop browsers–Chrome 17, Firefox 10, Internet Explorer 9, Opera 11.61, RockMelt 0.9, and Safari 5.1.2–paying special attention to such variables as speed, safety, extra features, and extensions. Are you looking for something blazing fast? Or is strong security your top priority? Or do you need lots and lots of add-ons? Illustration by Everyone needs a Web browser, but with so many different ones available, deciding which one is best for you can be hard.