Habit Browser is the best Android browser I’ve ever used.
In the last two years, I’ve tried most every browser in Android land. From the popular like Chrome, Firefox and Dolphin, to the obscure like Boat, Maxthon and Baidu.
Lately, I’d been using the AOSP browser in CyanogenMod 10, cause I was tired of installing and trying to find the perfect browser. Then a forum post at XDA convinced me to try Habit Browser, boy was I pleased to take the time.
Habit Browser is the perfect blend of speed, features and customization. Since installing it, it’s been running continuously on my Nook HD+ without ever crashing. It’s the first app I start up after flashing a new nightly rom and it sits there waiting for me with tabs opened to my most frequented sites.
Examining the 2.4MB apk, I came upon an Adblock.txt file, the aha moment. That’s why it was so fast at displaying sites that normally took their time in other browsers, no freaking ads to slow down the page rendering. Since it’s a text file, I can add my own blocks.
Aside from speed, the browser has an incredible amount of settings that allow you to customize every aspect of the app. I’m in awe of such a tiny download having the amount of features that I wish some of the big boys had. From positioning and sizing of tabs, status bars, what have you, to changing color themes.
For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m browsing in an inferior position to my desktop Firefox sessions, I’m just as fast in doing online research on the tablet. I could go on for pages describing all the wonderful things this tiny browser does, but no amount of spiel compares to taking it for a spin on your own phone or tablet.
I guess I got a bad habit
Of blowin’ away
Yeah I got a bad habit
And it ain’t goin’ away