[HTC Startrek] thelostsoul:
Mobile web browsing is always a bit of a struggle. If the browser is too loaded, its too slow. But if the browser is speedy, it normally means it doesn't do enough.

I have 4 browsers on my phone (5 if you count Opera Mini).

Here's how I use each one:

Internet Explorer:

Stock browser, great WAP support. I use PIE (pocket IE) when I need to go to a site I know is designed specifically for mobile phones, or if I need to quickly check something on a website. It's my "Speedy browser" if you will.

I have this set as my default browser for compatibility reasons so that if an application needs to load a page, IE will run and I typically won't have any issues.

Pros: Fast, supported by carrier/manufacturer/microsoft, quality WAP support

Cons: Lack of/poor javascript support, almost purely mobile browser (no desktop-like feel), restricted file-type downloads, weak download support

JB5:

I installed it because everyone says its good, but I never found a real use for it. It's slower than IE, but doesn't do enough in my opinion. Moving on...

Pros/cons left out for lack of testing.

Opera Mobile: (beta verson 8.65 - expiring Oct 1, 2007)

Takes a few extra seconds to load the browser, and browsing the internet is a little slow. However, the sacrificed speed goes to adding a nearly full desktop browser with JavaScript support as well as a download manager (with no file type restriction), multiple window support, and powerful page compression options.

Of all the browsers on my phone, Opera Mobile is definitely my current favorite, but it does have its flaws - speed for one. It's not the slowest (see MiniMo) but its no speedster. It's definitely slower than JB5, and does lock up occasionally (probably simply because its beta). There are bugs, showing that it is still not a finished product, and it does fail at render certain pages on various occasions.

Pros: Rich in feature, Excellent JavaScript support, Download manager without file-type restrictions, pause/resume downloads, nice "desktop-like" browser feel on a mobile browser

Cons: Slow, beta and buggy, expires oct. 1 and is not free, multiple render issues and failure to load images

MiniMo: (Mini Mozilla - version .2)

I was surprised when I installed this one to see that it actually worked on Smartphones. The first time I installed it, I thought the buttons didn't work so I removed it. Then I decided to give it another shot. Now I discovered how it works:

Left softkey - Cycle selection area (Tab-bar, Web Page, Navigation buttons)

-Hold - Main Menu

Right softkey - Cycle click-able objects (page links, individual buttons)

-Hold - Quick menu (Find, FullScreen, Back, Forward, Reload)

Center button - Select highlighted object

Okay, MiniMo is by far the slowest of all the browser at loading. It takes quite a while to load the browser, and the page loads are comparable to Opera Mobile, whereas they are tolerable, but still slow. I believe it does have an easier time accessing the network than Opera Mobile does, but don't have any hard proof of that.

The Navigation of this application is very difficult and take a lot of getting used to, but the browser is definitely the most powerful of all listed here. It can even handle Google Maps.

As for page rendering - it has an option called "SSR", which I assume to be Small-Screen Render", however, it seems that it can't be disabled. The pages still render in full, but do not fit-to-screen and there is no option for such.

Pros: Practically IS a desktop browser, full render-capabilities, nifty font size up and font size down buttons, RSS support (not a feed-reader alternative though)

Cons: Painstakingly slow, beta bugs, no "fit-to-screen" option, difficult menu system and navigation, weak download support (similar to PIE's)

Opera Mini (stable, v3):

The included HTC Midlet Manage is garbage in my opinion. However, it's the best I can get my hands on, so it's what I use. OperaMini is as mobile of a browser as it gets. From what I understand, it used a proxy which compresses the site (including resizes pictures) before transmitting them to your phone. This makes the browser surprisingly fast. It has a nice UI (if only the midlet manager would allow fullscreen) with transitions and runs fairly well. However, it is unable to download files. In the event it is presented with a file to download, it will open the device's default browser (in my IE) and direct it to the file.

Pros: fast, compressed pages, excellent mobile browsing

Cons: Unable to download files, unable to load a selection of sites in decent quality

Opera Mini 4 (beta):

At the time of writing this, the browser crashed and/or freezes far too often to get an idea of how well it works. Does look fairly promising though.

In the end, I'll use IE if I want speed, Opera if I want features or a desktop like feel, and MiniMo if Opera fails to render the page. Opera Mini might come in periodically, maybe if I'm stuck in a GPRS area.

So, what do you guys use and why?