14 DAY TRIAL // I am sure all of you heard or read a thing or two about Maxthon. Its first version made such a good impression that millions of users that were using Internet Explorer instantly converted to it. Its second version is already out and brings a new look and new features for the fans.
Maxthon 2 does not override the settings of the previous version (it can import the settings made in Maxthon 1.x) and can survive on the same system together with its younger brother, without hindering its use in any way. Actually, it acts just like a different browser, although there are some blood links between the two.
Changing its looks resulted in a total make-up of the application as nothing is as it used to be: different menus, different icons, different layout, different skin, different everything. It also features new options and goodies ready to make your browsing experience a whole lot easier.
The first new option you come across after installing Maxthon 2 is the multi-user support. The feature is great as it allows you to make different settings for each user. All you need is create a personal account. After that, you will be able to use multiple configurations, depending on the number of users. Users can also store favorites online and access them from Maxthon 2, no matter the computer. Another advantage stemming from this feature is not being forced to back them up whenever you decide to reinstall the web browser or OS.
With multi-user support, Maxthon 2 allows total autonomy of the user when employing the browser. The users can customize the browser any way they want and all the settings will be appended to their account. More than this, the different users utilizing M2 can have a distinct favorites lists that can be stored online.
Favorites menu comes with two management features that allow you to check the links' validity or search for duplicate items. This way you can have a minimal management of your bookmarks directly from the web browser, making a bookmark manager obsolete, in a way. However, Maxthon 2 does not fully replace the functionality of a dedicated bookmark manager, as these are the only options available, for now. Also, during our testing, the browser took an awful lot of time for checking one perfectly valid link.
Other bookmark options include synchronizing the local items with those stored online, downloading or uploading them into your account. Importing and exporting functions do not miss in any self respecting web browser, so M2 comes with them, too.
The novelty in M2 is definitely the side bar containing different picks. Favorites is a regular here and the other sections include accessing the M2 account and customizing it with an avatar, change the password or edit your profile. Every change is made on the spot, and you can verify it by clicking the Refresh button in the top right hand corner of the side bar.
As more and more users adopt RSS feeds as a means of keeping up to date, Maxthon 2 comes with this feature as well. The default list is empty, but you won't have to manually create one provided that you already have an RSS feed reader, as the application supports importing OPML files as well exporting them. The feeds can be included in folders of their own for a better organization.
But though this version comes as a final one, there are several mischiefs like setting the update interval of the feeds. The option is grayed out and all there is available is configuring the application to update them at startup. As you check the browser's configuration center you will see that some of the options are not implemented yet and cannot be modified.
M2's Setup Center comes as an utter novelty for this ultra-downloaded web browser. It is web integrated and all the options are lined up in the left hand part. There are many sections, but I will only chew over the most important of them.
General section contains one grayed out option, which enables you to allow only one instance of the application. Further alternatives include disabling images, scripts, GIF animations, Flash movies or disabling sounds. Checking the boxes for these options will make page loading much faster (to tell you the truth M2 moves kind of slow).
Tabs Bar section is quite extensive and offers a heck of a management. It covers everything from setting the tab style (auto fit, fixed width or multiline tabs), tab bar display (in the upper part or at the bottom), behavior of "New Tab" (opening blank tab and duplicating current tab options are also grayed out), where the new tab should be opened from or when to activate the new tab to setting the maximum number of tabs that can be opened.
In order to make your search and web navigation much easier and more comprehensive, M2 allows you to add aliases for different search engines. You can add as many items as you want as there is no limit (but if you add more than you can handle it's going to be tough remembering them).
Magic fill is the Auto-complete equivalent in other web browsers. It allows you to automatically fill in web forms and passwords. The novelty is that you can save an entire list of forms (with different identities and details) and use them whenever needed.
A very interesting feature is that M2 allows you to select your external download manager from a list and configure it. You can set the application to use the external download manager only for certain file types (I recommend using it for larger ones), defined by the user. This way you can enforce a better download speed for those types of files.
The plethora of options available in Maxthon 2 include mouse gestures settings, designed to ease browsing a website back and forward. The trail is no longer nailed to red color, but can be changed according to the user's preferences. Super Drag and Drop (drag and drop links in a page to open them in a new tab) feature introduced by earlier versions is still preserved and works like a charm. Also, all the mouse gestures can be customized to comply to users' comfort.
Online advertisements can be a real pain sometimes, well, all the time, but M2 knows how to deal with them and gives the user the possibility of customizing them. Additionally, the web browser allows filtering content, be it URL or text. The bad news is that newbies will have a tough time learning how to configure the filters to work to their advantage as there is no Help file unraveling the mystery.
It seems that Maxthon 2 comes with every necessity and a bit more. If you take a look under Tools menu you will notice the Screen Capture Option. The tool will take instances of your entire screen (fullscreen), a certain region, the active window, the current page or all the web pages. No doubt that some of the users find it useful, otherwise it wouldn't have been included here. But it may be too much for others which may look at the feature as an unnecessary bloat.
Also, for those looking for a slim web browser, this is not it as it may seem very light, but the abundance of options is simply overwhelming. It looks like the developers tried to compress as many tools as possible in M2, so that regardless of the users' exigencies, the web browser be able to cover them.
The Good
Highly customizable, Maxthon 2 makes available a myriad of options, complying to the strictest exigencies. The multiple user support combined with online storage of the favorites prove M2's flexibility and tendency to lifting worries from users' shoulders. You can switch between different users each with their own customization.
RSS handling and management is easy and comfortable, as well as manipulating the favorites from the side bar.
The Bad
All the options available leave the impression that you will never learn to harness the application. Some users may find the new release bloated with one too many options.
When it comes to opening pages, the application moves a bit slower than its previous version.
Configuring the filters and ad blockers is not explained and many users may feel overwhelmed by the situation and by the way it is presented.
There are still options that haven't been enabled yet, although this is presented as the final version.
The Truth
Lots of improvements and a lot to learn. The learning curve is a bit steep in some cases as the plethora of options, features and settings seems to never end.
To tell you the truth, I liked the previous version better as it did not seem so gassed up with options and kept things quite simple. However, I have to admit that the multi user-support is fantastic.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
