14 DAY TRIAL // Judging by the market share, when it comes to web browsing, the choices are generally pretty simple: Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer. Surely, Opera provides fast browsing, but it lacks in other aspects like security plus designers mainly optimize their websites for the two leading products. IE has gained such share mostly because it is delivered with every copy of Windows and this way it is always at hand and has its advantages as well.
Firefox is one of the wise choices out there as it is highly flexible and configurable in any way possible. It is a smooth combination of security and fast browsing although it is not invulnerable to threats either. However, even if these three lead the way there is always a pretty good chance to find a different one with an engine borrowed from one of them, but with better optimization for web surfing and providing easier use. Maxthon Standard is the perfect example in this sense.
Yet there are more perfectly good web browsers on the market ready to satisfy your web surfing needs and combining news-feeds retrieval, email and God knows what other gimmicks into a simple, easy to use and appealing interface. A late entry in this category is ShareOn whose name although does not make you think of a web browser is definitely intriguingly well chosen.
Unfortunately, the application is in beta stage and judging by the way it moves and feels still has a long way to come in order to comply with the standards. ShareOn comes as the simplest form of a web browser, almost stripped to the maximum and with little configuration to make. It is suitable for those that have basic browsing needs and do not need the complication of making all sorts of settings.
Actually, ShareOn is a combination of three different tools which cover web browsing, news-feed reading and a feature that has freshly introduced on the market, ComBoo List. The web browser is as simple as can be, covering only the basics. It features tabbed browsing, although you cannot quite open the new links in a new tab, favorites (which are automatically loaded from Internet Explorer) and mouse gestures for easier going back and forward.
A power user will definitely see it as a faulty web browser as there is absolutely no configuration you can make save for the default security which controls the items that should be loaded in the page: images, sounds, video, scripts, ActiveX or Java Applets. In the lower right hand corner of the application you will benefit from the same services mentioned above as well as of a pop-up blocker (nothing fancy).
ShareOn's web page load speed is nothing extraordinary and it does not run faster than Opera or Firefox, but it definitely is quicker than Internet Explorer. Other than this, some of the basic functions, like adding a new favorite link, are crippled. Also, you won't be able to open a new link in a new tab from the context menu. You can however copy the link shortcut and paste it in a new tab by opening it with a simple right click or pressing Ctrl+T on your keyboard.
A very interesting feature is History, which displays the links accompanied by a snapshot of the web page. This way you benefit from a visual identification as well of the past browsed pages. The major downside is that you cannot open them in new tabs.
The RSS Reader comes with its own set of options permitting you a proper configuration of the news-reading instrument. All feeds can be categorized and ordered in folders for keeping a better tab on them and better manipulation. There are different views available and I must say that all of them are impressive, from the simple mode window with the feeds in the upper part and the browser beneath to the large browser window and the feeds in the left hand sidebar, everything is looking mighty good.
The downside in this case though is that if you set the feed reader to open each piece of news in a new tab the browser will not automatically scale the length of the tab and in the case of lengthier titles these will be displayed one on top of the other.
The list of settings for the RSS Reader allows setting up the auto refresh time, the number of items per page to be displayed or set up the color codes for the new items, read/not read ones or the different backgrounds available according to the status of the feed.
ComBoo List is a new feature in a web browser and basically it will capture and display a part of the desired web page with all elements active. That means that if you take a snapshot that contains links those links will be accessible right from the taken with ComBoo, just by clicking on them. Think of it as a mini-browser that cannot display the web page in its entirety. You will be able to move inside the capture, zoom in or out, take another snapshot, etc.
Any snapshot displayed with ComBoo can be adjusted for opacity. This way it will not hinder in your work. It can also be stuck on top of other applications and increasing its transparency whenever the mouse is not on it is pretty helpful.
ShareOn comes with a great interface design and lots of ideas for new features to be integrated in a web browser. However, there is still plenty of work to be done in order to become a full-fledged application and at this stage it fully deserves its beta stage.
The Good
The interface is simple and easy to use giving the user absolutely no trouble in this sense. ComBoo software integrated in the application is quite a feature as it can capture pictures and keep all the links active.
RSS Reader comes with great View options and it is fantastically easy to use and configure.
The Bad
Being a beta I will just point to all of the above mentioned baddies. There is plenty of work to be done, especially in the web browsing part.
The Truth
ShareOn is in beta stage and glitches, issues and downfalls are expected. There is huge room for improvements, fixes and appending of new features, especially in the web browsing part of the application.
Given that all fixes are properly taken care ShareOn can come as a good alternative for those that wish an easy to use, lightweight web browser equipped with RSS Reader and a new system of preserving special parts of web pages.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
