NetXplorer

You probably have a preferred web browser by now, where all your favorite websites are at a mouse click away, and you don’t have to write down credentials every time you go on Facebook. However, this doesn’t mean that others need to be overlooked, because browsers like NetXplorer might not have all the juice, but use resources a little better.

In order for the application to properly work, you need to make sure that .NET Framework is installed on your computer. The application itself, on the other hand, doesn’t need to be installed, and can be launched from the moment download is done. This means you can carry it around, without worrying that you might affect the PC you use it on.

The main window tries to grab your attention through a custom-made interface. However, navigation space is limited, even if you stretch the borders of the window, and the upper toolbar already takes up too much space, even if it’s not fitted with many elements. You might want to adapt your navigation style to a minimized analysis of content.

An address field needs to be filled in with the place you want to land on, but pressing Enter to jump doesn’t quite work, so you need to manually press the go button every time. There’s no built-in search field, meaning you have to use a dedicated engine that takes up the entire page.

Apart from the URL field, the upper toolbar only holds navigation buttons, and an option to quite. Unfortunately, you aren’t able to save any favorite websites, nor view navigation history. Tabs are not implemented, but navigating on multiple pages is possible by running more instances of the application.

To be fair, you’re better off struggling with Internet Explorer or Edge if you haven’t found an alternative yet, because NetXplorer is sure to leave you disappointed. Sure, it uses a decent amount of resources, and speed is acceptable, but content doesn’t always properly load, while the lack of comfort features like bookmarks keep it far from being your daily gateway to the Internet.