Opera

It's actually quite hard to truly escape Internet Explorer or Firefox, because many alternative browsers just wrap a different user interface around the same rendering engines that drive the market leaders.

Which leaves us with the only truly alternative browsing choice, built from the ground up with its own rendering engine: Opera. Now at version 9 and rid of the requirement to pay to remove the ad banners of the free version, Opera provides an alternative you can use daily. The innovative features are all there, from antiphishing protection and integrated BitTorrent downloading, through to thumbnail site tab previews and desktop widgets, and even navigation voice control. There's a built-in mail client, top-notch security, standards compliance and excellent documentation backed by a thriving support community. With its fast and innovative operation, Opera is our alternative browser of choice.

Author: Davey Winder