When the Android OS first appeared, it shipped with a rather basic, disappointing web browser. That fuelled the development of Dolphin Browser HD, which introduced multi-touch capabilities long before Google caught up. And having established a lead over the Android Browser, Dolphin HD has worked hard to maintain it.

Unlike other third-party web browsers, Dolphin HD sensibly uses Android’s native HTML rendering component rather than adding its own. In other words, it basically takes the built-in browser engine and overlays its own interface shell and superior feature set.

Previous versions of Dolphin HD showcased support for gestures using the multi-touch interface, plus the ability to access bookmarks and add-ons with a single swipe to the left or right respectively. The integrated tab bar at the top of the window makes tab switching simple and pleasurable, and while it disappears (along with the navigation bar) as you navigate down the screen, just hit the menu button to bring them back instantly.

It already was considered the best browser for Android and the latest version takes things a step further. If you found the previous theme a little grating, you’ll find the new, subtler shades more to your taste. The start page has also been tweaked to include a speed dial grid as well as a “Most visited” section. The left-hand sidebar has been improved with access to bookmarks, history and most frequently visited along with a useful Quick Access button to the items that normally appear when you hit the menu button.

Version 10.0 ships with these new features:

+New UI design
+Web App Store: Easily add popular web apps to your home screen
+Home screen now supports drag & drop grouping of speed dials into folders, with 60+ speed dial slots
+Dolphin key: single swipe access to browser menu, tab list or Gesture/Sonar
+Search directly within Amazon, Twitter, Wikipedia, eBay, Youtube, Twitter or Facebook from URL bar
+Flash support can be re-enabled in settings
+Themes & Night Mode have been updated for v10. Install the updated versions from Google Play