Safari on the iPhone is great and, for a while there, I never thought there would be reason to switch to a different browser (even if the Firefoxes and Operas flooded the App Store). But Atomic Web Browser, a full-featured browser for the iPhone, steps things up a whole lot that you'll probably want to trade up. Why? Because it brings mobile browsing as close to a desktop experience as we've ever seen.

It handles all the basics well. Rendering is fast and accurate, with intuitive controls and viewing options similar to Safari. The layout is simple and easy to understand, requiring almost zero learning curve to get started using.

Atomic Web Browser's main strengths lie, however, in the features:

Customizable Search. You can add or remove search engines (choices include Google, Amazon, Wikipedia and more) much like in actual desktop browsers, allowing you to pick out ones that you actually use.

Ad-blocking. Yes, you can get rid of ads while you surf, with no need for add-ons of any sort. Whether you're conserving bandwidth or prefer your pages clutter-free, this alone could be reason enough to download a new browser.

Infinite tabs...with a tab bar. Not only does Atomic support tabbed browsing with a real tab bar, it lets you open as many as your iPhone's memory can handle. You can simply swipe through the tab bar once you've got more tabs than screen space, making it easy to move from one to the other. Also, there's an option to ditch the tab bar for a listing of tabs, which I personally prefer.

Full screen browsing. One tap and you've got the entire display to browse with. Sure, it's no replacement for a 17-inch screen, but it's way cool.

Tons more. Yes, there are a lot more noteworthy features here, including browsing in private mode (disables history tracking and clears cookies), locking screen rotation, viewing the source code of a page you're looking at, customizable colors and themes, and others.

If you find Safari light on extras, Atomic Web Browser should fill the lack handily. And for only 99 cents!

[Atomic Web Browser]

Does your kid have an iPhone?  My nine-year old nephew has one - a hand-me-down from his mom when she got her shiny new 3GS.  While kids will most likely use it to play games, you have to keep in mind that they can also use it to surf the web.

As on the PC, you'd like to keep them off from objectionable areas of the internet.  Problem is, Safari offers zero parental controls on that end.  As such, they're pretty much free to wander about cyberspace unrestricted.

The Mobicip Safe Browser fills this gap, giving you options to block out unsavory websites from being accessed on your kids' iPhones.  Yep, it's an alternative browser that's actually approved by the App Store, because it does offer something that the native Safari client doesn't - a child-safe surfing environment.

Before you can force your kid to use it instead of Safari, you'll have to disable the latter manually: Settings -> General -> Restrictions.  It would have been better if this could be handled right from the app itself, although being a one-time change, it's no biggie.

Its main strength is that it functions and looks nearly like Safari, making the transition from using one to the other seamless, with no required learning curve.  The lack of a facility to import bookmarks is  bit of a letdown, though.

Mobicip itself costs $4.99, which gets you the child-safe browser plus a free account for their filtering service.  Any URL accessed from the app gets filtered through the company's servers, which decides whether to either allow or block it.  Free accounts get three levels of filtering: elementary, middle and high school.

If you want more detailed control of your child's surfing habits, you can also sign up for a Premium account for $9.99 per year.  This gets you plenty of latitude, including the ability to blacklist and whitelist specific pages and categories, download activity reports and manage multiple devices from a single dashboard.

[Mobicip for iPhone]