Vivaldi Browser Review of 2020: Why You Should Try It
With so many web browsers available in the market, you may want to use whatever one browser casually, that’s would be a mistake. After all, browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, etc. Have brought so many choices. However, using a good and suitable web browser makes it easier and more comfortable for working and Internet surfing, that’s why I bring this Vivaldi browser review.
Vivaldi browser was created by a co-founder and former CEO of Opera and released in 2016. Though it is a newcomer for the web browser market, Vivaldi can offer the full-featured functions that you used on older main browsers. Similar to Google Chrome and Microsoft's new edge, the Vivaldi browser is built on Chromium source code. As its claim, "your browser matters", Vivaldi provides an impressive level of control over the use and interface for both regular and power users. And Vivaldi provides great features like impressive customization, Google Chrome's extensions compatibility, flexible tab management and series of helpful functions, this Vivaldi browser review will show you in detail. It has faster speed and comes with more designed features, which makes it one of the best web browsers for Windows and Linux.
Vivaldi browser is compatible with Windows 10/8/7, Mac OS and all major Linux distributions. The beta version of Vivaldi for Android 5.0 and later was released in September 2019, the only regret is that no iOS version is available now.
Except for the basic functions that other web browsers provide, Vivaldi defines a series of new features for its users, which gains highly recommendations and make it stand out other browsers. The following part is we will explore more about Vivaldi.
Flexible tab management in Vivaldi is the first great feature that you can't miss. Usually, web browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox use fixed tabs when searching. While Vivaldi offers a flexible tab control. You can "stack" multiple tabs to group your tabs and get an organized browser. Tilling tabs allow you to see several pages in a split window, which lets you work with several web pages simultaneously. And pinning the often-used tab on the top is also available in Vivaldi. On the left sidebar, there is a web panel where you can save websites like Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, and you can view new messages in the saved sites at any time while you’re searching for something. Hibernate background tabs help you improve the performance of the browser.
Similar to Opera and Google Chrome, the Vivaldi browser offers Speed Dial to help you quickly access your favorite websites from the start page via visual bookmarks. You can create and name speed dial folders or groups based on site categories or your interests.
If you search for the best web browsers allowing keyboard navigation in your browser, the Vivaldi lies in a higher position. Because the Vivaldi browser allows users to customize the keyboard and mouse shortcuts, letting you map any action to whichever button or mouse gesture you want. This function is also known as Spatial navigation, which helps you perform repetitive tasks more efficiently and quickly on the go.
Vivaldi provides great flexibility for users to design the browser appearance. You can adjust the fonts, themes, and colors as you like, as well as move the UI elements like buttons and tabs to the place you want. Theme customization is common in many browsers, but Vivaldi makes a big difference. You can schedule the theme time in a specific time, for example, you can set the light theme for daylight time while switching to a dark theme in the night. To make the browser more personal, you can add another image to the Tab Bar. Furthermore, you can choose a browser theme based on your operating system.
Vivaldi browser allows users to sync your bookmarks, settings, and history between devices, which saves lots of time to reset when setting up Vivaldi on a new computer. One of the key points is that Vivaldi also enables you to import bookmarks from your current browser to the Vivaldi browser. Please note a Vivaldi account is required for the sync.
Vivaldi allows users to change search engines like Bing, Yahoo, Google Chrome and DuckDuckGo. Usually it’s troubling to change the default search engine in the settings. Vivaldi provides a simpler way to solve such problem. You can give a nickname to each search engine, and tweak to it with the keyboard shortcut. For example, you can type “b Vivaldi” in the address bar which will instantly search for Vivaldi in the Bing search bar.
To improve the user experience, the Vivaldi browser offers many effective tools. Note-taking function on the sidebar enables you to take notes easily and remember your thoughts anytime when you’re searching for something. If you want to save a page, you can take a screen capture with a selected section or a full mode. What's more, the Vivaldi browser comes with a reader mode. When you open a blog or article, then click the reader icon in the address bar, Vivaldi will remove all the unnecessary elements to give you a simple and pleasing reading experience.
Vivaldi browser provides higher security and privacy for users. Though it also uses Google Safe Browsing to protect you from known malware websites, you can decide whether to send your search activity data and cookies to Google or not, because Vivaldi allows you to turn off the service in the setting, which is not supported by many other browsers. What's more, Vivaldi will update about once a week, which can ensure its quick response to patch potential security problems. And online anonymity searching is also available in Vivaldi.
For the first time, the Vivaldi browser is only available for the web, as the users’ growing demands for mobile devices, Vivaldi beta version for Android was released finally last year. Similar to the web version, the Vivaldi beta for Android is also packed with unique features. You can sync all the data of the web version to bring the desktop Vivaldi to your mobile. Many helpful features like Speed Dial, taking notes, full or selected screen capture are kept. One great feature of the Vivaldi on Android is that it has a top tab bar, which you can save the most-commonly used tabs and get access to them quickly. Besides, the Android version also attaches great importance to users' privacy, the history search and cookies won't be kept in Vivaldi if you use the private tabs.
Except for the features mentioned above, the Vivaldi browser also has other special features. It features impressive customization and access to Chrome’s vast library of extensions while also being fast and light on RAM consumption compared to other browsers. And you can see Vivaldi puts the user experience in the first place. If you're tired of the monotonous of the main web browsers, try the Vivaldi and it may refresh your searching experience.
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