Vivaldi's Customizable Web Browser Lands On Android

Computer users looking for an alternative browser to Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Chrome might be familiar with Vivaldi. The big claim to fame for Vivaldi is that the browser is very customizable. Its feature set has carved it out a niche on desktop systems, but there was no version for mobile devices until now. Vivaldi has now launched for Android.

Vivaldi for Android is in beta and bills itself as a fully-featured browser for Android; the company's first foray into the mobile browser world. The mobile browser looks just like the regular browser and has the same set of tools integrated. The tools include Panels, Speed Dials, Notes, and Capture. The mobile browser launches in the speed dials section, which is the same way the desktop version launches and is essentially a series of bookmarks for your favorite sites.

The Panels button is on the bottom left corner of the browser menu and gives direct access to Bookmarks, History, Notes, and downloads. On the opposite side is the Tab Switcher that allows users to change between regular, private, and synced tabs. The browser search bar allows searching using any installed search engine.

One key feature for Vivaldi on Android is Notes that allows users to add checklists, agenda items, or facilitate a research project without messing with switching apps. Notes are synced between all devices securely. Speed Dials offer a quick way to get users to their favorite websites and to organize bookmarks with ease, while the Bookmark Manager provides a way to add/edit descriptions and nicknames for websites.

Tab management tools like Clone Tab offers an easy and one-touch way to clone a tab, and a tab switcher makes changing between all your tabs a snap. Users can switch between available search engines easily whenever they want, and the browser offers shortcuts to search using them.

A private tabs feature prevents data from being saved when the tab is closed. Vivaldi supports encrypted sync of data with end-to-end encryption between devices. An easy way to capture screenshots is also included. Android users can download Vivaldi here. Vivaldi desktop gained the ability to sync with Razer Chroma lighting in May.