Surfy browser alternative now free ('honor-ware')

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Surfy, which I reviewed an eternity ago, is an alternative browser claiming to feature every err... feature - seriously, check out the bullet list below. It used to be commercial, but is now 'honor-ware', a model which I'm very familiar with and which I hope pays dividends for the developers. Most of the rough edges are also now gone from Surfy and it's well worth a download if you fancy getting away from Internet Explorer and in the lull before W10M and Edge arrive(!)

From the Store description:

Surfy is the most intuitive, feature rich and fantastically simple web browser in the WP store:
  • Desktop like tabs
  • Mobile optimization, which can reduce data usage down to as little as 20%
  • Passcode protection. Protect your browsing from prying eyes by locking Surfy with a passcode
  • Shake to refresh
  • Voice Search (WP 8.1)
  • Save and Share downloaded files (WP 8.1)
  • Export downloaded files to SD Card
  • Export any file to Media Library
  • Download YouTube videos
  • Private browsing
  • Themable Panoramic hub with customizable background image
  • Share links via NFC
  • Save Passwords and Logins
  • Desktop mode
  • Download manager with foreground and background downloads
  • Multiple search providers: Google Bing DuckDuckGo Yahoo! Baidu
  • Searchable history
  • Clear cookies and cache with history
  • Private browsing at start-up
  • Set desktop or reading mode for individual tabs
  • Share pages via Email SMS, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & NFC
  • Voice commands launch favorites and well known pages
  • Night dimmer
  • Listen to pages with Surfy's amazing multilingual text to speech engine
  • Save images & open links via context menu
  • Find on Page
  • Customize tabs and application bar colors
  • Pin pages to the Launch Pad

Some shots of the latest version of Surfy in action:

Screenshot, SurfyScreenshot, Surfy

I can't say that I've ever wanted to open a web site using voice, but hey, if you fancy having a go...? (right) In use, Surfy renders pages as you'd expect, with the only caveat being that the inertial scrolling is still slower and heavier than you'd expect.

Screenshot, SurfyScreenshot, Surfy

The attractive settings panes and panels are also very comprehensively stocked....

Screenshot, SurfyScreenshot, Surfy

Trying out the 'listen' feature, whereby a web page is read out, and (right) exploring the tile-tastic 'hub', which includes some basic HTML5 games...

Screenshot, SurfyScreenshot, Surfy

Switching tabs (see the top of the screen) and (right) the 'honor-ware' screen - how much do you think Surfy is worth, etc?

You can grab Surfy for free in the Store. It's certainly the most feature packed browser I've ever used, though demonstrably not the fastest in terms of rendering and navigation. Still, a great alternatve to the built-in IE, etc.

Source / Credit: Windows Phone Store