UC Browser releases a Windows version

UC Browser is one of the best Android browsers to be found these days. Now the Chinese company UC Mobile, in an attempt to spread the love to other platforms, has released a Windows version of its successful web browser, based on Chromium and replete with additional integrated features. Here we offer a quick peek.

There are three fundamental pillars that make a good browser: speed, compatibility, and customization. In terms of speed, UC Browser appears to fulfill expectations, or at least rival the main contenders in the sphere of web browsing. A cold startup (opening a browser tab for the first time) takes no more than three seconds, and with several tabs open it consumed no more than 200MB of memory, which Chrome and Firefox manage to do quite easily.

In terms of compatibility, there’s not a whole lot to say taking into account that it’s based on Chromium, concretely version 38 (Chrome itself is currently on 41), so you can be sure it respects and properly handles most web standards. This, together with the fact that you can install unlimited extensions right from the Chrome Store, makes you feel right at home and means you won’t miss any features you were using before.

In terms of customization, UC Browser takes the cake, as a quick peek at the endless included characteristics makes clear:

• Ad and pop-up blocker with options to add custom block rules and exceptions.
• Mouse gesture configurations that can be assigned to any browser action.
• Browsing acceleration with a pre-load system that starts downloading a URL when you hover your mouse over a link to that page, among other anticipatory loading options.
• Cloud-synching service to preserve the bookmarks and settings you use from any device you connect from.
• Downloads manager with an auto-restart system and the capacity to discern between file types (including torrents!).
• A theme shop.