Which has the fastest browser, Apple's iOS 4 or Google's Android 2.2? We're used to browser battles here on TiPb, but how about a browser battle battle? See, both Ars Technica and Engadget ran some tests, pitting iPhone 4 on iOS 4 against the Nexus One running Android 2.2 Froyo and the results... varied dramatically to say the least.

Ars SunSpider and V8 benchmarks showed the Nexus One blowing iPhone 4 out of the water with almost double the JavaScript performance. Engadget's real-world test loading real-world webpages, however, had iPhone 4 with a slight lead when Flash was enabled on the Nexus One, and slightly behind when Flash was disabled.

Both iOS and Android use WebKit-based browsers, with Apple running the Nitro JavaScript Engine and Google running their V8. Likewise iPhone 4 has Apple's own A4 processor while Nexus One boasts a 1Ghz Snapdragon.

Some might not think iterative increases in rendering speeds matter, but as we race towards the agile future of web apps, every little bit becomes important. Just like on the desktop, we expect every new release from either party (and others) to keep pushing the envelop. We should get iOS 4.1 in September and Android 3.0 later this year as well, both likely faster than what we have today.

So kudos to Google. Hopefully Apple responds in like fashion and the browser battles (and browser battle battles) continue!

[Ars Technica, Engagdget, Android Central]

So we've had a couple of days to play with Opera Mini for iPhone and it's clear why the new proxy browser is so divisive -- it's got a fantastic feature set, and is fast for people on slow EDGE connections and cheap for people on roaming data, but its UI is kludgy, it doesn't render HTML as well as Safari, and it has trouble with dynamic websites.

Whether you love it or hate it will likely depend on a couple of things:

• If you roam a lot
• If you're on 2.5G/EDGE a lot
• If you love Opera's features like in-page search and speed dial
• If you don't mind weird interface behavior like popping zoom and crazy scroll
• If you're not a typography nut whose eyes bleed at poorly rendered Helvetica
• If you're not an HTML aficionado who notices things like missing rounded corners and imprecise box-models
• If you're not interested in the upcoming HTML5 video support and don't mind getting redirected to Flash videos which won't play either

The more of the above that applies to you, the more you'll want to keep Opera Mini handy. And hey, even if none of it applies to you, it's free so you can stick it on a back page (or in an iPhone OS 4 folder) for emergencies.

It's also a 1.0 release, so Opera will no doubt improve it going forward. Bottom-line, it's nice to have the option on the iPhone.

How's Opera Mini working for you?

Opera has just announced that their Opera Mini browser for iPhone has been approved [Free - iTunes link]. According to Engadget, it's already popping up in some international App Stores and should/could be in your App Store any time now. Update: looks like it's live now, go get it!

Opera Mini likely received approval because it's not an actual web rendering, JavaScript processing engine like Safari (or Firefox, IE, Chrome, etc.) but a proxy-browser. All the rendering and processing is done on Opera's servers and then compressed and sent to the app for display.

This also means it doesn't use as much data, and can thus usually display web pages faster and with slower data connections than a full-on browser -- especially useful for people on roaming data rates or on EDGE connections.

It breaks SSL encryption by necessity however (https sites), so while you may want to use it to traveling the outskirts, you'll like want to avoid it when mobile banking downtown.

(You also might want to use it for it's on-page text search feature -- something even iPhone OS 4 still lacks.)

Let us know when Opera Mini appears in the App Store for you, and if you try it, what you think of it. Video of Dieter checking out the pre-release version after the break!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

YouTube link

CrackBerry.com is reporting that RIM has acquired Torch Mobile, makers of the WebKit-powered Iris mobile browser.

Apple-backed WebKit is the open-source rendering engine behind Mac Safari and Google Chrome, which isn't a very large segment, all told. Mobile WebKit, however, powers the portable world with the iPhone (and iPod touch) Safari, Google Android Chrome Lite, the Palm Pre/webOS browser, and some Nokia devices. Add BlackBerry to the mix and it pretty much looks like the mobile world vs. IE6 on Windows Phone -- strangely inverse the desktop landscape where IE dominates and Firefox brings up the rear. (FireFox's mobile Fennec browser is still in development).

It was just a couple weeks ago that RIM promised an iPhone-class browser from BlackBerry by next summer, and it looks like this might just give them one heckuva jumpstart in getting there.

Update: Engadget re-did the math and it looks like the iPhone 3G S is actually 21% faster than the Palm Pre (for now).

According to Anandtech, Dieter was spot on in his iPhone 3G S vs. Palm Pre browser speed test video. (as was our iPhone 3G S vs. iPhone 3G smackdown video)

The bigger story, of course, is not only do we have several great devices pushing competition and better serving users these days, but Mobile WebKit (the rendering engine behind Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome Lite, Palm Pre's browser, and Nokia S60 (tip of the hat to Sascha Segan) has become the mobile internet platform.

That it's relentlessly standards based, scales elegantly from desktop (where it ironically holds minimal share) to handset, and is continually being improved upon makes us especially happy for all concerned devices.

The intertubes are positively being flooded with what has to be some of the biggest browser news since Apple debuted MobileSafari on the iPhone: Google is getting in the game.

The advertising juggernaut has revealed that they'll soon be releasing "Chrome" (Beta), built on the same Apple-contributed, open source WebKit framework that forms the foundation of Safari on OS X (and also powers Nokia and Adobe web rendering). Paul Thurrott secured the screenshots above (with accompanying analysis), and Apple Insider gets deep down into the guts of the thing, including it's sandboxed tabs, "incognito" surf mode, and V8 Javascript engine. A Windows version will ship first, followed by Mac and Linux some point in the future.

Google, via referral fees for the search boxes built into Firefox and Safari, has bankrolled Mozilla, and to a lesser extent, Apple's browser for years. Will creating Chrome and making a play for the browser and WebApp space turn some former allies into enemies? Google's already begun down that path with the Android OS for handsets, and in the content space via Knol and YouTube (though they've thus far not managed to monetize it).

Looking for some Apple-like 360 degree spherical integration of their own, perhaps? And, as Google seems poised to become the next Microsoft, are we still safe in believing that whole "don't be evil" motto?