Having a great phone is one thing, and all of our chosen phones' standard browsers are more than adequate. iOS brings Safari, Windows Phone 8 brings along Internet Explorer 10 and now Google brings along Chrome to the mobile experience - and you can pick it up on iOS now too.

That said, on all systems you might prefer an alternative.

If that sounds like a situation you're familiar with, then we strongly suggest you check out our selection of the best alternative mobile browsers.

Dolphin

The Dolphin Browser comes under 3 different guises. For Android there is Dolphin Browser HD and Dolphin Browser Mini, for iPhone, Dolphin Browser.

As an alternative browser, it brings different features for different users. The basic browser provides a raft of features from tabbed browsing, gestures to side bars and a speed dial, all of which make browsing easier and more intuitive.

Whilst tabbed browsing and the speed dial speak for themselves, gestures and side bars don't. A small translucent button in the bottom of the screen brings up the gesture screen, where tracing your finger performs a customised action, from refresh and back, to loading Google.

Side bars are another very useful feature. Swiping the screen to the left brings up a small bar on the right, where your installed add-ons live, and swiping to the right brings the bookmark bar up on the left.

Android users are treated to a fuller web experience, with a variety of add ons. Some of these change the theme, and some add a whole new layer of functionality. There are too many to name so we recommend you check them out.

Opera

Opera has had an offering for mobile while most other browser companies were still trying to hone their desktop versions. The browser comes in two main variants, Mini and Mobile.

The Opera browser duo are available across all platforms including Android, Windows Phone 7, iPhone and Blackberry and is reliable and well performing on each OS.

Like similar browsers, you are able to browse the web full screen, access tabbed browsers and all the best features of a good mobile browser. Even text reflow is a dream, working instantly.

Where Opera Mobile really shines is in its ability for sharing. With a simple tap you can share any number of networks including Facebook and Twitter as well as connect and transfer to nearby devices over.

Firefox

The Firefox mobile browser comes in two flavours, depending on the handset you are using.

Android users are blessed with the full Firefox browser, whereas if you are using an iPhone you are limited to using their bookmark manager – Firefox Home.

Firefox is a fully featured browser allowing for full screen browsing, this is great as it cuts out the toolbars and other rubbish that can often hinder a web experience on a mobile device.

Usability wise, the browser offers tabbed browsing by simply swiping the left hand of the screen to bring up the tabs bar. Firefox also comes with built in Amazon.com, Twitter and Wikipedia searching alongside the usual google search.

Using a simple sync feature, (helpfully called 'Sync') users can also access all their bookmarks, history and even open tabs from their PC browser, meaning you'll only need one browsing session with no duplication.

Skyfire

Like others, SkyFire is available cross platform but we'd be lying if we said its main USP wasn't for the iPhone. Because of the iPhone's inability to handle flash, users are often disappointed by non-loading videos.

Skyfire fixes this issue by serving iPhone friendly versions of web video using its cloud-based technology to convert them to HTML 5.

That said, we'd be lying if we said there was nothing for Android users. Packing in a trial of the paid "Video Optimisation" feature, Android users can save their data plan as videos are compressed up to 75%.

Skyfire also comes with tabbed browsing, full screen mode and easy sharing links. Another neat feature is that you can access your Facebook and Twitter accounts from a small toolbar at the bottom of the page.

The app connects to them and saves your details, allowing for quick access without switching apps.