Yahoo Unveils New 'Search Browser'

Yahoo has entered the web browser game with its new Axis browser. The browser, which was rolled out last evening, is designed to eliminate the middle step in the search process, combining the search box and address bar, and displaying actual images of websites—rather than traditional links to the websites—when a search term is entered, Mashable reports. "With Axis, we have re-defined and re-architected the search and browse experience from the ground up,” explains a Yahoo exec.

Axis can be downloaded as an app for Apple's mobile devices, and functions as an extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer on desktops. Yahoo says it is working on Android and Windows Phone version of Axis, which was won praise in early reviews. "The Axis browser may not conquer the world, but it is a very strong mobile product with an important new design concept for search," writes Rafe Needleman at CNET. "It's also a gutsy business move from Yahoo." (More Yahoo stories.)