A standard web browser which in addition to Tabbed browsing also adds something called “Tree” browsing capabilities to the web browsing experience.

Pros: The Lively Browser adds “Tree” browsing to a standard Tabbed browsing. The “Tree” browsing lists thousands of the most popular websites in various categories. There are for example the Top 1000 sites overall, then Top 1000 sites by Country, by Language, and more. The “Tree” browsing capabilities appear in a left “favorites” style pane (don’t worry, your favorites are part of the “Tree” so you can still add favorites and bookmark web pages; although it is not clear whether you can migrate your favorites to the new list). The “Tree” also lists links to popular forums and software. All in all, for those who are interested in looking at the most popular websites in various categories this is an interesting new browser.

Cons: It is not clear if the fonts that are used can be changed or not. But as they are right now they are really an eye-sore and despite the “Tree” browsing one would prefer to use a better-looking browser. To use “Tree” browsing it also means that you will have less screen-space available because it appears in a “Resource” pane on the left (much as the “Favorites” pane in Internet Explorer). Although, the “Tree” mode is interesting it really doesn’t add much to the user’s normal experience of the Web because it does not enable better browsing as Tabbed browsing does, but just gives a list of the top 1000 most popular websites in certain categories. This is useful for some, but not for most users. You cannot extend its functionality with add-ons.

Overall: 3 stars. Some additional functionality from an Internet Explorer style browser, however poor interface and no capability for add-ons (which are designed for other browsers).