[5 easy steps] Make your own web browser with custom icon, custom name, skins and more all for FREE

In the marvelous Android world that we live in, customization and functionality are key to our daily life. Accessing and browsing the web the way you want to is just as important as the theme that is installed on your device. There are is no shortage of browser options out there, Chrome, Dolphin, Firefox and Opera to name just a few of the greats. Even though we have many choices in apps that access the web, the customization for these browsers is  a little bit on the weak side of things.

There is another browser out there that many have claimed is faster and easier to use than any of the bigger named company’s. Maxthon browser has been around for a while actually and we have used it plenty of times, but with constant flashing and new apps to try, it got lost in the back-up file for a while.  The browser as a whole offers much of the same features and function you may already enjoy.

• ★Sync to the Cloud – Your bookmarks/favorites travel with you from desktop to mobile.
• ★Private browsing – Ability to browse the web without saving any browser history
• ★Amazing speed – Mobile web surfing lightning fast.
• ★Absolutely free, no advertisements!
• ★Full Screen – Browse the web in true full screen mode
• ★Add-ons – Small but useful add-ons to take your browsing experience to new heights
• ★Advanced Gesture – Create your own touch screen commands to surf with your fingertips.
• ★Theme/Skin – Ever-growing collection of skins that can customize your browser the way you like it.
• ★Tab browsing – Powerful tab management that puts your mobile screen to maximum use
• ★Download Manager – Makes it easy to sort, schedule and grab the downloads you need: wherever, whenever.

And so much more. We could go one for quite a while going over all the features and extra add-ons that Maxthon has available to it. We won’t though because this article is about how to customize the browser on your own. If you point  your PC browser to http://custom.maxthon.com/ you actually have the option to create the browser exactly how you see fit. When you click on “Make it Now” you are taken to a screen where you cruise through 5 different steps to create the browser your way.

Step 1 – Pick a name for your browser. You don’t have to use Maxthon for the browser name. You can call it Web, Internet, Yo’ Momma, or what ever meets your style or creativitiy. This name tht you make for it will be the application name that is displayed in your app drawer or on your home screen.

Step 2 – Upload a browser icon. Instead of long pressing your home screen and changing the icon in one location, you can upload any 72×72 app icon and use it. You can find plenty of those for free from Tha PHLASH or a number of other locations around the web.

Step 3 – Set your browsers homepage. Not everyone is a fan of the homepage that other browsers set up to open on default when you launch the browser. Of course each browser lets you go into the settings and change the default home page, with step 3 you set it to what you want prior to installing the browser.

Step 4 – Select a theme/skin. That’s right, in this step you select the look of the browser. There are a total of 11 various looks to choose from including the default look.

Step 5 – Upload a splash screen. Instead of your browser popping up with the default Maxthon browser splash screen, you can upload your own image. The image needs to be 480×800 in PNG or JPG format and can’t exceed 500kbs in size. Giving you a lot of room to work. You can use a plethora of wallpapers from all over the place

Once you have everything added and created the way you want hit the ‘Create APK’ button and away you go. The time it takes to create the apk for you will depend on if you uploaded a splash screen or icon to along with your custom created browser or not. I didn’t upload or change much and it took about 2 minutes to create the apk for me. Once it was done being created you are prompted to download the APK and then you will need to move it to your phone and install it like any other 3rd party app.

I might just have to spend a little time putting together a custom AndroidStory browser for us and anyone that wants to download it. That will take me some time to get the splash screen and icon together and built up. If anyone is interested in one let me know. Until I have a chance to get that going, feel free to pop over to http://custom.maxthon.com/and feel free to build your own custom browser.

Via XDA