Yahoo has launched a new web browser called Axis. You can download it for iPhone or iPad as a full browser. The desktop version, however, comes as a browser add-on. There were some issues with the Chrome launch, but that appears to be resolved now. You can download it here.

First, check out Yahoo’s video showing it off:

Now, let’s check out reality.

Having now played around with Axis for the iPad, iPhone and Chrome, I can tell you, this works much better as a mobile browser than as a Chrome add-on.

Chrome is already super fast at the search process. Axis slows it down. I’m finding that sometimes it even takes a long time just to load the search box. Then, if you click the search box, and start typing, you’ll find that you’re just adding on to the previous query. If you’ve already performed a search with the Axis search box, you’ll find that you have to take an extra step and get rid of the previous query, whereas if you just search from Chrome’s omnibox (the address bar), you can just click and type, searching without any hassle whatsoever.

I’m not sure this helps you “rip through the web,” as portrayed in the video above (though it’s funny that this web ripping is portrayed by a guy punching through glass screens).

Even if you’re a fan of Yahoo search, it’s actually easier and a better user experience to simply switch your default browser in Chrome to Yahoo, and continue to use the omnibox.

In addition, Axis adds another bar to the bottom of your browser, taking up more screen real estate. The ability to slide horizontally through search results hardly seems worth the trade-off.

Those are my first impressions. I don’t want to discourage you from trying it out yourself though. See what you think, and let us know.