I've had an eMate for well I don't know. I got it new after they discontinued, so 10 years? I've used it for many things, and am quite fond of it. I do think the HWR is a bit questionable. Not sure why this is. I think it's more the ergonomics than the software since the 2x00 do so well. Perhaps there's something about the processing power that makes a difference.
I got the upgrade a few years ago off of ebay for about $50. It seems to have made the eMate faster, and definitely gives it a bit more memory, but since my days of heavy use are over, I can't really compare the before and after results. Still, if *I* had a non-upgraded emate, I'd keep my eye on ebay for one cheap. You never know.
I have a wireless card working in it, but am sligthly annoyed with having to reconnect to the network for each TCP/IP app I run. The TCP/IP connection isn't persistent.
Still, I'm quite fond of it, and have even developed a few simple things over the years for newtons. I keep thinking I will write robotfindskitten and an mpd client for it some day.
Oh, and regarding your actual question... I agree Newtscape is best, but Netshopper is very good too. My favorite internet tool is NetTest. It lets you send TCP or UDP. Useful when you need a "second opinion", or whatever. I use it every few months to debug whatever network BS I'm working on.