have you been installing a bunch of stuff? if you press and hold the alt key and press the escape key (swooshy arrow to the right of the ball) how many apps does it show running? minimum should be 6, myFaves, home screen, call log, messages, browser, messenger. you might also have AIM and ICQ going because they are hellish and stupid lol.
but if the hourglass keeps popping up, the phone is stuck thinking about doing something because it has too much to do.
as for slow browser, could be linked to the rest of the slowness (hourglass) or your signal just sucks.
Also try pulling the battery to see if that clears it up.