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Opera posts

Opera Mobile 9.7 goes live

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 8th 2009 @ 3:00AM

Opera Mobile, already considered by many to be the premier browsing platform for WinMo handsets, has just benefited from a big boost today in the form of version 9.7. The headline here is that 9.7 is the first version to employ Opera's Opera Turbo technology, which offloads pages to Opera's servers (in much the same way as Opera Mini) where they get compressed to tiny fractions of their original sizes before being sent down to the phone. A demo on Opera's site shows the tech in action (using an EDGE connection for added drama), and if the claims hold up, Turbo should clearly make a noticeable difference in end user browsing speed. Next up, 9.7 upgrades to the Presto 2.2 rendering engine, which is exactly the same engine used by Opera's desktop browsers and is said to offer up to a 25 percent boost in rendering speed over previous versions. Anyhow, Opera Mobile 9.7 is available now for your WinMo phone -- much to Internet Explorer Mobile's chagrin, we imagine.

MediaFLO lives: LG "Opera TV" is probable Vu successor for AT&T

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 26th 2009 @ 10:10AM

We suspect the image they've got on the slide here is a placeholder derived from the Arena, but the point is well taken: LG will be drawing heavily from its high-end global feature phone when the time comes to sunset the Vu. Indeed, we've heard that there'll be some S-Class-ish interface on the Vu 2, so this lines up nicely -- as does the 5 megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3-inch wide VGA display, and MediaFLO support. Those are some heavy-duty specs, so we're hoping beyond hope that these guys can hold to the August '09 timeframe they've seemingly targeted for this. Catch a slightly larger glimpse of the phone -- which, the more we look at it, we're pretty sure is just an Arena stock photo -- after the break.

Continue reading MediaFLO lives: LG "Opera TV" is probable Vu successor for AT&T

Opera locks down agreement to bring Opera Mini to Virgin Mobile USA

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 1st 2009 @ 3:37PM

Opera Mini has definitely seen a good deal of face time here lately, but it's looking to up its presence even more by inking a new partnership with Virgin Mobile USA. Starting April 14th, Opera Mini will be available as a free application download on select devices -- Slash, Arc, Shuttle, Super Slice and four others -- for Virgin Mobile USA prepaid customers via the VirginXL download storefront. Going forward, the browser will come pre-loaded on other "select" Virgin Mobile USA phones. So, one carrier down -- who's next?

Gallery: Opera locks down agreement to bring Opera Mini to Virgin Mobile USA

Yahoo! to distribute, cheer for Opera Mini

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 19th 2009 @ 5:32AM

Maybe we're just imagining things, but it sure seems like a lot of deals are going down here in Barcelona. The latest partnership to arise from the middle of nowhere is this one, a tie-up between Yahoo! and Opera that will see the search engine company distribute and pimp the Opera Mini web browser to its many Yahoo! Mobile users. Under the deal, Yahoo! is expected to begin distributing Opera Mini via Yahoo! Mobile (gratis, of course) and also as a standalone download from Yahoo!'s mobile Web sites in the near future. A curious matchup, yeah? Should be interesting to see where this leads -- we get the feeling this is just the beginning of something much, much bigger. Or maybe just bigger.

[Via phonescoop]

LiMo Foundation gains another half dozen members at MWC

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 17th 2009 @ 7:29PM

While Android is sure enjoying the spotlight underneath that HTC Magic display, the LiMo Foundation is quietly building an army to rule the mobile realm once and for all. Dramatics aside, the Linux consortium did manage to secure another six members here at Mobile World Congress including Telefónica SA, Aromasoft Corporation, Casio Hitachi Mobile Communications, Marvell Semiconductor, Opera Software ASA, and Swisscom. Of course, all these formalities really mean nothing if the group can't manage to get a reputable handset out the door, so for now, we'll say "congrats" and "hurry up, why don'tcha?"

Opera commercializes its server-side web compression with Opera Turbo

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 12th 2009 @ 5:13PM

Part of the reason why Opera Mini is so dang good at what it does -- provide desktop-esque web experiences to devices with limited horsepower and bandwidth -- is because Opera has become really good at acting as a proxy, compressing each and every nugget of data before it's sent down to the phone. The company's now looking to capitalize on that expertise, announcing its Opera Turbo initiative that's being pitched to both carriers and device manufacturers as an easy way to reduce bandwidth consumption by up to 80 percent. We love you, Opera, but if this gives carriers a good excuse to delay 4G rollouts, we hate you.

Opera Mini 4.2 escapes beta, arrives for Android

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 29th 2009 @ 10:40AM

It's tough to find someone who doesn't appreciate the amenities in Opera Mini, and we have to say, that hamstrung version that hit the Android Market in November just made us yearn for the real deal. Thankfully, that waiting window has finally closed. As of today, mobile surfers can suck down the non-beta version of Opera Mini 4.2 for Android, complete with easier URL entry, upload / download support and the ability to zoom in / out on double tap and handle multimedia files. Give it a go and report back with any praises / gripes, won'tcha?

[Via phonescoop]

HTC Advantage emerges as Xda Flint for O2

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 9th 2008 @ 8:32PM

Believe it or not, the polarizing HTC Advantage is still kicking around, and now it has sashayed its way over to O2. Based on a relatively informative product page hosted up by the carrier, we're looking at a pretty standard Advantage X7510 with a swank O2 logo (though rechristened the Xda Flint), detachable QWERTY keyboard, 5-inch VGA touchscreen, a 624MHz processor, ATI graphics chip, Windows Mobile 6.1, 16GB of internal storage space, a 3.0-megapixel camera, HSDPA, built-in GPS and quad-band GSM connectivity. Mum's the word on a price or release date, but we'll keep you posted.

[Via coolsmartphone]

Opera Mini comes to the Android Market

by Chris Ziegler, posted Nov 25th 2008 @ 3:57AM

Perfect timing, eh? We're really not too concerned about the supposed browser hijack being reported on G1s the past couple days -- there's no proof at this point that it's actually a browser issue, and even if it is, we expect Google to be Johnny-on-the-spot with a patch -- but it's still cool to see a viable alternative getting developed in the form of Opera's venerable Opera Mini in its latest 4.2 beta form. We've played around with it for a few minutes and it seems to work pretty dang well, so if you G1 owners are feeling wild and crazy enough to switch up your browsing routine, give it a go -- it's free, after all.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Symbian Foundation nabs Opera, KTF... UIQ?

by Chris Ziegler, posted Sep 9th 2008 @ 1:13PM

The Symbian Foundation has definitely managed to quickly reach a quorum in the few months since its inception, and the group has just announced yet another round of heavyweights to have thrown their support behind the effort. This time around, Sharp, Opera Software, South Korea's KTF, and UIQ are among nine new firms to throw their hats into the ring (in other words, if the Windows Mobile and Android camps aren't paying attention yet, they probably ought to be). UIQ might be the surprise here, considering that S60's perpetual second fiddle had already made moves to get ready for the Foundation's activities -- but whatever, good to hear that they're officially on board now.

Opera Mini finds its way onto Android

by Sean Cooper, posted Apr 11th 2008 @ 6:32PM

Got Android and lack lovely browsing experience? No worries, Opera mini is ~~coming~~ here to help. Opera's Chris Mills explains that rather than start from scratch they've used the existing code base and binary package with a wrapper that converts the Java ME API calls to Android API calls -- think translator. Of course, this has all only been run in software so far, though we just know now that it's hitting the wild, you can be sure that people playing with early hardware are going to be all over this. We love Opera Mini and are pretty stoked about Android, too, so you go gents, make us proud.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Put away the hacks: Helio now offering Opera Mini officially

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 17th 2008 @ 6:42PM

Back in the days of yore, the world was a simpler place. The Helio Ocean had just one browser -- its own -- and if you wanted Opera Mini instead, you got it the old-fashioned way: with hard, manual labor. Times are changing, though, and both Helio and the Ocean are changing with 'em. Opera Mini is now available as a direct download from Helio itself, a nod to the community's desire to have access to what is commonly considered the premier mobile web browser, and maybe -- just maybe -- an admission that Opera Mini is better than the Ocean's integrated app. Whatever the implications, it looks like hitting 67372 from your Ocean's home screen will get the show on the road.

Video: Opera Mobile 9.5 redesign is lickity quick, slick

by Thomas Ricker, posted Feb 5th 2008 @ 5:22AM

Bring it, we say. Opera Mobile 9.5 is prepped and (almost) ready for beta release. Version 9.5 is noticeably faster thanks to a re-engineered Presto rendering engine and features a new browser interface and downloadable Opera Widgets. A World Factbook widget pulls data from Flickr, Google Maps, and CIA World Factbook simultaneously. Opera was more than happy to compare their new browser with Microsoft's Internet Explorer Mobile to demonstrate the obvious -- IE mobile is cruel. Opera mobile 9.5 will see its first public unveiling starting February 11th at GSMA with a public Symbian, WinMo, and Linux beta expected soon. Click on through for the video.

Opera Mini 4 turns a bright, shiny shade of gold

by Chris Ziegler, posted Nov 9th 2007 @ 5:50AM

Seems like these cats are on a nice, predictable annual schedule, yeah? Just a little under a year after the release of Opera Mini 3, version 4 has gone gold following several months in beta. It seems that Opera's big focus for this version has been to make Mini seem more like a full-fledged desktop browser, shoehorning in features like a true mouse pointer, landscape mode (to give sites that 4:3 feel), and zoom capability. It's free and it's available now, so we might recommend you give it a shot before you spend even another moment hobbling along on whatever two-bit integrated browser -- if you can even call it a browser -- that you're using now, k?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Enthusiasts bring 3rd party apps to the Helio Ocean, too

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 4th 2007 @ 12:33AM

The iPhone isn't the only handset whose software innards are getting lovingly torn apart in the name of science this week. It turns out some intrepid users of the Helio Ocean (a device occasionally compared to the iPhone, coincidentally) have been slaving away on a method for adding extra applications outside of the carrier's walled garden. Their first success is a doozy, too: Opera Mini 3, one of the most prized jewels in the world of mobile software. The developers aren't claiming it's bug-free -- landscape mode and the QWERTY keyboard don't work, for example -- but it's a huge step in the right direction and they're continuing to work out the kinks. More custom apps are said to be on the way, and don't worry, Drift and Heat users -- support's said to be on the way for you guys, too.