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]

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.

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]

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.

We thought Opera Mini was pretty good as it was, but the company has taken its smallest, lightest browser through a "complete redesign" for its fourth major release. Codenamed "Dimension," the new version features a Wii browser-like zoom that moves immediately to content -- a good idea when your screen's less than a quarter the resolution of the display the average full-fledged website was designed for. It's still in beta, but they seem to like what they've got going on; they're even putting it head-to-head with the iPhone's supposedly brilliant browser. Adventurous users can check it out straight from their handsets by browsing over to mini.opera.com/beta (manual Palm and BlackBerry installs are available directly from Opera's site).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Contrary to previous beliefs, it looks like neither Orange nor HTC will have a part in producing the first "Googlephone," and instead it seems that Samsung is slipping in the back door to steal the limelight. When the Ultra Edition 13.8 (formerly known as the Z720) got official a few days back, we noticed the relatively unexpected suite of Google apps swarming the mobile's innards, and aside from the handset not exactly abiding by the Opera agreement that is supposedly falling into place, it seems a good fit for the first Google-infused mobile. Of course, the programs that come loaded are all available as free downloads on supported handsets, but it seems the European-bound 13.8 will be numero uno in what's likely to be quite a lengthy list of Googled mobiles.

Continuing along Opera's silent, yet somewhat noticeable pursuit of conquering the mobile browser realm, the firm has sealed a deal with Samsung "to provide Internet browsers for its advance mobile telephones." Similar to the renditions already found on Windows Mobile Pocket PC, Blackberry / Treo, and basically every other handset out there, the browser will reformat pages for optimized mobile viewing and give Samsung owners one less thing to download when setting up their phone. Interestingly, the licensing deal is "per phone sold," but there's no information on just how much coinage will be changing hands when all this goes down.

For those of us still using dumbphones (and even some of us with the smart variety), Opera Mini is just about the best thing out there for doing us some web surfin' on the road. Version 2.0 of the Java-based browser is pretty darn good, but 3.0 has just hit the streets and it's offering up some key improvements. Top on the list are comprehensive support for RSS feeds, inline uploading of pictures snapped using the phone's camera, and streamlined connection handling that should lead to faster browsing. Perhaps the most intriguing new feature, though, is something Opera calls "content folding" whereby long content on a page is automatically collapsed with a "plus" sign -- great for long-winded sites not necessarily designed with a phone browser in mind.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

While Firefox is still basting in its 2.0 goodness, Opera is doing its own thang to amp up popularity. Besides being the browser-of-choice on Nintendo's forthcoming Wii, the tried and true Opera Mini browser is streamlining itself for use on BlackBerry and Treo handhelds. Unlike other browsers, this revamped version "downloads websites after they've been passed through Opera's servers, where they're compressed to download more quickly." Opera's technology -- while not substantially different in nature than renditions from Ascentive and Propel -- has been dubbed "Small Screen Rendering," and can even change the colors of backgrounds and text to improve visibility on mobile displays. The auto-compression features should trim download times and save on kilobyte usage (should you not already have an unlimited data plan), which can be particularly helpful for sites (unlike this one) that aren't tailored to fit your cellphone's display automatically. So, scurry on and hit the read link to give Opera's latest gig a try, cool?

[Via Yahoo]

For anyone not content to kick it pre-beta style with Mozilla's Minimo, Opera has just released an updated version of its browser for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, with a version for Smartphones promised soon. Now clocking in at version 8.60, the browser runs on both Windows Mobile 5 and 2003 SE, and sports Opera's newest core code, as well as tabbed browsing and landscape/portrait browsing modes. Minimo still has a big leg up on Opera in one key area though: price. While Opera offers a free 30-day trial, you'll have to fork over $24 if you want to continue using it. (Wait, didn't Opera go free on the desktop? Whatever.) That may fly while Minimo's still getting its act together, but Opera will have to watch their back once it catches up to its desktop counterpart.

[Thanks, Hesh]

We just love us that Opera Mini, especially when we're constrained to a non smartphone and/or a slow mobile connection, but the Opera peeps aren't just sitting on their hands while we enjoy the mobile web, and have just announced version 2.0 of the browser. They seem bent on making Opera the go-to mobile platform, and have added SMS functionality for mobile commerce so that you can buy via the browser and have ringtones, games or other content delivered via SMS without a lot of hassle. The browser also now supports file downloads, skinning, multiple search engines, "speed dial" bookmark shortcuts, and the vaguely defined "visual navigation." Not quite earth shattering, but content providers might take note of the fact that just about anybody can have access to a browser that can actual do something with the content they provide.

[Via All About Symbian]

Mobile-review has taken Sony Ericsson's upcoming W950i musicphone through their usual exhaustive testing, and although the translated-from-Russian review may be a bit difficult to fully comprehend, the plethora of screenshots and comparison pics alone make it a must read for anyone considering this Symbian-powered handset. Although its 4GB of flash memory and integrated RDS-enabled FM tuner clearly make this a music-oriented device, S-E's inclusion of the UIQ 3.0 interface along with a ton of productivity software (Opera, QuickOffice, PDF , along with the usual PIM suite) allow the W950i to easily do double duty as a smartphone. Easily, that is, for those of us who aren't diehard QWERTY-enthusiasts -- the flush keypad only offers regular T9 input along with the never-pleasant on-screen handwriting options -- or don't require WiFi and a camera in our pocket at all times. Still, the UMTS radio should suffice for most data needs, and music lovers will appreciate the A2DP-enabled Bluetooth and 13 hour real-world battery life, making the ~$740 W950i look like strong competitor for such storage-heavy models as the Nokia N91 and Samsung i300/300x when it hits stores in July.