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Opera Mini 9 promises smoother video-watching on iOS
Since the beginning, Opera's focus with its mobile browser has been to save users as much data as possible. Now, with the release of Opera Mini 9 for iOS, the idea is to take that mentality a step further, by better managing a thing people enjoy doing most on their devices: watching video. As such, Opera Mini 9 comes with a feature called Video Boost that optimizes videos to save on bandwidth, which includes the ability to reduce loading times for those with an iPhone and/or iPad. According to Opera, this is the first time video optimization for sites has been built within a browser, and it believes the implementation is so good that it could easily replace a video-focused app -- like YouTube or N3twork. But don't take Opera's word for it, you can check it out for yourself at the App Store link below.
Telkomsel's new unlimited messaging plan gives Indonesians an alternative to BBM
As far as monopolies go, word on the interwebs is BlackBerry holds a pretty major one with its own BBM in Indonesian territory. According to DailySocial, though, that all could be changing soon thanks to Telkomsel's newly introduced all-you-can-message plans. The deal's fairly simple, the Indonesian carrier's bundling applications like Opera Mini, Line, WhatsApp and KakaoTalk in an unlimited package, with pricing starting at a mere 30,000 Rp (around $3) per month. Obviously, with the inclusion of a couple of the aforementioned apps, Indonesians could -- in theory -- also make calls without using their precious minutes, which is quite a good deal for under four bucks. In the end, it looks like it'll come down to how attached folks are to all those BlackBerry Messenger pins and whistles.
Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow
Opera Mini 7 has been available via the Google Play market since the end of March, but if you're still milking a feature phone for all it's worth, you haven't been able to enjoy the latest version of the mobile browser. Opera Mini 7 is now available for basic phones and BlackBerry, allowing these devices to store an unlimited number of speed dials and access the new Smart Page feature for shortcuts to favorite sites. In addition to those new features, Opera Mini 7 includes several improvements and tweaks, including upgrade notifications and the ability to close tabs with one click on touchscreen phones. Of course, the browser still promises to cut down on your device's bandwidth usage, so your flip phone can keep on chugging.
Opera Mini 7 comes to Google Play, treads lightly on your data plan
As any Opera loving Android user will tell you, good things come to those who wait -- and folks waiting for the latest version of Opera Mini to hit their devices can now relax. It's here. Like its predecessors, Opera Mini 7 promises to slash your device's data usage and speed up its browsing by compressing data on a proxy server, pushing a lightweight, reformatted page to your device. Mini 7 continues this tradition, of course, but also lets users add more favorites to their Opera home screen, upping the max from nine to "as many Speed Dial buttons as you'll ever want." Read on for the app's official press release, or hit up the source link below for its Google Play page.
Motorola Motokey Social set to Like Telus November 21st
We've seen the official product page of the Motokey Social, a new Facebook Phone with the special blue button, and we knew it was heading to Telus. All we needed to seal the deal was the date, and now we have it: the Motokey Social and Telus will change their status to "In a Relationship" on November 21st, and you can take part of the festivities. It's no Android, of course, but it offers as 3MP camera, 2.4-inch QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen display, five home screen panels, social network access and the Opera Mini browser for data. And at $80 as a prepaid option, parents up north may be looking to pick a few of these up for the young 'uns on Black Friday. More info can be found in the press release after the break.
Opera Mini 6.5 and Mobile 11.5 embark on data awareness mission, now available for download
Nearly three weeks after Opera Mini 6.5 graced the Android Market, it's now ready for iOS, BlackBerry, J2ME and S60 (the latter's in the form of Opera Mobile 11.5). The download, which is no different than what we saw on Google's mobile OS, brings with it an option to keep track of the amount of data you've used. This type of feature seems to be catching on all over the mobile world as more and more companies continue to switch to capped internet plans. If you're looking for this option, it appears as a dedicated page within the browser's help menu. Now is the time, Opera fans, to go forth and save data.
Android Browser leapfrogs Opera Mini, but Safari increases its lead
Web browser warriors have some more statistical firepower to play with, now that Net Applications has released the latest usage figures for mobile browsers. Google's vaguely titled Browser has inched up from a 16.3 percent share last month to 18.7 percent, counterbalanced by Opera Mini, which declined from just under 19 percent to 13.1 percent. Similarly, both Symbian and BlackBerry's mobile browsers dropped a few percentage points, down to 2.6 and 2.4 percent respectively. While rumors of a mobile-friendly version of Chrome continue to bounce around, there remains a substantial gap between second-place Android and the current mobile browser boss, Apple's Safari, which has now extended its dominance from 55.6 percent to 62.2 percent. The battle of the browsers wages on.
Opera Mini for iOS updated to 6.0.1
Opera Mini uses Webkit (as per Apple's rules), but also uses Opera's backend tech for caching and serving up pages somewhat faster than Safari alone. Opera was just updated and here's what's new: Improved YouTube video integration Added single column view Added Opera Mobile Store icon to Speed Dial list Fixed various font-related issues Fixed various stability issues General bug fixes and improvements The Opera blog says developers are already working on 6.1, which will achieve parity with 6.1 on other platforms, already released. You can get Opera Mini 6.0.1 here.
Opera Mini for iPad now available
Opera rolled out version 6 of its popular web browser for iOS today. The latest version of Opera Mini now supports the iPad and the Retina Display of the iPhone 4, two major upgrades that should bring a smile to the face of iOS users. Opera Mini 6 also adds smoother panning and improved pinch-to-zoom to bring the user experience on par with mobile Safari. Other salient features include the ability to share pages directly with social networks (Twitter, Facebook and My Opera) as well as support for Arabic, Chinese and similar non-Latin languages. If you're looking for an alternative to Safari, Opera Mini 6 is definitely worth a look. It is available for free from the App store.
Opera delivers new Mini, Mobile browsers with pinch-to-zoom and shows off one for TVs
Web browser maker Opera is staying busy, unleashing several new versions of its product upon the populace today. Both of its on the go browsers have been updated with modern technology like pinch-to-zoom, sharing to other apps, improved scrolling and new tablet-friendly interfaces, while its also ready to show off a new version for set-top boxes and updating tools to help developers create apps for Opera-powered TVs. In case you need a scorecard, Opera Mini 6 (available for J2ME, Android, Blackberry, Symbian/S60) compresses pages before downloading them and Opera Mobile 11 (for Android, Symbian, Windows 7, MeeGo, Maemo) promises the entire web for those on high speed connections like WiFi, explaining the platform crossover. Peep the demo above or press releases after the break if you're still not sure what pinch-to-zoom means in or just point your mobile browser to m.opera.com and download the latest version for your device -- iOS need not apply at this time.
Opera for iPad gets an early hands-on preview
After reportedly being rejected by Apple, Opera Mini for the iPhone finally hit the App Store in April of last year. The alternative browser uses Opera's server-side processing and page compression for lightening fast browsing over slow connections. Almost 10 months after its debut on the iPhone, Opera is ready to launch its iPad version as well as an updated iPhone version. The Norwegian company was on hand at Mobile World Congress showing off its iPad version to conference attendees. Softpedia got a sneak peek at this upcoming tablet-optimized web browser and reported back with a series of screenshots and a quick hands-on preview. According to their first impressions, Opera for iPad is blazing fast, pulling down web pages with lightning quick speed. The latest version of this mobile browser includes a tabbed interface and pinch-to-zoom, both of which aid in navigation. Opera also includes a custom on-screen keyboard that assists in the entry of URLs and bookmark information. Opera did not provide an exact launch date for the mobile browser, but judging by its polished look, Opera Mini for the iPad should land soon. [Via Macstories]
iPad gets the Opera Mini treatment, we wonder what took so long
Opera's been working its Norwegian charms on the iPhone since last Spring, and it's been flirting with tablets since CES, but up until now the browsers yet to put the moves on the iPad. Considering how much it gets around, we're surprised it didn't happen sooner, but Opera announced yesterday that it would show off a new version of Opera Mini on a number of platforms at MWC this year, including Android, iPhone, J2ME, BlackBerry, Symbian, and yes -- the iPad. There's no word on what the iPad version will bring -- or when, for that matter -- but we're guessing it will probably sport the same smooth zoom and multiple-page grid we saw previewed on Opera for tablets. For more on the world's most promiscuous browser, check out the full PR after the jump.
Opera Mini for iPad set for debut
According to a report from Macworld, the iPad is about to get its own version of the popular Opera Mini web browser. The new iPad-centric version will supposedly be released at the Mobile World Congress event starting in Barcelona next week, along with updated versions for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry mobile platforms. Speaking with Macworld, Opera CEO Lars Boilesen said that "Our developers have been hard at work building the mobile browser of the future for both consumers and mobile operators." Back in 2008 it was reported that Apple wouldn't allow Opera to place their mobile browser in the App Store to compete with Safari, but in April of 2010 it was finally approved for use on the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad and is currently available as a free download from the App Store. Of course, it has to use WebKit for the browsing engine, but it maintains Opera's backend for server-side compression, yielding faster page loads on slower connections. And for those of you still looking for a new browser to try out on your Mac, you may want to check out Opera 11 for Mac, which was released back in December. [via Macworld]
Opera Mini 5.1 hits Symbian, moves away from Java
Version 5.1 has been Opera Mini's big push for much of this year, and the release is finally filtering down to Symbian today. The big news, though, is that S60 owners will be able to use a native version of the popular proxy-based browser rather than the Java build they'd been left with previously, so we can assume that the move to native code is probably going to have a positive effect on performance. New features include clipboard and email client integration, the ability to select a default internet access point (so you're not prompted every time), better fonts, and a variety of performance-centric improvements. The beta is available now; follow the break for the press release.
Opera Mobile coming to Android within a month, bearing hardware acceleration and pinch-to-zoom
Forget all that Mini stuff, Opera is bringing its full-flavored mobile browser to Android some time very soon indeed. To tempt people on board, the new software will support hardware acceleration for buttering up frame rates while you zoom around at potato-scalding speeds, while pinch-to-zoom will also be implemented in a big O Android browser for the first time. Opera Mini will be partaking in the latter upgrade as well, while Opera Mobile proper is expected to make its debut on the Android Market at some point over the next month. All versions of the "well diversified" OS are supported too! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: Opera has clarified that the first Android beta of Opera Mobile will have pinch-to-zoom and will arrive some time over the next month, but won't be bringing hardware acceleration with it. That'll be a feature for a later date.
Six Android browsers enter the ring, only one reigns supreme
Choice is a good thing, and Android users certainly have a lot of choices. Default launcher or Launcher Pro? Fancy animated live wallpaper or static picture of adorable puppies? Stock browser or alternative? It's that last question that has plagued so many, and to offer some guidance PC World pitted six of the Market's top choices against each other. The 2.1 and 2.2 stock browsers entered, along with Skyfire 2.0, Opera Mini, Dolphin HD, and Mozilla Fennec (the pre-beta release of what could bring Firefox to your phone). The winner? Well, you can see the ultimate speed results above, with SkyFire surprisingly trumping Opera Mini, though that one seemingly has 'em beat when it comes to repeat-visits. However, the full story when it comes to things like page rendering and Flash compatibility is naturally a good bit more complex. For those details you'll need to click on through. [Thanks, Tim]
Opera Mini 5.1 finds its way to Android, too
Just a scant few days after the Java-based release for featurephones, the Android build of Opera Mini 5.1 (which, admittedly, also has its roots in Java) is ready for your browse-happy ways. As with the featurephone release, the focus here is almost exclusively on improving performance, an impressive goal considering that Opera Mini 5 was already burning rubber on many devices. Additionally, 5.1 is said to improve page layout on the latest round of high-resolution phones -- a good thing, considering many of us are now considering WVGA a bare minimum. Sickening thought, isn't it? The new build should be available to download from the Android Market today; follow the break for Opera's full press release.
Opera Mini 5.1 promises to sip memory like a single malt scotch
Opera is taking the "Mini" in "Opera Mini" to heart with the lightweight mobile browser's latest release today -- version 5.1, which improves on the big 5.0 release from earlier this year. There aren't any notable new features, per se, but the company promises that 5.1 includes a new "optimized" skin that allows more pages to be open simultaneously and generally improves day-to-day performance. Specifically, 5.1 is billed as a "highly recommended" upgrade for users on Nokia S40 devices and on Sony Ericsson dumbphones like the K550i and W810i, while smartphone and high-end dumbphone users are basically being told there's no huge rush to pull the trigger. The new version's available today; follow the break for Opera's full release.
Opera Mini users increased 4.2 percent in a month (and other interesting tidbits), says Opera
Opera's just released its State of the Mobile Web report for May of 2010, and its touting its continued growth in the space, with Opera Mini usage increasing 4.2 percent over the previous month, and a 7.2 percent gain in overall page views. Good news for them, undoubtedly, but they also have interestingly found that the hours 8:00 pm and midnight are the biggest for browsing -- unless you live in the UK, where you're just as likely to browse in the earlier hours. Nerds. Hit up the source link for the full report.
Opera wades into Flash debate, says it 'makes very little sense' for video
Opera Software already caused quite a stir with the release of the iPhone version of its browser, and it looks like it's now starting to make itself heard in one of the biggest browser-related debates going. Speaking with Tech Radar, Opera's product analyst Phillip Grønvold started out with something of a diplomatic approach by saying that "today's internet content is dependent on Flash" and "if you remove Flash you do not have today's internet," and for that reason Opera needs to support Flash. Things get a bit more interesting from there, however, with Grønvold stating that while Flash has its place for things like dynamic content, it "makes very little sense" as a video container given the impact on processor and battery usage, adding that "you can cook an egg on [devices] once you start running Flash on them and there's a reason for that." Fried eggs, potatoes -- these browsers sure are making us hungry.