New Opera Mini

[Barmi]

Okay, so strictly speaking it is Opera Mini 5 beta, and it's available for the vast majority of production or recent phones. The current release of Opera Mini is ugly and dated, but Mini 5 serves to change all that.

I've included some screenshots below from my Nokia 5800, but I honestly wish I could make it my phone's default browser. Quick-dial, tab support, excellent input keyboard, contextual options by pressing down on an item, and so much more wrapped up in a gorgeous UI.

Anyone else has much hands-on with it yet?

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8051/scr000005z.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6718/scr000006.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/3796/scr000007p.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7960/scr000008gl.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2858/scr000009l.jpg

NB: I didn't post in portable devices section because this thread is about software (not phone hardware), but feel free (moderators) to move it if appropriate. ^_^

[The Professor]

Whats the difference between this and opera mobile?

[Barmi]

Whats the difference between this and opera mobile?
Traditionally Opera Mobile has only ran on specific smartphones – currently Windows Mobile, s60v2 and s60v3. Opera Mini generally works on everything, whether they be smartphones or featurephones.

Up until this Opera Mini 5 beta, Opera Mobile has had a vastly superior UI and has generally been more useful/powerful, with tabs, "Opera Turbo" (which is in the desktop version of Opera 10), and widgets. This new beta is closing the gap, with widgets being one of the few significant differences between the two.

[Recursion]

Traditionally Opera Mobile has only ran on specific smartphones – currently Windows Mobile, s60v2 and s60v3. Opera Mini generally works on everything, whether they be smartphones or featurephones.

Up until this Opera Mini 5 beta, Opera Mobile has had a vastly superior UI and has generally been more useful/powerful, with tabs, "Opera Turbo" (which is in the desktop version of Opera 10), and widgets. This new beta is closing the gap, with widgets being one of the few significant differences between the two.

Ran on Android, Sony Ericsson phones etc too...

I very much dislike Opera now with what they did to MS :P

[Barmi]

Ran on Android, Sony Ericsson phones etc too...

I very much dislike Opera now with what they did to MS :P
No, I'm Sony Ericsson phones had to use Opera Mini, not Mobile.
http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/

If you're on about the anti-trust thing, you've got more companies than Opera to 'dislike'. ;)

[Recursion]

What is the need for a Mini and a Mobile browser? Seems pointless to me. :S

[Barmi]

What is the need for a Mini and a Mobile browser? Seems pointless to me. :S
That is what a number of commentators have been looking at with the development of this new Mini 5.

The need stemmed from the fact that Opera Mobile was the more powerful feature-filled browser for smartphones, while Opera Mini was a more simple browser for featurephones (e.g. most phones that didn't run Symbian or Windows Mobile).

So there used to be a need, and there still is a difference between the two (e.g. the widgets feature), but hopefully the two will eventually merge, or Opera will re-market the two browsers accordingly. Mini and Mobile is confusing. Marketing to specific platforms is less confusing.

[jackass]

What is the need for a Mini and a Mobile browser? Seems pointless to me. :S

So you can use the internet on your phone? :S

[Recursion]

Opera Mini and Opera Mobile should be the same product is what I am going for...

And if I want to use the internet on my phone I stick with the built in browser just for the integration anyways :P

[Barmi]

Opera Mini and Opera Mobile should be the same product is what I am going for...
And some point in the future, they might be. But while phone manufacturers pour out phones at different levels on the functionality scale, Opera would have been leaving itself with a very gimped browser for the higher-powered smartphones.

I'll give you a gaming analogy: if you've got a low-specced computer, playing The Sims might be fine. But if you've got a more powerful computer, you would not want to limit yourself to The Sims when you could be playing The Sims 3.

[Recursion]

And some point in the future, they might be. But while phone manufacturers pour out phones at different levels on the functionality scale, Opera would have been leaving itself with a very gimped browser for the higher-powered smartphones.

I'll give you a gaming analogy: if you've got a low-specced computer, playing The Sims might be fine. But if you've got a more powerful computer, you would not want to limit yourself to The Sims when you could be playing The Sims 3.

Ill give you this gaming analogy back:
On a low end computer, you would turn The Sims 3 graphics down, and have the same sort of functionality, on a high end computer, you turn the settings up and get the same functionality of that you would the low end machine :P

[Barmi]

Ill give you this gaming analogy back:
On a low end computer, you would turn The Sims 3 graphics down, and have the same sort of functionality, on a high end computer, you turn the settings up and get the same functionality of that you would the low end machine :P
But your low end computer cannot play The Sims 3, just like your Sony Ericsson can't run Opera Mobile. If the platform is inferior and cannot support the more demanding software, you can't just "turn the graphics down".

Your high-end computer can run The Sims, just like your new Windows Mobile phone can run Opera Mini... but why would you run either The Sims or Opera Mini when better alternatives are available?

More powerful phones should run the best software available.

[Black_Apalachi]

Looks nice, although I have no other mobile internet experience to compare with.

Makes sense for Opera to make something decent outside of desktop browsers now that everyone hates them :P.