opera

Wow! WM Opera Mini ported to fully unlocked Windows Phones

December 10, 2011 | By Surur

operamini

There was a time when the mere survival of Windows Mobile was dependent on Opera’s software, so bad was IE Mobile.

Thankfully we are no longer in those days, and alternate rendering engines are not only not needed, but in fact not available on Windows Phone 7.

However if you yearn for those nostalgic days, or merely looking for al alternative, Ultrashot on XDA-Developers appears to have achieved the impossible. He has created a XAP wrapper for the Windows Mobile version of Opera Mini that will run on Windows Phone 7.

The handset does however need to be fully unlocked, like the DFT ROMs, not just Developer unlocked or even InterOp unlocked.

The only limitation is that it does not support rotation, but Ultrashot says this is coming.

He reports that it may be possible to port the full Opera Mobile, but that this has more dependencies.

Read more in this XDA-Developers thread.

Via WPSauce.com

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Opera Link for Windows Phone 7 provide browser favourite sync

June 15, 2011 | By Surur

7Pz4.screenshot_Fr 03.12.2010_16-45 We wrote about this app a long time ago, when it was still just a rumour, but Opera Link for Windows Phone 7 has actually been in Marketplace for the last 6 months, with the developer actively updating it, last in May to version 1.7.

The app provides bookmark/favourite sync between the Opera browser and Windows Phone 7, similar to what was available in the Windows Mobile days with Activesync.

To be able to use this tool you have to enable Opera Link in Opera. For Opera Mobile and Opera Mini you can find this under options. On the desktop click the “O” menu and choose synchronize Opera.

The app will then give you full access to your Bookmarks, Notes and SpeedDials on your Windows Phone.

Of course hardly anyone uses the Opera browser on the desktop, but if you have a long list of favourites you wish to bring over to your device it is pretty simple to install the browser and do a one time import of your Firefox or IE bookmarks to Opera and continue from there.

Devicemag does a step by step run down of the procedure here.

Opera Link for Windows Phone 7 is free and can be found in marketplace here.

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Opera Link for Windows Phone 7 coming

December 1, 2010 | By Surur

Opera_Link Now we know its not easy to bring alternate browser engines to Windows Phone 7, but like the iPhone alternate browser shells using the IE Mobile engine are more than welcome, as we have already seen with a number of clients.

It now appears a Windows phone 7 client of Opera Link is in the offing. The client, by Opera intern and Windows phone 7 developer Martin Rauscher promises to provide access to data on Opera Link, including bookmarks, speed dial and notes.

It is not clear if its an official or unofficial client, but much of the source code can be found on Github here.

Now we only need a similar Weave client for Firefox (as they have done for the iPhone) and we would have moved as far as we can go without actually having an alternate rendering engine.

Thanks dropqube for the tip.

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Opera Mini 5.1 for Windows Mobile released, brings accelerometer support

September 9, 2010 | By Surur

Press Release: Looking for a better Windows Mobile browser? Opera today released the improved Opera Mini 5.1 for Windows Mobile. The new update brings better support for high resolution handsets, accelerometer support and the ability to set Opera Mini as the default browser.

Opera Mini 5.1 has already been released for Java, Android and BlackBerry phones. Now available for Windows Mobile 2003 SE, 5.x and 6.x handsets, Opera Mini’s server backbone speeds up browsing while reducing the data transferred to the phone. For users roaming on expensive networks, or with pay-as-you-go data plans, Opera Mini can cut your mobile data bill by up to 90 percent.

Opera Mini 5.1 features many compelling updates, including:

The ability to set Opera Mini as the default browser
Support for devices with high-resolution (high DPI)
Improved page layout and font rendering
Support for auto-rotation
Advanced configuration support for power users

“Opera Mini 5.1 contains several key improvements for the millions of people with a Windows Mobile phone,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software. “The new Opera Mini is particularly vibrant and really takes advantage of high resolution screens. And, now that you can set Opera Mini as your default browser on a Windows Mobile phone, it is much easier to enjoy the speed boost and data compression. It is our way of making your Windows Mobile phone better.”

Download

Visit m.opera.com with your phone’s default browser, and Opera will automatically select the optimized version for your phone. Opera Mini is free to download and use. Opera Mini works on Windows Mobile 2003 SE, Windows Mobile 5.x and Windows Mobile 6.x phones.

Comment:

It is nice to see continuing support for the large installed base of Windows Mobile from Opera, and it is of note that a client like Opera Mini should work perfectly well on Windows Phone 7 also, so we hope to see them there eventually too.

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Opera announces Opera browser for Win CE, other tablets

May 27, 2010 | By Surur

Opera Mobile 10 Microsoft is not making a tablet, but that does not mean many companies are not already shipping Windows CE-based tablets. Opera is making a play to be the browser on these ARM-based devices, and will be showing off their designs at Computex in Taiwan to potential customers in the tablet and e-reader marker.

“The Opera browser engine supports various cross-platforms required to enable a competitive e-reader and tablet solution,” said Rolf Assev, Chief Strategy Officer, Opera Software. “To be able to adapt to changes in technology and standards, OEMs that manufacture many different kinds of devices will be able to take advantage of the platform-independent, cross-device capabilities of the Opera browser engine.”

The web solutions for e-readers and tablets are powered by the Opera Devices SDK and Opera for tablets. Opera Devices SDK allows e-reader OEMs to develop custom browsers based on the latest Opera Presto rendering engine that powers Opera’s range of browsers. Browsers based on the Opera Devices SDK are market-proven, expandable and have also been already deployed on a wide range of products such as TVs, games consoles, media players, and more. Opera for tablets provides a touch-optimized tablet browser user interface and out-of-the-box productive quality on Android and Windows CE. It also has the web-application platform, such as the end-to-end widget solution, the W3C-compliant widgets, the application store and the developer community.

Read more about Opera’s tablet efforts at WindowsforDevices here.

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Opera Mini released as a native application on Windows Mobile

March 4, 2010 | By Surur

Opera Software launched a native version of Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile 5- and 6-based handsets.

By integrating Opera Mini with the Windows Mobile platform, Opera is able to deliver an optimized version of the popular Opera Mini browser that dramatically improves performance and the overall user experience. While Opera Mini traditionally requires Java, the new Windows Mobile version does not, which means that Opera Mini will work on any Windows Mobile phone.

The Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile includes the same rich feature set as the Java-based version. Renowned features, including tabbed browsing, the password manager, bookmarks and Speed Dial, are built-in to deliver convenience while on-the-go.

One of Opera Mini’s major benefits is that it compresses data traffic by up to 90 percent, resulting in significantly improved page-loading and speed. This results in a dramatically reduced data load, which can translate to lower browsing costs when on a pay-per-MB data plan or when on expensive roaming.

"Windows Mobile deserves a mobile browser that looks better, handles better and delivers better than the default browser," said Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products, Opera Software. "Even though Opera has 50 million satisfied Opera Mini users, we always seek ways to improve our browser for each and every mobile phone user out there. Now, we are pleased to offer the world’s most popular mobile Web browser as a native Windows Mobile application."

Download

Windows Mobile 5 and 6 users can download Opera Mini directly to their phone for free from m.opera.com/next/ or read more at www.opera.com/mini/next/. Java is not required on the mobile phone for this download.

Source:MSMobiles.com

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MWC 10: Interview with Opera

February 15, 2010 | By Surur

Above is a video interview with representatives from Opera at Mobile World Congress 2010.

From our representative, Opera remains very committed to Windows Mobile, and we should see their browser being released in lock step with other platforms.

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Get the right things with Opera 10 Beta 3

February 14, 2010 | By WenWP

Opera is one of the fastest growing and most widely used browser in the Windows Mobile world, and this new cab includes everything you would need to better you experience. This cab was repacked by XDA member mike2037, and he included some tweaks and tools that shortens the wait time, give the browser flash support and associates the browser with all web based files.

Continue reading →

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Opera buys mobile ad network also

January 20, 2010 | By Surur

It seems mobile ad networks are a hot commodity at present, with Opera the latest to snap one up. This follows Google buying AdMob for $750 million and Apple buying Quattro Wireless.

Opera, who served web pages to 41 million people directly in November last year, up 150% from the same month the year earlier, purchased AdMarvel for an initial $8 million, with a further $15 million available depending on performance.

"Every month about 50 million people surf the Web with Opera for mobile phones," says Lars Boilesen, who recently replaced Jon S. von Tetzchner at the head of Opera Software. "With AdMarvel we believe we can play an important role in mobile advertising.”

According to StatCounter, in December 2009 Opera had 26% of all mobile web browsing, ahead of Apple’s iPhone with only 21%. Gartner estimates that by in 2013 25% of revenues shops mobile downloads will come from advertising versus only 5% in 2009.

It is not known yet if how this will affect users of either Opera Mini or Opera Mobile, but Opera Mini is most likely to see changes first, as all web traffic for the free browser travel through Opera’s servers at present.

Via Mobinaute.com

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Opera proposes Opera Mobile as cross-platform UI/ Development Framework

December 11, 2009 | By Surur

With the release of their Android version, Opera has offered their browser as a cross-platform UI and development platform for handsets ranging from smartphones running Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android all the way to feature phones running S40 and others.

They claim their widget-based application environment can lower development costs, speed time to market and deliver a consistent user experience to buyers, while providing a more visually attractive user interface.

The browser-based user interface has been touted before, previously by Access for example with their Netfront browser, but HTML-based UI’s have recently gained increased mind-share with the WebOS on the Palm Pre, which makes its adoption by another OEM slightly more likely.

While the main criticism would likely be that such a UI would be slow and unwieldy, it could easily be argued that at present many of us spend the majority of the time on our computers interacting mostly with web-based user interfaces for the various web applications that make up our online life these days.

Would our readers be interested in a web-based UI paradigm on their phones? Let us know below.

Opera Mobile 10 Beta 2 released

December 2, 2009 | By Surur

Opera today launched the second beta versions of Opera Mobile 10. In this second beta release Opera Mobile users can now enjoy popular desktop features, such as Opera Link and the Download Manager, from their mobile phones.

With Opera Link, users can synchronize personal browser settings with their Opera desktop browser, as well as all their connected devices, ensuring that their bookmarks, Speed Dial and search engines are always accessible. The Download Manager gives users a better way to control and speed up downloads to mobile phones.

Opera continues its mission to unify its browser products, and today’s beta release is no exception. Features further polished in the second beta release are the unified look and feel across Opera’s browser products, the visual bookmarks known as Speed Dial, and tabbed browsing, one of the most popular innovations in browsing history.

“For Opera, status quo is not an option. We are always improving our products, adding new functionality and features to deliver a faster and more personal Web experience,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “Also, unifying the look and feel, regardless of device, makes it easy for anyone to get online anywhere, anytime.”

Read more at Opera here or and download it here, or using our Microsoft tag (gettag.mobi)

Via theunwired.net

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Opera Mobile 10 Beta now available for Windows Mobile

November 18, 2009 | By Surur

In a move that was faster than we expected, Opera Mobile 10 for Windows Mobile is now available for download.

Opera Mobile 10 brings many innovations from Opera Mini 5 to the Mobile version, such as Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, password manager and Opera Turbo mode.

Said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software:

"We standardize our products so that our users use it regardless of platform or browser version in the usual way by them," "With Opera Mobile 10, we increase the expectations for the performance of mobile browsers. Today, users expect that a browser is as efficient as the Web, they expect that it does its daily work as reliably as their PCs – does exactly the Opera. "

The new version also includes the new Presto rendering engine that ensures that Web pages are displayed exactly as on the PC.

The download is available from Opera here or use our Microsoft tag (gettag.mobi).

Via AreaMobile.de

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Opera Mobile 9.7 now officially available

June 8, 2009 | By Surur

Opera Mobile 9.7 beta is now available to accelerate the mobile browsing experience for Windows Mobile-based phones. Speed is at the heart of this beta release due to the addition of Opera’s recently launched technology for faster surfing, Opera Turbo. Opera has also included its newly upgraded browser engine, called Opera Presto 2.2, for faster page loads and better overall performance. With the added bonus of Opera Widgets, Opera Mobile 9.7 gets you the Web content you want in fewer clicks and less time.

“There are other mobile browsers on the market that claim to be faster and more Web site-compatible on Windows-based phones, but I challenge users to take Opera Mobile for a test drive and discover a new standard for speed and compatibility. Opera Mobile 9.7 leaves other “sluggish” and “painfully slow” browsers in the dust,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “It is our belief in One Web that challenges us to develop technology such as Opera Turbo. Not everyone owns a 3G phone and not everyone needs to. This is why Opera’s focus is on improving our browser so that your EDGE network feels like you’re surfing 3G style or better,” Tetzchner continues.

Opera Mobile 9.7 beta features a mobile version of Opera Turbo. This turbo-charged technology is made possible by:

Server-accelerated rendering — Opera Mobile unburdens the mobile phone of its full rendering responsibilities by off-loading this task to Opera servers. This frees device resources, thus improving download rates and overall performance.
Compression technology — Opera Turbo uses advanced compression technology to speed up data transfer and to reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded by up to 80 percent. This means that despite network shortcomings or in the absence of a powerful device, Opera Turbo enables a fast and rich browsing experience that is even faster than the most advanced 3G phones.

Opera’s latest rendering engine, Opera Presto 2.2, is under the hood of Opera Mobile 9.7 beta:

Opera Presto 2.2 is Opera’s rendering engine that helps display Web pages on your phone up to 25 percent faster. Opera Presto 2.2 is the same rendering engine used in Opera’s desktop browser.

With widgets growing in popularity and prevalence, Opera Mobile 9.7 beta includes the add-on Opera Widgets manager and Opera Widgets SDK:

Through the add-on Opera Widgets manager, Opera users can access their favourite services with just one click, including the following pre-installed widgets: GeoQuiz, Twitter, Bubbles, MyStatus, Google Translate. Visit http://widgets.opera.com.

Market Adoption

For operators and manufacturers, Opera Mobile 9.7 delivers a powerful, consistent and compatible mobile Web experience on Windows Mobile-based phones.

Operators are able to lower bandwidth costs and expand network capacity to deliver data services.
Manufacturers can install Opera Mobile on a wide range of phones by offloading the rendering to Opera servers. As a result, less memory is required on the phone, which reduces component cost.

Download Opera Mobile 9.7 beta here.

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