Opera Mobile 9.5 previewed

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Hot on the heels of Skyfire comes information on another potentially revolutionary browser that we have all been waiting for a long time... Opera Mobile 9.5!

Finally introduced to the world in this press release, Opera Mobile 9.5 promises a host of great features on the solid foundation of Opera's awesome rendering engine.

From the press release...

Opera Software, the only company that puts the Web on any device, today announced the commercial release of Opera Mobile 9.5 — the latest version of its award-winning Web browser for sophisticated feature phones and smartphones. Participants at the Mobile World Congress 2008 will be the first to experience the improved functionality of Opera Mobile 9.5.

....

Built on Opera's unique core architecture, the Opera Mobile 9.5 desktop-like browsing experience has been enhanced with innovations such as zooming and panning that make it easier to navigate, load pages quicker and get users closer to the Web content and entertainment they want. With Opera Mobile 9.5, users can experience the real Web and interact with content exactly as they do on their PC.

Faster speed

The new version utilizes Opera's Presto rendering engine to achieve page load speeds comparable to a desktop experience. The Opera Presto engine was modified and improves browsing performance significantly by accelerating the handling of Web pages. It dramatically improves page responsiveness on pages with heavy use of languages such as javascript and Ajax, ensuring smooth, hassle-free browsing.

Compelling experience

Opera Mobile 9.5 includes numerous features aimed at elevating the mobile browsing experience. Not only is the user interface (UI) intuitive enough to master in minutes, Opera Mobile 9.5 introduces several new

innovations that elevate the Internet experience on a handheld device. Users can take advantage of the intuitive Opera Zoom™ to dive into the page and get closer to the content they want. In addition, productivity

tools like the ability to save pages for offline browsing, Web address auto complete and password manager help busy users make the most of their time.

Fully loaded

Web 2.0-enabled, Widget-ready and Flash support turn Opera Mobile 9.5 into a fully loaded browser allowing users to access all their favorite Web sites such as Facebook, MySpace and more. With Opera Mobile 9.5, OEMs and operators will have the capability to include Flash Lite 3, empowering their smartphone users with access to the full Web including the ability to watch videos on YouTube effortlessly. In addition, Opera Widgets, which are mini applications that allow content to be accessed easily from the device idle screen with just a few clicks, are included in the new edition — automatically engaging the user through ease of operation and meeting consumer demands for quick access to information.

...

"Opera Mobile is the result of Opera's unwavering commitment to a vision that puts a true Web experience in the hands of mobile users," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "The improved functionality of Opera Mobile 9.5 and easy access to information has raised the bar on a more compelling mobile Web browsing experience and will further stimulate mobile Internet adoption."

The Opera Mobile 9.5 experience includes many of the innovations found in Opera's trend-setting desktop browser including:

• Intuitive user interface
  
• Tabbed browsing
  
• Improved text wrap
  
• Page overview, zooming and panning
  
• Landscape mode
  
• Save Web page for future offline access
  
• Call phone number from Web page
  
• Send link as SMS/MMS
  
• Send image as SMS/MMS
  
• Small Screen Rendering™
  
• Password manager
  
• Web address input auto-completion
  
• History and bookmarks
  
• Copy text
  
• Opera Widgets
  

Along with hands-on exposure to Opera Mobile 9.5, Mobile World Congress participants will also have the ability to experience Opera on a variety of devices: Opera Mobile on smartphones, free downloads of Opera Mini 4, improved Web browsing on gaming consoles and the ARCHOS Generation 5 Media players will be just a few of the exciting features of Opera's 2008 exhibit.

Platform Support and Availability

Opera Mobile 9.5 will be available on all major platforms including Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux, as both a standalone browser and as a SDK. The public beta release of Opera Mobile 9.5 will be announced

separately.

A video demonstration of Opera Mobile 9.5 is available on http://www.opera.com/b2b/solutions/mobile/video/

Great stuff! Make sure you check out the video demo above!

As we move towards the 'next generation' of browsers on Windows Mobile, i'm interested to hear what are your top requirements for your mobile browser. Desktop like view? Speed? Price? Flash video support? Share your thoughts! :)

P

[Guest dearsina]

Paul, the future of the internet is heavily javascript dependent (Web 2.0 is essentially AJAX), so better javascript support would be on the top of my list.

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Well, in the video you see Google Maps rendering perfectly which is heavy javascript, so this is encouraging :)

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[Guest mandt]

Looks impressive from the vid, Opera mini is great, but you can't beat a native app :)

[Guest dan13l]

Looks most impressive, and I have a more comfortable feeling about this delivering on its promises than Skyfire, given that they're something of an unknown.

Microsoft dropped the ball by not upgrading PIE significantly in 6.1, so it's up to third parties to take up the slack. Opera impressed me with 8.65, and I'm hoping they do it again with 9.5.

For me, speed and compatibility is pretty much everything - I don't want a page to start to become unresponsive because it's too long, or loaded with javascript.

[Guest Phil Lee]

This looks great, it expands on Opera Mini, my current browser of choice. I'm sure I'll be buying this when its released.

[Guest deadphill]

Couple of questions.

1. When is this going to be released?

2. Will there be an upgrade available to plus members?

Thanks

Phill

[Guest idavid]

this is very exciting, pleased they demoed it with the guardian site, that's painfully slow on PIE, bring on the BETA!

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Couple of questions.

1. When is this going to be released?

2. Will there be an upgrade available to plus members?

Thanks

Phill

1. 'Spring'!

2. Hopefully, but we'll know for sure when it launches :)

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[Guest Confucious]

1. 'Spring'!

P

Which year? :)

[Guest nickcornaglia]

Rendered pages always make me flintch. Why not live active pages? We have the speeds now. I understand the small screen presents a problem...but why not a browser that simply scales down a page for the phone...with a zoom-in option (On your PC...Hold CTRL down on your keyboard and scroll your mouse to see what I mean.)

[Guest markdotpeters5]

Looks great.

If a good WinMo devices comes out with a 640x480 display, I might just be tempted!

[Guest xorangefirex]

I am ecstatic about this. It looks absolutely incredible and I cannot wait for its release.

[Guest agent.m]

as a dj/producer i get the latest mp3's to review online a quick connection on a flash based site is something i need from a browser. opera and ie aint always reliable

[Guest thenext1]

Let's hope it does live up with the expectations.

I was left disappointed with OM 8.65.... slow, buggy, not customizable at all, messed up 90% of pages with incorrect font size rendering, images getting constantly unloaded and reloaded all over the page, bad memory management, cache control that Simply Doesn't Work and can't be disabled.... etc etc etc I can go on for a while...

Overall, the latest NetFront 3.4 build does better than opera in most areas... let's see if OM 9.5 will be better than the upcoming NF 3.5 ...

[Guest finisterre]

How exactly do they go from 8.65 to 9.5? What's all that about? What happened to 9.0?

[Guest agent.m]

How exactly do they go from 8.65 to 9.5? What's all that about? What happened to 9.0?

I think they're trying to keep it in line with the windows desktop version. I almost downloaded it thinking it was the wm beta <_<

[Guest Mechanicaldan]

The best thing Microsoft could do to catch up to the iPhone would be to buy Opera and replace pIE with Opera Mobile 9.5. That has to be the #1 most needed fix for Win Mobile.

Have you had the chance to play with an iPhone? It's great! It really is. I love my S710, but the User Interface and Browser on the iPhone are really good.

Everyone knows that Windows Mobile is only OK out of the box, and is great once 3rd party software is added. Microsoft should just buy some 3rd party applications and include them.

[Guest kaf]

Why dont companies just wait until u can get the product before they promote it.

Talk of version 9 has been on opera.com for months and months and it looks like it'll be months before we get it

TomTom are just as bad - they had a promo site up 2 years before the first tomtom product and still contine to promote new porduct months and months before release

[Guest Confucious]

Why dont companies just wait until u can get the product before they promote it.

Because they all learned from IBM - they want to create FUD

[Guest wapploo]

Because they all learned from IBM - they want to create FUD

Say what? Announcing a product you made is FUD? Should no products ever be announced until they are actually available? Should the Nintendo Wii have been kept a complete secret until late 2006? Should no one ever be talking about upcoming products?

Huh?

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Changing the subject, i'm meeting Opera tomorrow! Aside from trying out the product, anything you want me to put to them?

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[Guest wapploo]

So how did the meeting go?

[Guest idavid]

so any update from anybody on when this might be available? it's clearly gogin to be available with the touch diamond (rebranded presumably) but i NEED it for my touch dual!

[Guest WearTheFoxHat]

I've had a look at the ahem ... dodgy leaked version and I must say that it is rather good. However I'm not running it on my device as that would be norty!