Opera Browser To Support Windows Mobile Smartphone

[Kris Kumar]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2004/08/31/' target='_blank'>http://www.opera.com/pressreleases/en/2004/08/31/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Opera Software today announced that its revolutionary Opera smartphone browser will soon become available for Microsoft Windows Mobile software. Windows Mobile is a completely new platform for Opera, offering operators, handset vendors, enterprises and end users more choice of platforms that provide outstanding Web browsing on small, restricted smartphone screens. Opera's range of smartphone browsers includes Small-Screen Rendering (SSR) technology, an Opera innovation that enables users to browse regular Web pages for the first time on small mobile screens by reformatting the page and thus eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/images/Temporale-20040831-OperaSoftwareLogo.png" alt="User submitted image" title="User submitted image"/> <br /><br /> :clap: <br /><br />Small-Screen Rendering technology looks impressive. Check out the feature <a href="http://www.opera.com/products/smartphone/smallscreen/">here.</a> Will have to wait and see how it compares to the Windows Mobile 2003 SE Pocket Internet Explorer's "One Column" feature.

[Mike Temporale]

Wow! 8O I knew they couldn't stay away. It was fine to say "never" when they thought Windows Mobile wasn't going to amount to anything. However, it's clear that Windows Mobile is here to stay, and with it's increasing market share, you would be crazy to ignore it.

:beer:

[Kris Kumar]

Wonder whether they would release a Pocket PC version? I am sure its easy once you have the code for the Smartphone. The beauty of Windows Mobile.

I hope they introduce tabbed browsing. That will be a killer feature.

[ben865]

If they are releasing a Windows Mobile version won't that be both PPC and Smartphone?

I have used Opera on a P900 and it was superb.

Opera was my desktop browser of choice until the introduced the new UI with 7.5 - a backwards step.

Opera on anMS Smartphone should be great!

[palmsolo]

I talked with my Opera contact and she said they will see what the market and demand for a Pocket PC version is before they will commit to releasing a version other than for Smartphones. I suggest you email them to let them know you are interested in a PPC version too.

One reason I kept using my Nokia 3650, in addition to the excellent battery life, over the SPV E200 at times was because of Opera. Opera on the Smartphone is AWESOME with fast downloads and wonderful FULL SCREEN viewing switched with a single key press. I am very excited about the release for Smartphones and think this will help considerably for mobile browsing.

I performed some time tests for loading the exact same pages in PIE and Opera using a SPV E200 and Nokia 3650 and Opera regularly loaded them at least 3-5 times faster.

[yslee]

This is great news! Can't wait! =D

Opera was my desktop browser of choice until the introduced the new UI with 7.5 - a backwards step.

What's wrong with 7.5? I'm using it now, and with a minute or two it's back to looking like 7.2x

[Kris Kumar]

If they are releasing a Windows Mobile version won't that be both PPC and Smartphone?

Quite true. I for some reason thought I read that they are going to support only Smartphones. But the press release says only Windows Mobile. So you are right it can support both.

[Kris Kumar]

I talked with my Opera contact and she said they will see what the market and demand for a Pocket PC version is before they will commit to releasing a version other than for Smartphones. I suggest you email them to let them know you are interested in a PPC version too.

Interesting. Because I just realized that the press release said only Windows Mobile. Which theoretically includes both PPC and SP.

If anything I would have released the first Windows Mobile version for the PPC than for SP. Just because PPC has bigger market share currently. And there are more PPC's out there than SP's.