Opera Noted as Best Windows Mobile Browser

[Pete Paxton]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://press-releases.techwhack.com/14669/opera-mobile-3/' target='_blank'>http://press-releases.techwhack.com/14669/opera-mobile-3/</a><br /><br /></div><em>&quot;If you&rsquo;re looking for the best browser for your Pocket PC or Smartphone, look no further. Opera Mobile, the browser of choice for feature rich phones developed by Opera Software, has been recognized as the best mobile browser for both Windows-based Pocket PC and Smartphones at the 2007 Best Software Awards by Smartphone &amp; Pocket PC magazine. Nominations were open to all providers and vendors of mobile Internet technology and applications were selected by a judging panel of experts from the wireless community. Opera Mobile was nominated to compete against its sister product, Opera Mini, and ThunderHawk in the Internet browsers and Web utilities category for Windows-based Pocket PCs. In the Smartphone Web browser category, Opera Mobile again beat fellow product Opera Mini and Skweezer in a heated race.&quot;<br /><br /></em>So do you agree? Is Opera the best choice for browsing with a Windows Mobile device? I know I may be in the majority here but I actually don't mind IE on my Dash. I guess I'm just used to it. I've tried Opera on my Dash but&nbsp; I just couldn't get the hang of it. So do you use a specific browser or does it really matter to you?

[zoom2020]

I haven't been able to get the hang of Opera either. I thought it was just me since so many rave about the opera browser.

[tut00]

I feel the same way. I have tried Opera, but just didn't like it. IE is fine for what I use it for on my Blackjack.

[mpaquette]

$24 for this? Seems a bit pricey to me.

[acharn]

I feel the same way. I have tried Opera, but just didn't like it. IE is fine for what I use it for on my Blackjack.

i've tried Opera, but it just isn't easy to use. it's java-based and requires more clicks than i want or even need to give to get the content i want.

wm internet explorer does what it needs to for me. i don't think opera is the best app out there.

i have decided that windows mobile, whatever app, will never be as user friendly as the iphone. it's just all too clunky and cloogy.

[mboone]

I much prefer the free Opera Mini to anything else including Opera Mobile.

[GreatDay]

I wish i could tell ya. I'd love to be able to try any one of these (and someday know why i can't) on my Moto Q. IE was bad enough on my old Axim, but on a smartphone it just makes me crazy and makes me only go on the web from it when ABSOLUTELY necessary. So far Deepfish has been the only one I have wished they'd hurry up development on. Word that Mozilla is making a push is encouraging, but the truth is, I want something better NOW. As my grandmother would have said: "If they can put a man on the moon, then why oh why can't we......."

[EleazarB]

I use a Cingular 3125 and the Opera Mobile Browser.... yes I put the 24 bucks for it.. but I love it!! It brings up pages so much faster, ( on the slower EDGE network) plus when you go to paypal, it thinks you are using desktop computer..... That way my customers can pay for the HVAC work that I do with their credit card over my phone... Pretty slick!! (PIE just wont let that happen..) It also lets Java script buttons work properly, and other such sperfy things...
I guess I really don't know whats so hard to " get the hang of it" ..... seems about as hard to use as a gas pump these days :-)

Good day!

[spos5]

I use IE for hours a day on my Dash, for one simple reason: there are so many mobile optimized web sites out there. You've got banking, box.net, facebook, google, gmail, google reader, msn, yahoo, weather, this web site and many many more - all optimized for the mobile browsers (all work great in Mobile IE). Sometimes, I'll use the mobile versions of those websites on my desktop, just to avoid the glut (ads, etc.).

Also, I've tried Opera Mini & Mobile - just too clunky and suck up a LOT of memory (thanks to J2ME).

[frankenbike]

Opera is the best browser because it's winning by default. The field of contenders on the PPC is sad, and there's simply nothing that works as well as Safari on the iPhone. That has kind of given us an idea of what is possible, and a baseline for what we should expect. Opera 9 is supposed to have a lot of Safari-eque improvements. We'll see.

I think I might be in the majority of people who think if you spend $24 on a browser, you expect a lot more than what Opera offers. OTOH, I'd pay $10 for it. That's "impulse buy" money, a couple of fast food lunches worth. Whatever their business model is, it's in need of updating for today's market.

I wonder how many people who try Opera but don't buy it, would purchase it if it were in the $10 range? (Yeah I'm a cheap bastard, and there are a lot of people out there like me). If it's more than 2 1/2 times the number who would pay $24 for it, then Opera is losing money.

It's a different PPC (phone) world out there today, and mass market is possible today where it wasn't two years ago.

[mpaquette]

I'd pay $10 for it. At $24 I won't even bother installing it because unless it makes my coffee in the morning, it isn't worth it.

When many users get their subsidized phones for next to nothing, I think it's a stretch for Opera to think the average user is going to pony up $24 for some software.

[alese]

For me the problem is not the price, but the fact that when you buy the SW it's locked to a device.

I have bought Opera Mobile for my HTC Universal and on the VGA screen the browsing experience was quite good - definatelly much better than PIE. It wasn't perfect but for WM world incredible - using PIE you really lower your standards and expectations...

What pissed me off was when I tried to install the thing on my new phone and I found out that the registration is device based - stupid.
Now I use PIE if I really need to go to the net or Opera Mini when I need half decent browsing...

[snowman5373]

I love Opera on my Dash compared to PIE. PIE was much better before I upgraded to WM6.

[buzzard]

I use PIE for just about everything except for 2-3 secure sites that Opera mobile can get into that PIE can't access (can't get there using Opera mini on these either). I also have Opera mobile set as my default browser so when I'm reading RSS feeds and I have to go to a full size web site page it's much faster having Opera do it than PIE.

[deavod]

...
What pissed me off was when I tried to install the thing on my new phone and I found out that the registration is device based - stupid.
Now I use PIE if I really need to go to the net or Opera Mini when I need half decent browsing...

FYI, you can email them and have them send you a new key. I did this when I replaced my PocketPC and they sent me a new key in 24 hours.

[Menneisyys]

i've tried Opera, but it just isn't easy to use. it's java-based and requires more clicks than i want or even need to give to get the content i want.

wm internet explorer does what it needs to for me. i don't think opera is the best app out there.

i have decided that windows mobile, whatever app, will never be as user friendly as the iphone. it's just all too clunky and cloogy.

1. It's Opera Mini that you're referring to, not Opera Mobile. They're entirely different product, albeit the core is almost the same.

2. Speaking of Opera Mini, no clicks are needed at all if you follow the tips & tricks I've published in the Button Enhancer Bible, which was frontpaged here at SPT some weeks ago. (The same is true with Opera Mobile - my hacks greatly enhance it on Pocket PC's without a dialpad).

[Menneisyys]

Also, I've tried Opera Mini & Mobile - just too clunky and suck up a LOT of memory (thanks to J2ME).


Actually, even Mobile has far less memory requiremens than IEM, let alone Mini (I've benchmarked all this and know what I'm talking about.) The latter (Mini) can easily keep as many as 30 (!!!!) pages in memory at the same time. Do the same with IEM. It wouldn't even work on a 128M RAM device :)

I recommend a quick read to my Smartphone Web Browsing Bible and (the newer) Opera Mini 4-related articles and tips; they have all been cross-posted to the software forums here at SPT.

(BTW, don't mistake the two for each other - Mobile is NOT Java-based.)

[Menneisyys]

I wish i could tell ya. I'd love to be able to try any one of these (and someday know why i can't) on my Moto Q. IE was bad enough on my old Axim, but on a smartphone it just makes me crazy and makes me only go on the web from it when ABSOLUTELY necessary. So far Deepfish has been the only one I have wished they'd hurry up development on. Word that Mozilla is making a push is encouraging, but the truth is, I want something better NOW. As my grandmother would have said: "If they can put a man on the moon, then why oh why can't we......."


I really recommend giving the just-released Opera Mini 4 a try. It's free, WAY faster and WAY cleaner than IEM. It's a real killer particularly with the latest hacks & enhancements (by me and badbob001 - see http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/showthread.php?t=23645 ) and used together with Opera Link.

I REALLY recommend the following thread on all these: http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/showthread.php?t=23475

[Menneisyys]

Speaking of the Opera Mobile vs. IEM case, I think Opera Mobile certainly deserved a win. Technically, IEM is far-far inferior to Opera Mobile, in almost all parameters. Memory usage, JavaScript, AJAX, keyboard shortcuts, loading times - Opera Mobile is without doubt better.

Albeit, now that Opera Mini 4 is out (along with the hacks & enhancements, partly written / done by me), I recommend it more than Opera Mobile. It really rocks. If you DO give it a try and DO apply the usage enhancement hacks (default browser hack or, if you have a PPC without a dialpad, the hardware button hack), you'll most probably fall in love with it.