Opera Mini on PocketPC 2002

[kjliew]

For those who still use PocketPC 2002, this is something I would like to share to extend the usefulness of device, without resorting to upgrade.

PocketPC 2002 has not been getting any attention from PDA software developers, mainly due to application built for WM2003+ are not compatible with PocketPC 2002, regardless of whether the application really make use of WM2003+ exclusive features.

PocketIE (ie. PIE) in PocketPC 2002 is extremely outdated by today's browser's standard. For so long, I have been searching for a FREE browser replacement for PocketPC 2002, and there is an answer - Opera Mini.

Opera Mini, being the J2ME browser designed for cellphone, is fast, lean and still being actively developed. One can be sure that it will continue to improve over time (unlike PIE). Now, the major roadblock for using Opera Mini with PocketPC 2002 is to find a J2ME MIDP-compliant VM for PocketPC 2002. After searching high and low for the JVM, finally I found one that is working wonderfully with PocketPC 2002. IBM Websphere Studio Device Designer (WSDD) 5.6 shipped with a MIDP-2.0 compliant emulator for PocketPC. The trial version of WSDD can be downloaded from IBM after registration. It's a huge download, 189MB, but all you need is the "midpNG.ppc.CAB" about 1.8MB. You need to get the exact version of WSDD ie. version 5.6. Later version (5.7.1 and 5.7.2) no longer support PocketPC 2002.

With the IBM MIDP-2.0 I have been able to run Opera Mini 2.0.4062 on my PocketPC 2002 device wonderfully. I use the Advanced MIDP 2.0 version. The beauty of Opera Mini is that conventional webpages are now pre-formatted to fit into single column. No more horizontal scrolling. Directional controls can be used to select web links and action button will follow the links. This is very convenient with one-hand operation without using stylus to point and click the weblink.

Now if only I can find a way to assign some buttons to emulate phone softkeys, stylus-free surfing will be possible.

[N4R4K]

Kjliew....I've been searching information about how to run opera mini on ppc 2002, but I didn't get it.
So happy, after I found your post, finally it's prooved that opera mini can run on ppc 2002.

Can you share the file midpNG.ppc.CAB? you can upload it somewhere
like rapidshare.de or megaupload.com.


thanks..

Andy.

[Menneisyys]

It seems version WebSphere Studio Device Developer version 5.6 is no longer available online. Could you please share the CAB file? You could also directly e-mail it to me and I'll share it.

[hendrasiswanto]

hi kjliew,

could you send me cab files to run opera mini in ppc 2002 as you said. It is a very great news to me because i badly need it. Just let me know as well if you need something, i might be able to help you.

Regards,

Hendra

[kjliew]

Hi Hendra,

Please provide your email address for me to send over the CAB. The CAB is about 1.8MB in size, so make sure that your email account can accommodate for that.

Hi Menneisyys,

Can you provide your email, too? I would very much like you to host the CAB in your wonderful Java MIDlets article for whoever needs it in future. Your article inspired me to look out for JVM for PPC2002 and finally I came across the IBM J9. Thanks.

[Menneisyys]

Hi Menneisyys,

Can you provide your email, too? I would very much like you to host the CAB in your wonderful Java MIDlets article for whoever needs it in future. Your article inspired me to look out for JVM for PPC2002 and finally I came across the IBM J9. Thanks.

E-mail pm'ed. Thanks for the kind words; I'll host the CAB file.

[Menneisyys]

CAB posted to http://www.winmobiletech.com/sekalaiset/IBMJ9-MIDP-PPC2k2.rar

[hendrasiswanto]

thx guys...i have download the file and will try that.
anyone have dotpocket for ppc 2002?
and pocketop infra keyboard driver for ppc 2003?

[Cybrid]

pocketop infra keyboard driver for ppc 2003?What device? Pocketop had specific drivers for each device.

[N4R4K]

Dear All,

I've successfully run Opera Mini on PPC2002 (I'm using Audiovox thera).
The only problem I'm facing right now is:
Everytime I clik/ select an hyperlink it always ask for a permission to connect to the internet.
("Can Opera Mini use airitme to send or receive via an hhtp connection this one time?")
I found it disturbing.
Is there anyway to remove that?

THanks ALL

[kjliew]

Hi N4R4K,

Yes, there is a fix for that. In your J9 installed dir (eg. J9MIDP), look for a file name "security.policy", usually in J9MIDP\lib\security.policy. This file defines the security policy that a J2ME apps must obey when trying to access the network. Change any line started with "oneshot(oneshot)" to "blanket(session)".

The one outside the brackets is the highest state that any J2ME apps is allowed. The one inside the bracket is the default state that J2ME apps is allowed. If you put the highest state as blanket, you get an option to choose other lower states. Available states are never, oneshot, session and blanket. The default "oneshot(oneshot)" means that your J2ME will only be given the option to choose 2 states, never or oneshot, and will default to oneshot when 1st run. After changing to "blanket(session)", your J2ME apps will default to session on 1st run, but give the options to choose the rest of the states.

never - do not allow network access.
oneshot - ask for permission each time network access is requested.
session - ask for permission only once when the apps run.
blanket - always allowed. Never ask.

[fast]

CAB posted to http://www.winmobiletech.com/sekalaiset/IBMJ9-MIDP-PPC2k2.rar
Thanks for posting the cab.

Please tell me the trick how to install opera.

I installed the cab on a T-Mobile MDA I and MDAIII. It did install.
I copied opera.jad and opera.jar into ROOT.

I press MID-AMS. The menu asks for the URL. As I learned from in Your tutorials I enter //opera.jar or //opera.jad. Result: wrong url. Can You help? Thanks in advance

[N4R4K]

Hi..Kijew..

Has done as what you suggest there... and it works...

Thanks a lot bro...you really help!

Hei..have you tried the new version of Opera Mini?
I've tried it but only worked once. After I quit the midlet, I can't start it anymore. In other word I had to install it again to run the midlet again.

What's wrong with that? Thanks

[kjliew]

Yeah, the new Opera Mini 3.0x does not work with IBM JVM. I tried both 5.60 and 5.72 version and they all don't work with Opera Mini 3.0x. So for now keep the Opera Mini 2.0. Most Treo's and Palms also share the same IBM JVM core, and if you read the Opera Mini forum, they indeed do have lots of problem with the latest Opera Mini.

IBM JVM 5.72 allows customization on the memory and stack size, through a messy command line/short-cut modifications. I haven't explored on that. Some Treo's and Palms users said that Opera Mini will work after fiddle with those settings.

The lofi version of Opera Mini 3.0 works though, but there isn't much improvements compared to 2.0. In fact, I feel that Opera Mini 2.0 hifi is better than the 3.0 lofi.

[kjliew]

The latest Opera Mini 3.02 works flawlessly with IBM J9 version 6.11 MIDP-2.0 emulator on PPC2002.

[Menneisyys]

The latest Opera Mini 3.02 works flawlessly with IBM J9 version 6.11 MIDP-2.0 emulator on PPC2002.

Under PPC2k2, the latest J9 version? I've double-checked: a no-go. Are you sure?

[kjliew]

I have been able to run IBM J9 5.71, 5.72 and 6.11 on PPC2002 which all of them are meant for WM2003 or WM5. Although I didn't try 6.10, but I believe it should work as well. As you already mentioned in your wonderful J9 article, 6.10 and 6.11 though only say they are for WM5, they work without any problem on WM2003.

[Programmer's accent....]
I applied the same principles, with some little tricks. In my opinion, as long as the software doesn't make use of WM2003++ exclusive features, they should be able to run under PPC2002. But it's sad that Microsoft didn't make it such a way. Microsoft introduced some dummy imports which are missing in COREDLL of PPC2002 but available in WM2003++, and when even a "Hello World" simple C program is compiled under EVC4, that dummy import is included for no reason. So I made a passthrough COREDLL for PPC2002 which passes along all supported APIs in COREDLL of PPC2002 and emulates some of the dummy imports. The EXE/DLL from J9 are then patched to import from the passthrough COREDLL.

With this tricks, I have been able to make J9 5.7x works on PPC2002. For J9 6.11, I need another passthrough WS2.DLL which passes Winsock 1.1 APIs to PPC2002 WINSOCK.DLL, and partially emulates 3 WS2 specific APIs (getnameinfo, getaddrinfo, freeaddrinfo). With all this, J9 6.11 works wonderfully, much to my surprise..., too!
[End Programmer's accent...]

I learn this from a Japanese Pocket PC programmers (author of ExecutabilityCheck.exe tool) and hpcfactor.com who have been using similar tricks to make PPC2002 software work on Handheld PC. Other software that have been made to work on PPC2002 include:
- My own tools compiled in EVC4/WM2003 SDK
- SJPhone 1.60.303c WM2003 version

[Menneisyys]

I have been able to run IBM J9 5.71, 5.72 and 6.11 on PPC2002 which all of them are meant for WM2003 or WM5. Although I didn't try 6.10, but I believe it should work as well. As you already mentioned in your wonderful J9 article, 6.10 and 6.11 though only say they are for WM5, they work without any problem on WM2003.

[Programmer's accent....]
I applied the same principles, with some little tricks. In my opinion, as long as the software doesn't make use of WM2003++ exclusive features, they should be able to run under PPC2002. But it's sad that Microsoft didn't make it such a way. Microsoft introduced some dummy imports which are missing in COREDLL of PPC2002 but available in WM2003++, and when even a "Hello World" simple C program is compiled under EVC4, that dummy import is included for no reason. So I made a passthrough COREDLL for PPC2002 which passes along all supported APIs in COREDLL of PPC2002 and emulates some of the dummy imports. The EXE/DLL from J9 are then patched to import from the passthrough COREDLL.

With this tricks, I have been able to make J9 5.7x works on PPC2002. For J9 6.11, I need another passthrough WS2.DLL which passes Winsock 1.1 APIs to PPC2002 WINSOCK.DLL, and partially emulates 3 WS2 specific APIs (getnameinfo, getaddrinfo, freeaddrinfo). With all this, J9 6.11 works wonderfully, much to my surprise..., too!
[End Programmer's accent...]

I learn this from a Japanese Pocket PC programmers (author of ExecutabilityCheck.exe tool) and hpcfactor.com who have been using similar tricks to make PPC2002 software work on Handheld PC. Other software that have been made to work on PPC2002 include:
- My own tools compiled in EVC4/WM2003 SDK
- SJPhone 1.60.303c WM2003 version

Wowz! This is just great! I'll also check out these HPC Factor threads - with these tricks, a plethora of new stuff could also be made run on these old PPC's!

[dgtcreator]

Could you describe how did you make a passthrough COREDLL for PPC2002 or give a link for description because I can't find it? I'll be also greatful if somebody post a new link to IBM J9 version 5.6 because the old one doesn't work .

[laura_eva]

Menneisyys link to the Opera CAB file no longer works :-(

My IE for Pocket Win 2003 is pathetic as I'd like to check "proper" websites and my favourite groups without constant horizontal scrolling !

Would Opera help me ?

Would it be a "painless" install ?

How much memory would it use ?

Forgive me but all the tech-speak in this topic makes me feel inadequate .... OK I'm not a "nerd" .... can build my own PCs even .... but software wise I like things to be simple like A to Zee as I don't have the time or the patience to sort out the kind of problems that so often occur !

Ta !

[dgtcreator]

Here you have direct links to Opera Mini versions 2.x, 3.x and 4.x:
http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=221224

[sue_kiss]

I found 'midpng.ppc.cab' at: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/cmcl/OldFiles/member/nam/aura/wireless-locator/pocket/ive/bin/ Don't know if it's the same version from earlier post, though.

[firepug]

Does anyone still have this IBM cab available? I could really use it!

Many thanks