Opera Mini 5.1: out of beta
UPDATE: Opera Mobile (as opposed to Mini) is currently available for carriers only. There are no plans to make it available in the Market. [END UPDATE]
Those of you with limited or expensive data, a slow connection, or a desire for very rapid page loads should check out the final, consumer-ready Android browser, Opera Mini 5.1. It’s free in the Android Market. Just search for “Opera.” I’m still a bit confused as to why the Norwegian company has not yet released their Mobile (title) version of the browser for Android, as that is generally considered their smartphone browser, but Mini is a formidable entry into the Android game.
With features like Speed Dial (thumbnailed shortcuts), tabbed browsing, true full screen mode, remembered passwords, and Opera Link, which syncs your bookmarks and Speed Dial entries with your home computer, Opera Mini stands next to – if not above – the other third party browsers currently available for Android. Not to mention its excellent page rendering and Turbo technology, which allows Opera to compress data by up to 90% on their servers before it reaches your phone.
I can’t wait to shoot an episode of DroidWars that pits the first public Fennec release against Opera!
What we really need is Opera Mobile. O Mobile for Maemo was just released. That thing features the same rendering engine as the desktop counterpart and even has JIT! Opera Mini is nice - it's fast, offers a smart combination of features and looks good. Unfortunately, it isn't really meant for smart phones. The two-step adaptive zoom, rearranged page layout and stripped out JS, which are all great features for low-end phones, are a pain on smartphones. Do you guys know exactly why Opera isn't releasing O Mobile for Android? I had tried to nudge a definitive answer out of the Opera folks, but didn't succeed. Does it have something to do with Android market license complications or complicated installation procedures?
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