As promised, the boys and girls at Opera have pushed out an Android-flavored beta version of their Opera Mobile 10.1 product today — and considering the company’s track record for making awesome replacement browsers, odds are good that you’re going to want to check it out. Besides pinch-to-zoom and support for location services, you’ll find fan favorites like desktop browser sync and Opera’s Speed Dial, a touchable grid of bookmarks. What’s more, the visual tab management is downright slick (then again, outdoing the tab management in-built to Android doesn’t take much), so you might want to take it for a test drive today — can we suggest engadget.com as a fine starting point? The app’s available from the Android Market right now; follow the break for the press release and an official demo of pinch-to-zoom in action. Or, you know, just download it and do some pinch-to-zooming of your own. Your call.
Version 5.1 has been Opera Mini’s big push for much of this year, and the release is finally filtering down to Symbian today. The big news, though, is that S60 owners will be able to use a native version of the popular proxy-based browser rather than the Java build they’d been left with previously, so we can assume that the move to native code is probably going to have a positive effect on performance. New features include clipboard and email client integration, the ability to select a default internet access point (so you’re not prompted every time), better fonts, and a variety of performance-centric improvements. The beta is available now; follow the break for the press release.
Version 5.1 has been Opera Mini’s big push for much of this year, and the release is finally filtering down to Symbian today. The big news, though, is that S60 owners will be able to use a native version of the popular proxy-based browser rather than the Java build they’d been left with previously, so we can assume that the move to native code is probably going to have a positive effect on performance. New features include clipboard and email client integration, the ability to select a default internet access point (so you’re not prompted every time), better fonts, and a variety of performance-centric improvements. The beta is available now; follow the break for the press release.
Remember the last time you opened Opera? I can’t. Not because I don’t think it’s a good way to surf the web, but because there’s not been any good news about it for at least a couple of days! These internets think in such a way, I’m not alone, and the folks responsible for creating Opera basically know this too. Thus, they’re popping out a new baby: Opera 11. The alpha version of the browser is out today, and you’re free to use it – and it will have Extensions!
Everyone on Windows, Mac and Linux is free to download this new version of Opera today over at the download station at Opera’s house. The Extensions bit should be very similar to extensions workings of browsers we’ve seen before. Opera says developers will be able to create extensions using open standards (HTML5, CSS, JavaScript) and supported APIs. One button installations and support of injectable JavaScript, callouts, a number of UI items and a basic Tabs and Windows API. Developers are invited to develop and publish extensions on the Opera developer site: Dev Opera.
Android user will be glad to hear that Opera mobile will be coming to Android devices soon .The browser is set to hit within a month according to Opera and will have all sorts of cool features that we expect on a mobile browser today.
Those features will include hardware acceleration and pinch to zoom among others. The hardware acceleration allows Opera Mobile to run at faster speeds and will bring with it new improvements to the UI with pinch to zoom for all websites and better interaction with the phone. An exact launch date is not offered from Opera.
Opera has also announced that Opera 11 will have extensions. Extensions are a way for the user to add new functionality to their browser and developers will be able to create extensions using HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and other open standards and supported APIs. The extensions will be installed via a pop up that lets you install them easily when you want. Extensions will debut with the browser at an unspecified future date.
Choice is a good thing, and Android users certainly have a lot of choices. Default launcher or Launcher Pro? Fancy animated live wallpaper or static picture of adorable puppies? Stock browser or alternative? It’s that last question that has plagued so many, and to offer some guidance PC World pitted six of the Market’s top choices against each other. The 2.1 and 2.2 stock browsers entered, along with Skyfire 2.0, Opera Mini, Dolphin HD, and Mozilla Fennec (the pre-beta release of what could bring Firefox to your phone). The winner? Well, you can see the ultimate speed results above, with SkyFire surprisingly trumping Opera Mini, though that one seemingly has ‘em beat when it comes to repeat-visits. However, the full story when it comes to things like page rendering and Flash compatibility is naturally a good bit more complex. For those details you’ll need to click on through.
Opera has announced that Opera Mini 5.1 for Android smartphones is now available for download. The new browser will work on all Android devices, promises better browsing performance, and a better user experience.
The web browser improves browsing speeds by compressing data up to 90% before sending the content to the phone. The page load times are significantly improved thanks to this. Opera claims that displaying BBC News will cost nine times less with Opera mini 5.1 for the user compared to loading the page on another browser.
The 5.1 version of the browser can be downloaded right now on the Android Market or at m.opera.com. The new version is also optimized for a better layout on Android devices with a larger screens and the browser can be set as the default for your device.
Just a scant few days after the Java-based release for featurephones, the Android build of Opera Mini 5.1 (which, admittedly, also has its roots in Java) is ready for your browse-happy ways. As with the featurephone release, the focus here is almost exclusively on improving performance, an impressive goal considering that Opera Mini 5 was already burning rubber on many devices. Additionally, 5.1 is said to improve page layout on the latest round of high-resolution phones — a good thing, considering many of us are now considering WVGA a bare minimum. Sickening thought, isn’t it? The new build should be available to download from the Android Market today; follow the break for Opera’s full press release.
Thursday night — the night before the end of the work week. We can feel the excitement. Can you? Well, unless your work week is just getting started, or doesn’t even start until this weekend. Then we feel your pain. But let’s try to focus on the fun tonight, shall we? Welcome to tonight’s edition of The Daily Slash. In the Best of R3 Media, we’ve got a new release date for the Vibrant, Apple may have used their kill switch, and Opera Mini’s been updated. And then in the Dredge ‘Net, a solar plane flies 26 hours, AQUA2 is another aquatic robot, and a foldable bike exists.
The Best of R3 Media
Samsung Vibrant Releasing July 15th: We can chalk this one up to pretty strange. After officially announcing the Samsung Vibrant, T-Mobile confirmed that the device would be hitting physical and digital store shelves beginning July 21st. But, thanks to some leaked T-Mobile documents, it’s now been more or less confirmed that it’s actually releasing on July 15th. A full week early, and on the same day as the Droid X by Motorola for Verizon. Interesting choice, especially considering they are still cutting it dangerously close to that date, and still haven’t told anyone. Tricky, tricky, T-Mobile. [via Android Community]
Apple Activates Their Kill Switch: The application in question is called NDrive, and it’s a GPS app created from a small group of folks. Basically, it’s an indie app, lost amidst the other high profile GPS applications out there in Apple’s App Store. At least, that was the case until today, when the application suddenly disappeared from the App Store, and people’s computers as well. Oh, and from iPhone owner’s handsets, too. That’s right — the app just disappeared. The company doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, either, but everyone’s trying to figure it out. What it looks like at the moment, is that Apple pulled their kill switch, and this is the result: utter confusion. [via SlashGear]
Opera Mini Updated to 5.1: Updates are bound to happen to anything out there that can be updated, and it’s never a bad thing when they make things better. The update to 5.1 for Opera Mini brings the removal of some icons, as well as the visual speed dial tool for the User Interface, but the changes are said ot make the browser faster, and more stable for devices with less memory. So, if this fits your device’s description, it looks like your browser choice just got a little better. [via PhoneMag]
The Dredge ‘Net
Solar Impulse Flies Overnight on Just Solar Power: There’s skeptics for everything out there, and solar power (and especially any kind of adoption of the alternate power source) has its fair share. One of the reasons for that skepticism is its fundamental behavior at night. Or, if it can work. Well, thanks to the Solar Impulse and the power of the sun, those skeptics can start to quiet down. The solar powered plane completed a 26-hour, straight, flight through the day and night. It was able to recharge its batteries throughout the night thanks to its 12,000 solar panels, which gathered more than enough energy through its flight during the day. [via Physorg]
AQUA2 is Fast and Amphibious: The AQUA2 was created at McGill University in Montreal, and sure enough, it’s the first of its kind. Specifically designed to be able to move around on land, but be just as free-roaming in the water, the AQUA2 can indeed traverse the landscape, as well as dive and swim under water. It can dive down to 120 feet, and it’s capable of being controlled by a remote control tethered via ethernet or fiber optics. And thanks to those flippers, the swimming thing it’s definitely got down. [via Engadget]
This Bike Can Fold Around a Lamp Post: Keeping your bike safe is a pretty high priority for anyone that owns a bike. After all, it may be your best (or only) means of transportation. But, just using a chain to lock your bike to something may not be enough in today’s day-and-age, so that’s why we can thankfully welcome this new foldable bike design from a 21-year old by the name of Kevin Scott. He’s created the world’s first bike that can literally fold at the center, and be wrapped around a post, or whatever else you want, without the need of an extra chain. The lock is actually built into the bike itself, right under the seat, so you just wrap the bike around the post, so that the handlebars reach the lock, and there you go — safe and secure. We want this bad boy right now, and Scott is trying hard to get it picked up by a bike lover with money. So, keep your fingers crossed. [via Daily Mail UK]
Cowon has updated their V5 PMP with a new injection of WiFi, creating the Cowon V5W. Packing a 4.8-inch WVGA touchscreen, up to 64GB of flash storage and an HDMI output, the V5W has WiFi b/g and an S/PDIF output, and runs a custom Cowon UI on top of Windows CE 6.0.
As before there’s a multimedia app, games support and more, but Cowon have preloaded the Opera browser and a YouTube viewer to take advantage of the new wireless connection. There’s also Flash support, an SD card slot and Full HD video playback support (via the HDMI output, not the V5W’s own display of course).
Cowon use their JetEffect 3.0 audio processing system, and with a reputation as one of the better companies in the PMP industry for sound quality we’ve high hopes for the V5W’s multimedia credentials. Battery life is tipped at up to 45hrs of music, 10hrs of video or 300hrs of standby; no word on pricing, but it’ll hit Korea this month.
