Opera Mobile 9.7 beta is live, but it's no Safari
It's been quite a while since I used a Windows Mobile handset for an extended amount of time. Recently I got the chance to play with an HTC Touch Diamond, and it happened to coincide nicely with the preview release of Opera 9.7 beta.
Good as the new browser might be, I found it to be a step backward from Safari on my iPod Touch. I'm also in full agreement with CNet's Jessica Dalcourt, who said the new browser was "not what we expected." Opera's Turbo compression/acceleration feature is now built-in - a feature I can do without since I'm only browsing on nice, fast wifi connections. And although it was hinted at, there's still no Flash Lite support. That's an unfortunate omission.
The standalone Widget Manager definitely has some interesting possibilities and includes a selection of handy widgets like Twitter and Google Translator. If you're an Opera die-hard, being able to run your favorite widgets on your handset may be a big selling point. The Widget Manager can be installed separately, and I think it's a more compelling download right now.
After using Safari for half a year, however, Opera 9.7 mobile still feels like a desktop browser that has been mashed into a Pocket-PC form factor. It's a decent browser, but it just isn't nearly as intuitive to use or well-adapted to handheld browsing as Safari.
If you'd like to give the 9.7 Mobile beta a try and share your thoughts, you can download it now from Opera.
Good as the new browser might be, I found it to be a step backward from Safari on my iPod Touch. I'm also in full agreement with CNet's Jessica Dalcourt, who said the new browser was "not what we expected." Opera's Turbo compression/acceleration feature is now built-in - a feature I can do without since I'm only browsing on nice, fast wifi connections. And although it was hinted at, there's still no Flash Lite support. That's an unfortunate omission.
The standalone Widget Manager definitely has some interesting possibilities and includes a selection of handy widgets like Twitter and Google Translator. If you're an Opera die-hard, being able to run your favorite widgets on your handset may be a big selling point. The Widget Manager can be installed separately, and I think it's a more compelling download right now.
After using Safari for half a year, however, Opera 9.7 mobile still feels like a desktop browser that has been mashed into a Pocket-PC form factor. It's a decent browser, but it just isn't nearly as intuitive to use or well-adapted to handheld browsing as Safari.
If you'd like to give the 9.7 Mobile beta a try and share your thoughts, you can download it now from Opera.