Over the past few years, Opera Mobile has become the browser of choice for the majority of Windows Mobile users. Shipped as the default browser on many devices and available as download for others, Opera Mobile addresses the many failings of the preinstalled IE browser with better performance, variable zoom and text reflowing as well as a polished and intuitive UI.

Pushing the mobile browser closer to a desktop grade experience is the promise of Opera's latest release, Opera 10 Beta for Windows Mobile.

The Opera Mobile 10 Beta overhauls the look and feel of it's predecessors and is similar in design to the Opera 10 desktop browser as well as the Java based Opera Mini 5 beta. The UI overhaul brings Opera's offering across all of it's platforms in line, as well as providing a great range of features from the desktop platform including Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, a password manager and Opera's server side compression technology, 'Opera Turbo'.

I've had a try of the new browser and it does indeed feel more consistent in style with Opera's Java based offering, no bad thing as Opera Mini has always made excellent use of the available screen real estate. Performance seems great and the UI seems intuitive. Some features found in previous releases don't seem to have made it into version 10 yet - we spotted a lack of device rotate support and no support for multitouch zoom on the HTC HD2, but Opera does look set to maintain it's class leading position on the Windows Mobile platform.

The Opera Mobile 10 Beta is available for free download now from the Opera website.

If you're one of the folks sporting a Palm Pre, it's time to check for updates as you'll want to grab the WebOS 1.3.1 update that dropped over the weekend (at least for Sprint customers in the US).

Whilst there's no new applications, the update (which weighs in at 126MB) packs a tonne of features and improvements that you'll probably want add, including support for Yahoo! as a synchronization account.

That's not all, either, as PreCentral has discovered a list of extra undocumented changes that are included in release - and Facebook have launched an embarrassingly barebones application for the Pre that requires the 1.3.1 update.

If you're elsewhere in the world, the launch of the 1.3.1 update will depend on your carrier - in the UK, where I'm based, O2 are reported to be launching the update towards the end of the month.

[Via Engadget]

Not being pretty and white, nor slender, shiny and fashionable, the BlackBerry devices don't get as much attention as its SoCal sister the iPhone.

But that doesn't mean the clever folks over at RIM aren't busy developing and releasing exciting new technologies for their latest OS 5.0 devices! You just don't hear about them quite so often, which I hope to rectify with this little bit of news. As covered by our clever cousins over at Engadget, you can expect the following additions and changes to soon become available:

• Open GL ES support -- this is the big one. This is the single change which will see the BlackBerry shift away from the black-straight-edged-suits and more towards the cool-chic-students. The developer kit is already out, so games makers should really get on to that right now...!
• Extensive Adobe technology support -- not only will we be seeing great Flash support (as covered by Engadget Mobile previously), there will also be more integration with rest of the Adobe Creative Suite.
• And much more -- the BlackBerry Payment Service, Theme Studio, and Advertising Service will all make an appearance at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010.

These changes should cover all Storm and Curve owners, along with anyone that's lucky enough to own a Storm2!

So what does the iPhone do that the BlackBerry devices don't?

Does RIM really have to release a white-plastic-and-aluminum BlackBerry...?

Sometimes I'd like to see what new apps are available for my iPod Touch on the App Store on a system that doesn't have iTunes installed. In their infinite wisdom, however, Apple has decided that this just isn't the way things work on the desktop. You'll use iTunes and you'll damn well like it, buddy.

Palm Pre owners (and curious types) can now enjoy a bit more open experience. As it turns out, Palm thinks it's a great idea for people to be able to see what apps are out there. Not on some new-Pre-app blog. Not in some bloated desktop app. Right on Palm's web site.

What an amazingly simple idea! Now, prospective (and current) Pre and Pixi owners can take a look at all the cool apps they can install on their devices. It's not perfect by any means - I'd love to see a bit more detail about the apps and some more screenshots - but at least it's there for all to see.

Apple, you're paying attention, right? Enough with the "iTunes link" stuff. It's annoying. And not everyone wants to install 100+Mb of software just so they can browse your virtual shelves. Palm beat you to the punch, but you can still prove you're the king of the app store and get something similar online for us.

After that earnings report, you should be able to pay one or two extra web devs to get to work immediately. We'll expect results soon.

In the meantime, well done, Palm!

[via PhoneScoop]

It's amazing how expensive cradles are for mobile devices. Most users realize that there is a big premium being charged for what amounts to a formed piece of plastic, and it makes them less likely to pony up the big bucks for a device that holds their phone. Luckily, this is an area where a little DIY creativity can help.

A Download Squad tipster pointed us to their YouTube video describing how to take a cardboard coffee cup sleeve and with a few careful cuts, turn it into a perfectly serviceable cradle for holding a mobile device in landscape orientation. The video could have been shorter, but it is very well put together. I've embedded the video after the jump at the end of this post.

Alternatively, there is an iPhone dock papercraft project that Lifehacker pointed to that is a little more complicated, but results in a cradle that can hold an iPhone in landscape or portrait orientation, and allows you to plug in your iPhone's sync cable while in portrait orientation.

Is it worth skimping on a cradle and trying to make it yourself, or are you willing to pay the premium that hardware makers charge for their sturdier versions? Do you know of a different set of DIY cradle plans? Let us know in the comments.

When it comes to anonymous browsing on a desktop PC, getting set up is pretty straightforward. The widely used Tor Network provides a software bundle to install on your machine which allows you to connect via a virtual proxy to their network, which reroutes your traffic between constantly varying nodes. This makes it impossible for you to be traced as you go about your business on the web and it also makes it exceptionally difficult for anyone snooping on network traffic to determine which sites you are visiting.

Mobile anonymity is historically a lot harder to achieve, however if you're an Android user, there's now a nice simple solution.

If you are a HTC Hero owner, you've likely been waiting with baited breath for the device software update that has been widely publicised as giving the Hero a much needed speed boost.

Wait no more, it's finally here!

Wearing version number 2.73.405.3 (in line with the leaked version that surfaced last week) for the WWE region (an Asia release will follow), the update adds also adds a new radio layer for improved reception and will require a wipe of your data to install. The update can only be installed via a Windows PC.

If you are lucky enough to have a Hero, there is absolutely no doubt you should install this update to significantly improve the performance of your device - grab it from the HTC support site.

The update does also flash a new bootloader which makes 'rooting' the phone for full unrestricted access slightly more difficult, but due to HTC failing to patch a vulnerability in the kernel, it can still be done!

Online music streaming / discovery site Pandora have released their 'Pandora Mobile' Android application in the Android Market (for U.S. users).

Pandora Mobile allows you to create a personalised radio stream to listen to directly on your device. Simply enter an artist name, track name or a classical composer and Pandora will create a virtual 'radio station' that plays matching music and music that it deems fit for your tastes.

If you already have stations set up via the Pandora website, they will also become accessible on your device. The application includes a homescreen widget for convenient control of your playback and convenient 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' of the current track.

As mentioned above, Pandora Mobile -- as with the web based version -- is only available to U.S. users at the time of writing. If you're in other countries and you're looking for an alternative, check out imeem or last.fm (also free on the Android Market) or the recently launched Spotify streaming service (premium subscription required).

The application is enjoying a very positive reception from users - the current rating on the Android Market is '4.54 out of 5' - a positively glowing recommendation! Have you installed? Tell us what you think!

Yesterday Android devs got a little treat in the form of a video demonstrating some new features in the upcoming Android Market, for version 1.6 of the Android platform. Hey, and guess what? It looks shockingly similar to the iTunes App Store as seen on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Similar as in it now has reviews and product shots IN the market ON your phone.

Oh, and subcategories and shiny big buttons to buy things and so on. Given the App Store's straightforward and logical design, it's only natural that the Android Market would end up looking pretty similar, isn't it? Check out the video for more.

You know what the world really needs right now? Another mobile application store. Because it's just too hard to find good applications for your iPhone, BlackBerry, Google Android, Palm Pre, Symbian, or Windows Mobile phone. Wait, what? It's not? Well, tough noogies. You're getting another app store anyway, this time courtsey of Samsung.

The store will launch for customers in the UK, France, and Italy on September 14th, and it wil open up to additional countries later. At launch, the store will support the Samsung Omni and Samsung I8910 HD phones. There are plans to support additional smartphones later.

The thing is, the Samsung Omnia runs Windows Mobile, which means that the Samsung app store, which will let users download, purchase, and install mobile applications directly from their phones, may eventually wind up competing with the Windows Marketplace for Mobile application from Microsoft. But since Windows marketplace isn't available to the public yet, it looks like Samsung will beat Microsoft to market.

On the other hand, Samsung says a whopping 300 apps will be available at launch. There are already tens of thousands of applications available for Windows Mobile phones that can be downloaded from various sources on the internet. I'd be surprised if Microsoft didn't manage to launch its mobile app store with at least a few more than 300 applications.

[via Engadget]

Yesterday, RIM acquired Torch Media in a further step to turn the Blackberry into an iPod. Ok, so maybe that's not their goal -- but they have an app store, they did steal U2, and now they're bringing a Webkit-based browser front and center.

Now, Torch doesn't currently have a version of Iris for the Blackberry platform which means they'll have to get to work. How do you quickly clear your schedule so you can start developing for a new platform? Why not kill off work for the version that runs on your competitor's OS?

WM Experts have received word from Torch Mobile's spokesman that development on the Windows Mobile/CE version is coming to an end. That should give the crew at Torch plenty of time to crank out their BB port.

In all fairness, the Blackberry is in much more dire need of a better browser than WinMo.

Blackberry has acquired Torch Mobile, developers of the Iris web browser. The webkit-based browser is currently not available for RIM's smartphones though that's about to change in the wake of the acquisition.

As reported on the Torch Mobile website, "Our team of developers will join RIM's global organization and will now be focused on utilizing our WebKit-based mobile browser expertise to contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the BlackBerry® platform."

Iris is a pretty slick mobile browser, supporting CSS 2 and 3, HTML 4 and some HTML 5, Javascript, the Netscape plugin API, touch controls, phishing/spoofing protection, and much more.

Haven't seen Iris in person yet? Check the YouTube clip from Torch Mobile after the break.

Update: It looks like the browser isn't just coming to the BlackBerry, it's also leaving Windows Mobile. Development on that platform will be ceased.

[via Boy Genius Report]

ESET is one of the most respected antivirus providers around, and they're not new to the mobile world. They've been selling a WinMo product for some time.

Now, they're making a push for another segment of the smartphone ecosystem -- those running Symbian OS.

The new product will not only provide protection against malicious software targetting Symbian phones, but ESET also plans to include a remote wipe feature. For the $24.95 annual price tag it's likely to carry (or just north of $37 for two years), that's not a bad deal at all.

There will also be a built-in firewall for added protection. The SMS spam filter which ships with the Windows Mobile version will not, however, be included.

[via ComputerActive]

Palm has begun accepting applications for third party applications for WebOS that could eventually end up in the Palm App Catalog. The program is still in the early stages, but here are the details for the beta program:

• Developers can submit free or paid apps
• Developers will get 70% of any revenue from sales
• The program is only open to the US for now

Palm reserves the right to reject applications for pretty much any reason. Officially, apps need to have "acceptable performance and response time" and be written for WwebOS, and the web browser. But what exactly is "acceptable?" And Palm also says applications should be "useful and engaging to users," which seems pretty subjective. My favorite requirement? Applications need to have an "appealing design."

Still, it seems likely that the Palm App Catalog will start looking a bit more substantial soon.

In other news, RIM is making it easier for BlackBerry users to find an download programs from the Blackberry App World store. In addition to using the application on supported BlackBerry devices to find and download applications, you can now visit a web-based version from any browser.

In order to actually download applications, you'll need to enter your email address and the store will send a download link to your mobile device.

[via Gizmodo]

Need to sync files across machines? Need to access those files on your mobile devices? SugarSync to the rescue. There are currently SugarSync clients for WinMo, BlackBerry, iPhone, Mac and Windows, and starting today, Android phones (Android netbooks too, if they ever appear).

The apps are free, but you pay for storage, starting at $4.99 a month. You can try it free for 30 days, or keep it free with a mere 2GB of storage. You get 30GB for the $4.99 price. SugarSync hasn't yet replaced my current favorite, DropBox, but in light of Apple's iDisk app release, it seems there are more options for syncing files than ever. Here's to choice!