Opera Mobile 9.5 beta is out today, and it's already the slickest web browser available for Windows Mobile devices. Opera has always been faster than Pocket Internet Explorer at quickly rendering web pages, but Opera Mobile 9.5 beta does a far better job of displaying web pages quickly and accurately than the last stable version, Opera Mobile 8.65.

Probably the most dramatic difference between Opera Mobile 9.5 beta and earlier versions of the software is the support for full desktop page views. In other words, you can see a complete web page pretty much exactly as you would on a desktop. Of course, most web sites aren't designed for cellphones and PDAs with screens as small as 320 x 240 pixels. So The text is pretty much unreadable in this view. But you can drag and drop the screen to find the portion you want to read and a little double click action zooms in and makes the text nice and readable. In other words, Opera Mobile 9.5 beta works a lot like the Safari browser on the iPhone.

The updated browser is also designed to make the most of your device's screen real estate. By default, Opera functions in full screen mode, with no toolbars at the top or bottom of your page. If you need to switch tabs, enter a URL, or hit the back button, you just tap on a small, semi-transparent arrow that hangs out near the bottom of your screen to bring up a menu.

Opera Mobile 9.5 is still in beta, and there are a few known issues. For example, one of the biggest improvements Opera has planned is support for Flash Lite 3 which will allow users to view YouTube movies and other Flash video content. But ActiveX is disabled in this beta release, and that means Flash plugins are disabled and embedded video streams will not play.

Opera Mobile 9.5 is available for free while in beta, and is designed for Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6. You should also make sure to install the browser to your device's main memory, as Opera reports that installing to a memory card could cause problems.

Opera's been working on its next generation mobile web browser for months now. And while a handful of folks have been able to get their hands on devices preloaded with Opera Mobile 9.5, most of us have been waiting impatiently to get our hands the downloadable version.

While Opera might not have much market share in the desktop browser space, the company's mobile browser is miles ahead of the browsers that come standard with most Windows Mobile, Symbian, or other cellphones. Opera Mini and Opera Mobile 8.65 are already some of the best mobile browsers around. Opera Mobile 9.5 adds Flash Lite 3 support, quicker page rendering, full page zoom, a password manager, and the ability to copy and paste text selections.

Today the Opera Mobile team announced that the first public beta version of Opera Mobile 9.5 will be available for download on July 15th. If history is anything to go by, Opera will probably charge somewhere between $20 and $30 for this browser eventually. But while in beta, the browser will be free.

[via jkOnTheRun]

It's been a few months since Opera announced the company was working on a version of Opera 9.5 for Windows Mobile devices. And while Opera has historically been kind enough to offer public beta versions of their commercial software for download, Opera Mobile 9.5 has been pretty elusive so far. But ZDNet's Matt Miller managed to get his hands on a Windows Mobile device with Opera 9.5 preloaded, and suffice it to say he's pretty impressed. Here are some of the highlights from his review:

• Smooth scrolling and panning with your finger (no stylus needed)
• Context-sensitive zooming
• Tabbed browsing (this has been available in every version of Opera Mobile that we're aware of)
• Save pages for offline viewing
• Quick page rendering
• Flash Lite 3 support
• Supports text selection, copy, and paste
• Password manager
• Save or send web images

There were some problems. Miller says he could open Google Docs spreadsheets for viewing, but not Word documents. This isn't surprising, since Opera's desktop browser has had compatibility issues with Google Docs and other Google services for a long time.

No word on when Opera will be ready to release Opera Mobile 9.5 for general use. It looks like you may be able to get purchase a phone with the software preinstalled in the not too distant future. But what we're really waiting for is the day when you can download the software and install it on any device. Opera Mobile 8.65 currently has a $24 price tag. We're assuming Opera 9.5 will eventually be available for $30 or less.

[via jkOnTheRun]

Opera plans to show off its next generation mobile web browser at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. While Opera Mobile 9.5 won't be available commercially until this spring, the company has released a video previewing some of the browser's more exciting features.

Opera also has a tendency to release public betas of its mobile software several months in advance of a commercial release. So there's a good chance you'll be able to use Opera Mobile 9.5 beta for free for a while before buying it.

In a nutshell, Opera Mobile 9.5 appears to have many of the features that have made Opera Mini popular. But unlike the Java-based Opera Mini, Opera Mobile is designed to run on Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. Opera Mobile 9.5 allows users to view full screen versions of web pages, or to zoom in for more detail. You also get tabbed browsing, fast page rendering, and convenient bookmark, transfer, and history managers.

The browser will also include a mobile version of Opera's widget engine which allows you to access some web content like Flickr images without opening a web browser. It also packs Flash Lite 3 integration for accessing Flash-heavy web pages like MySpace or YouTube.

[via the::unwired]