We recently attended the CTIA show and expected to get a sneak peak of Opera’s latest browser for Android. Unfortunately, the software was not yet ready for public viewing and we will have to wait awhile longer before getting our hands on it.
In order to prepare you for what Opera has coming to Android, we must review their current product lineup.
- Opera Web Browser (Currently at version 10)
- Opera Mobile (Available for Windows Mobile and S60. Currently at version 9.7 beta)
- Opera Mini (Version 4.2 available for Android. Beta 5 available for Blackberry)
To date, Android users have only had access to Opera Mini, which is really geared towards feature phones. The more powerful Opera Mobile has not been offered for Android, but reports say it is on the way.
In an interview with PCMAG, Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner said, “Yes, we are working on an Android version”.
Highlights of Opera Mobile include:
- Opera Turbo – compresses network traffic up to 80%
- Widgets
- Improved UI – pan and zoom
- Opera Dragonfly – dev toolkit
- Tabbed browsing
- Password manager
- Upload contents
- Improved standards support
I think one of the most exciting features for mobile users is the new Opera Turbo which reduces page load times. This is a welcome addition for anyone on an Edge or even 3G connection. Check out the video below for a demonstration.
I was a bit disappointed by the Opera Mini browser for Android, but Opera Mobile should be a completely new experience. The default Android web browser is nice, but it doesn’t get updated enough. Opera is always innovating new features into their desktop browser and I can’t wait to see how they translate to the small screen.
Hopefully, we will have some new information soon that we are allowed to report.
What other features would you want to see in a new mobile browser for Android?
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Taylor Wimberly
Taylor is the founder of Android and Me. He loves playing with all kinds of gadgets, but most importantly cell phones. His other hobbies include cooking (BBQ hero!), politics, football, and watching every MMA event possible.
16 Comments
That’s exciting news, nothing sucks worse, in my opinion, that the stock browser. That said, I LOVE Steel. I think its a great great browser.
I have never liked Opera, neither the desktop version and definitely not the mini version currently available on Android. I will definitely stick to the stock browser.
I’m happy to hear this news – I’m a long-time Opera desktop user, and I too was not very happy with Opera Mini. Having said that, I still prefer Opera Mini to the stock browser. I can’t wait for Opera Mobile!
i tried both opera mini and steel on my g1, and i have to say i prefer the default browser. any rumors about a chrome for android?
there is not a single desktop browser that could even remotely compete with chrome (coming from a firefox 3.0 and opera user)
I can’t wait for this. The stock browser is shocking. I find it hard to believe that a google phone doesn’t come with chrome!
It also needs an option to clear caches on closing. The G1 suffers from appauling memory at the best of times. It would also be nice to see a visual representation of bookmarks (similar to the hero)
Built-in flash would be good as well
I think Loccy’s betterbrowser that comes with Cyanogen’s rom is the best browser, but it will be nice to know that somebody is doing something for non-rooted people.
Glad to see it’s Opera Mobile and not Opera Mini coming to Android. Opera Mobile is the one thing I miss coming from Windows Mobile.
To be honest I like the HTC Android browser,as well as the steal browser for android much more than opera mobile (for wm).It definitely not (that much)faster.
Opera mobile (ver. 9.x) used to have big problems with showing normal websites properly…
Taylor: You can get Opera Mini 5 beta for any phone (java). And it works amazingly well.
Though Opera Mobile is for WM is better. The 9.7 beta is rather buggy, but once thats sorted out, I’m confident that it will be the best browser on the marked.
I hope the Opera Mobile for Android will bring Opera Link (syncs bookmarks history, searches etc) like Opera Mini does. The best think about the new version is the turbo function. I tested it on a page with many pictures and the load time went from 50 sek to 6 sek. I dont get how it can be that fast, but thats what I got.
This is awesome news! Opera is a great browser and perhaps the most compatible. It supports legacy ie6 websites better then Firefox or Webkit. It was definitely a good call for Google to allow for c and c++ code.
How about adding multitouch features for phones like the Hero? When I tried Opera this was the only thing it lacked for me.
The best thing I loved about the opera fingertouch version which was given away as beta for the UIQ platform.
That would truely be the differentiating factor compared to other browsers..
Unlike iPhone, Android allows choice of browsers (or any app that competes with the standard ones). So we can have Opera, Firefox and heck…even Microsoft can join in with friggin IE if they want to.