Those of you who are eagerly waiting on Opera Mobile 10 to come to Android should check out the new Opera Mini 5 beta. Both browsers are based on the same core technology but in Opera Mini, the Opera Presto browser engine is located on a server. In Opera Mobile, it is installed on your phone. Opera is looking to partner with OEMs to include Opera Mobile 10 with their phones, so the Mini 5 could be some users only experience with Opera.
I tested out the latest Opera Mini 5 and the UI looks really clean and the rendering was off on several sites I visited. There are some cool extra features like Opera Link (which syncs booksmarks, speed dial, and search engines), but it is missing pinch zoom which I have become fond of.
The beta should work on all Android phones, so give it a test run and let us know what you think.
The major differences in Opera Mobile and Mini include:
- Opera Mobile will render web pages just like a desktop browser. In Opera Mini, there may be slight differences, and very complex Web pages may not work optimally.
- Opera Mini will generally be faster. It downloads less content and requires less CPU to render pages.
- Opera Mini works on almost any phone. Opera Mobile is only available for Windows Mobile, upcoming Android devices, and Symbian/S60 phones.
Top new features of Opera Mini 5 include:
- Tabbed browsing – Browse several Web sites at the same time, while easily jumping from one to another.
- Speed Dial – Get to your favorite Web page with just one click, with a set of visual bookmarks when you open a new tab.
- Opera Link – Synchronize your bookmarks and Speed Dial between your mobile phone and desktop computer.
- Download manager – Manage downloads right from the browser. Pause and resume downloads to suit your needs.
