The best mobile web browser - ever?
When it comes to browsing the web on a mobile device, it usually sucks. It's something I do when I'm bored, I never used to choose using my mobile device to visit a web site if there was a computer anywhere near me. That has all changed.
I recently downloaded Opera Mini. I had fooled around with this wonderful little app a while back, but it didn't have a mouse, and I had just gotten my BlackBerry Curve 8330 - and one of the main features that I loved was the mouse in the web browser. After not being able to properly view a web page the other day - since the BlackBerry browser sucks, and everybody knows it - I decided to give Opera Mini another shot. I'm very glad that I did, since the folks over at Opera seem to have solved most of the browser's quirks, and added some very nice features - including a mouse :)
This browser is simply amazing. It renders pages perfectly, and blazingly quick, too! Pages look almost identical in Opera Mini as they do in Firefox on a desktop - and they load almost as quickly, too. After entering an address, Opera will load a full page view of the site, and you can then move a mouse that is on top of a rectangle (which represents your screen), when you click on a portion of the page, Opera quickly zooms in on that part of the page, and then allows you to move a mouse around and click links, controls, etc. The motion of the mouse is a bit choppy - and it's clearly intended for a wide range of devices, which may or may not include a trackball - but once you get used to it, it's actually pretty neat. Opera seems to do a lot of stuff behind the scenes to help you navigate a site in a viewing area that's far smaller than the web developers intended. When you're in the page view, the viewing rectangle seems to "stick" to particular elements on the site - probably tables, divs, and other layout elements - to help you zoom in on particular blocks of content. Once you've zoomed in, the mouse "sticks" to particular elements, like links, controls, etc. It's a little more controlled than the BlackBerry browser, but once you get used to it, I think it actually makes you a little quicker and more efficient. I blow through web sites like they're nothing now, something that used to be painful on the built-in browser.
Opera Mini also has some cool animations, taking advantage of the newer, more powerful, mobile architectures. When you zoom in a portion of a page from the page view, the "zooming" is animated. When you call up the address bar using the shortcut "#1" or the menu, it rolls down from the top. Moving to a different page causes the new one to slide in. These animations don't seem to slow down page loading, and are a welcomed improvement - since your friends may have an iPhone, and may try to tell you how much better it is than a Berry.
Speaking of the iPhone, I've been comparing Opera Mini to the iPhone's browser - which is generally regarded as one of the best mobile browsers. I'd say that Opera Mini is just as good, if not better. Pages seem to load just as quick, and look just as good. The main advantages of the iPhone's browser really have nothing to do with the browser - the ability to browse pages with your finger, and the larger screen - both hardware limitations(?) of most BlackBerries. I haven't compared the two browsers side-by-side, but from my casual experience with the iPhone's browser, I'd say Opera Mini meets or beats everything the former has to offer. So now when your iPhone friends show off their browser in their final effort to prove their phone's superiority over your Berry, you'll be able to shoot that down, too. Then you can show them how your Berry gets push.. everything, and how it's better in just about every way - until your Apple friend curls up in a corner crying, drinking fake beer. Or not.
Anyway, while Opera Mini has it's little quirks, you'll quickly get over them, since you'll be too busy cruising the web at light speed. This is really a no brainer. If you have a BlackBerry - go get this app now. Oh, and the price is right, too - it's FREE! Joke's on Opera, I would have PAID for this!
I recently downloaded Opera Mini. I had fooled around with this wonderful little app a while back, but it didn't have a mouse, and I had just gotten my BlackBerry Curve 8330 - and one of the main features that I loved was the mouse in the web browser. After not being able to properly view a web page the other day - since the BlackBerry browser sucks, and everybody knows it - I decided to give Opera Mini another shot. I'm very glad that I did, since the folks over at Opera seem to have solved most of the browser's quirks, and added some very nice features - including a mouse :)
This browser is simply amazing. It renders pages perfectly, and blazingly quick, too! Pages look almost identical in Opera Mini as they do in Firefox on a desktop - and they load almost as quickly, too. After entering an address, Opera will load a full page view of the site, and you can then move a mouse that is on top of a rectangle (which represents your screen), when you click on a portion of the page, Opera quickly zooms in on that part of the page, and then allows you to move a mouse around and click links, controls, etc. The motion of the mouse is a bit choppy - and it's clearly intended for a wide range of devices, which may or may not include a trackball - but once you get used to it, it's actually pretty neat. Opera seems to do a lot of stuff behind the scenes to help you navigate a site in a viewing area that's far smaller than the web developers intended. When you're in the page view, the viewing rectangle seems to "stick" to particular elements on the site - probably tables, divs, and other layout elements - to help you zoom in on particular blocks of content. Once you've zoomed in, the mouse "sticks" to particular elements, like links, controls, etc. It's a little more controlled than the BlackBerry browser, but once you get used to it, I think it actually makes you a little quicker and more efficient. I blow through web sites like they're nothing now, something that used to be painful on the built-in browser.
Opera Mini also has some cool animations, taking advantage of the newer, more powerful, mobile architectures. When you zoom in a portion of a page from the page view, the "zooming" is animated. When you call up the address bar using the shortcut "#1" or the menu, it rolls down from the top. Moving to a different page causes the new one to slide in. These animations don't seem to slow down page loading, and are a welcomed improvement - since your friends may have an iPhone, and may try to tell you how much better it is than a Berry.
Speaking of the iPhone, I've been comparing Opera Mini to the iPhone's browser - which is generally regarded as one of the best mobile browsers. I'd say that Opera Mini is just as good, if not better. Pages seem to load just as quick, and look just as good. The main advantages of the iPhone's browser really have nothing to do with the browser - the ability to browse pages with your finger, and the larger screen - both hardware limitations(?) of most BlackBerries. I haven't compared the two browsers side-by-side, but from my casual experience with the iPhone's browser, I'd say Opera Mini meets or beats everything the former has to offer. So now when your iPhone friends show off their browser in their final effort to prove their phone's superiority over your Berry, you'll be able to shoot that down, too. Then you can show them how your Berry gets push.. everything, and how it's better in just about every way - until your Apple friend curls up in a corner crying, drinking fake beer. Or not.
Anyway, while Opera Mini has it's little quirks, you'll quickly get over them, since you'll be too busy cruising the web at light speed. This is really a no brainer. If you have a BlackBerry - go get this app now. Oh, and the price is right, too - it's FREE! Joke's on Opera, I would have PAID for this!
posted by Jim at
12:52 PM
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