Reviewer’s Guide to Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta

Opera Mobile used on a Motorola phone

Congratulations. You’re among the very first people to see the Opera Mobile 9.5 in its consumer release.

Opera Mobile 9.5 completely reinvents the Web browser on mobile phones. It provides an elegant browsing experience, while also making smartphones a new home for cross-platform applications. It marks a turning point in the ongoing evolution of the Web.

NOTE: This product is a beta release. As such, there will be bugs. This release is intended for developers and advanced users. It may cause data loss or other unintended actions.

What we believe: One Web

In 2000 we released our first Web browser for a mobile device. Since that time, we’ve actively blurred the boundaries between the desktop and mobile experience. We believe that there is only One Web. The sites, services and Web applications that you rely upon should be available on any connected device. It seems this is finally happening, eight years after we instigated the idea.

Contents

  1. Download Opera Mobile
  2. Starting out
  3. UI Map
  4. What's inside
  5. Future releases

Getting started with Opera Mobile 9.5 beta 1

  1. Download Opera Mobile 9.5 beta 1 *
  2. Save the file on your computer
  3. Synchronize it to your Windows Mobile device.
  4. Install Opera on your phone.

Starting out

Opera opens to our startup page. From here you can choose to read more about Opera and our products, view several selected bookmarks, search the Web with Google or access help files.

UI Map

Opera Mobile UI Map

What’s inside Opera Mobile 9.5 beta 1

Pan and zoom

Using the same technology found in Opera Mini, Opera Mobile 9.5 defaults to full Web page viewing and allows users to pan and zoom into their desired content in just a few clicks.

Save pages and/or images

With a click, simply save your selected content and send via email or MMS to your friends.

Improved user interface

Opera has completely renovated its mobile UI. Cleaner and more intuitive, the new UI is designed for quick and easy navigation.

Improved standards support

Opera remains steadfast in its commitment to make the Web accessible for all. Opera Mobile 9.5 is the most standards-compliant mobile browser available. It is based on Opera's latest core rendering engine, Presto 2.1.

Faster

Opera has always been among the fastest browsers — if not the fastest — available. Opera Mobile 9.5 beta continues this fine tradition with noticeable speed improvements over Opera Mobile 8.65 and IE Mobile.

Opera Dragonfly

Opera Dragonfly is Opera’s open source cross-platform developer tool. This unique hybrid application officially goes cross-platform in Opera Mobile 9.5. To use the remote development and debugging tools, first start Dragonfly in Opera 9.5 on desktop (download or read more), then check the “remote debug” box in Dragonfly’s settings dialog and press apply. On the phone, go to the address “opera:debug”, type the IP address of the computer you’re connecting to, and hit “connect”. From that point on, Dragonfly works exactly as it does on Opera 9.5.

To learn more about Opera Dragonfly, visit the Dragonfly blog.

Screenshots

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Future releases

Plans for future betas include:

  • Opera Widgets
  • Opera Link
  • Gears
  • Symbian OS support

Over the coming months Opera Mobile 9.5 will evolve into a tremendous consumer product. Thank you for joining us at the beginning of it all.

Regards,
The Opera Mobile team

* Known issues

  • ActiveX is disabled — Flash plugins and embedded video streaming do not work.
  • Custom IME’s (like HTC’s IME) will be buggy at best, not working at worst.
  • Not multilingual build — Only English is supported. Problems with other languages (and input methods) are not unexpected.
  • Installation on memory cards may cause problems.
  • Text wraps in overview mode.
  • Main testing has been done on English HTC devices (Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, Touch, Touch Dual, Touch Cruise, TyTN and Wizard) and Samsung i900.
  • We have got reports from some users that this build will disable the phones sounds/notifications.