Dark Furie - Mini 5

Mini 5

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 8:58:02 AM

So here it is at last, Opera Mini 5 beta - the latest version of the world's most popular mobile application, released exactly 8 minutes after I went to bed. After over a year of waiting for the new edition, is it worth it? Well, the short answer is yes. The long answer is a long and detailed discussion about whether we even need PC web browsers anymore.

The new features on the browser ought to keep people from complaining for a while. The Password Manager allows us to keep our passwords for sites saved and load them into the site whenever we need to log in. It's a useful feature that's been around on desktop and higher end mobile browsers for a while now, but on Mini it'll really make a difference. Tabbed browsing is something I couldn't care less about to be honest. Yes it can be useful for some people to keep their porn open while they look for new porn on Yandex (I love Hitslink) but for me it holds no real interest at the moment. Maybe it'll ease into my life bit by bit. The newly optimised user interface will certainly make things easier for touchscreen users as we wont have to keep the font size so high just to use the application now. As for the graphical speed dial, yes it's been brought over from desktop Opera, and yes I was the one who put it on the wishlist originally. Actually, now that I look back, I've got a lot of the features right so far

I've yet to fully test the application out, but so far everything looks amazing and I really can't wait to try this out on my i8910 HD when it gets back from being reflashed, so I can see how it handles on the touchscreen. In case you haven't figured it out, Opera just blew the competition out of the water.

Dragon Age: Origins Redefines DLCNirvana Lost

Comments

1 2 Next »

Spaggyj # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:01:11 AM

Ooh, it's weird. Loving the copy and paste! Need side clicky thing for long posts

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:12:33 AM

The copy and paste function is a little twitchy, but still easier than I expected. This just blows the mod away perfectly.

Tamil # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:22:35 AM

Originally posted by Furie:

Opera just blew the competition out of the water.

Spaggyj # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:08:51 AM

Ah, I get the scrolly thing now. This is cool.

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:18:27 AM

The forums are full of people who haven't bothered to look through the settings and are complaining about the way stuff works without just changing the settings.

theoddbod # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:44:10 AM

It's very very

Don't know why they've swapped bookmarks to 5 or history to 6, though.

KYrenKYren # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:53:29 AM

I love the new interface. I am posting from OM5

. I have a few complaints though. 1. The inline text editing: T9 dictionary isn't working in om5 text boxes. I had problem typing my user name it's not easy to switch from capital to small laters and to the number mode. I can't copy the text from other apps eg. sms, quick notes etc. and paste it into om text boxes. 2. Images: it's been always my complaint that om doesn't render the pages full of images very well. It loads a few images then it shows brown boxes in place of other images, while the Bolt browser loads all the images on the same pages. Unless OM efficiently handles all the mulimedia on web pages, I don't think it will replace a desktop browser. I know it's still a beta but where are the synk and the feeds options?

Dacotah # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 12:13:22 PM

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 12:29:02 PM

Inline editing bypasses your phone's text entry system so you wont get T9 and you wont be able to copy and paste while using it. It's easy to switch it off in the settings though and that's the first thing I did.

Because it's a beta they left out certain features that are still being optimised. As for the feeds, they're being completely redesigned, but you can access the old system by adding feed:index as a bookmark.

KYrenKYren # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 12:54:17 PM

Thanks, was that that easy? What's the purpose of inline texting then?

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 12:58:10 PM

My bad, it's feed:list you need to add.

The point of inline text is that ever since certain high end browsers (written natively for phones instead of with java) allowed it everyone has been bitching that Mini didn't have it. Now they've built a system from the ground up and everyone's complaining about that too.

Bad WolfCois # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 1:26:50 PM

I'm exploring all the little features now though it loads a little slower now or my network is pretty much full of shit

I'll test it properly when I'm online properly..

KYrenKYren # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 2:35:12 PM

It seems we have to activate inline texting if we want to copy and paste text directly from pages but still cousinisac's mobitol site is very helpful if you want to copy the text and paste it into quick notes and messaging app. I press #7 and copy the urls to use them in different browsers.
I have one more complaint, btw. I can't edit comments using OM5, when I click edit, strangely the text editing field opens with the number 1 written in it.

Tamil # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 2:45:04 PM

Opera Mini 5 Beta: Tips and Tricks

Spaggyj # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 3:15:30 PM

Kiran, you don't need inline text activated to paste text copied with Mini. Just put the cursor over the text box you wish to paste it in, press 1 and choose paste.

KYrenKYren # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 3:27:30 PM

Thank you, got it Tamil and Kim . 1) Press 1 and copy the text. 2) Take the cursor on a text input field on the same page and without opening it press 1 select paste. 3) After that open the text input field and copy the text to use it in an another app.
"Karzai
condemns EU claims of election
fraud as preliminary results give
him victory with 54.6%.
"
I copied the above text in OM5 and posted it using OM4.

Rickcwbywz # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 3:42:07 PM

Wonder if they will put the beta in an APK file for Android users? It's not on the market.

53north # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 4:03:31 PM

Had mine turned off from underneath me by the hackers. Oh for a secure connection to log into gmail, myyahoo and you tube..

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 4:28:39 PM

Yeah it's slightly slower and shuts down quicker due to low RAM, but the betas of 4 were exactly the same until the app was optimised in the last beta.

The reason the betas get released is that they get put on hundreds of phones and people shout abuse at the staff for any problems they find. The Opera Staff take a few days to sob into their pillows then get to work on the bugs. The thing with Android is that it's the same OS and pretty much the same effective hardware for the phones. All they need is one Android model for each OS iteration and they don't need to release a beta. They may do it anyway as a marketing trick to excite the Android community though.

Hackers?

53north # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 4:56:26 PM

my blog draws a bit of attention. Constantly redirected info to other servers in the US. Switch offs. No response. Missing search results. Links going elsewhere from where they re supposed to. Uploads failing. Etc etc. I Like the Tea shark browser floating cursor. I'm surprised Opera haven't took them to court with it looking so identical.

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 5:24:51 PM

Teashark is a pile of crap. They fucked around with some feeds I added, putting porn in the middle of my own page's feed for example. Plus they're not exactly open about who runs them, which makes me wonder about all the people who've used it who talk about problems they've had since.

53north # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 5:39:50 PM

Traces as New Jersey server. Bush unleashed rooms of hackers out of San Jose to hit the net running and slow up undesirables.
=o>
I do like the colour rendition, clarity and definition on the high image setting in '5'.
But finding, let alone copying the URL of a page seems to entail bookmarking it and editing, whereas it lent itself to instant c+p in the 'add bookmark' of om4.2.
I take it you trust opera then; they've blocked me from commenting on front page issues and never featured my blog again after it became clear I'm genuine.

Darkogdare # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 8:04:12 PM

I will download it tomorrow and check how it works... one day when I am not going to be busy

Mad Scientistqlue # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:13:07 PM

WOW!!!! This is great!

not oly is this a great browser for my phone, but it's great on the Microemulator too!

. P.S: it has a brilliant on-screen keyboard on the microemulator which I suspect is also available on the touch screen phones!

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:21:38 PM

The keyboard is for touchscreen phones using inline editing only. It wont have a place on my phone.

Mad Scientistqlue # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:39:01 PM

Ok, it still needs some tweaking. :left:it runs better on my phone than in the microemulator!

Bad WolfCois # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:03:04 PM

Ah Kim.. See how the pasting works now

Knut Remi "DrLaunch" Løvlidrlaunch # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:23:30 PM

It works well on the Omnia HD. Hasn't frozen yet, like OM4 does. It's a bit slow however and needs some speed optimization. The on screen keyboard feels odd and responds slowly. It's OK for now however.

The tabbed browsing is a nice touch. I might use it to do research for longer texts. Otherwhise, I doubt I'll use it often.

Bad WolfCois # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:33:28 PM

Is there a way to skip to end of page?

Knut Remi "DrLaunch" Løvlidrlaunch # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:38:52 PM

On keypad phones, I'm guessing #3. On touch phones the page slides further when you flick your finger faster over the screen.

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:50:13 PM

Nope, no way to get right to the end instantly anymore. I do love the fact that clearing history keeps you on the same page now. Saves bookmarking or saving the page first.

Mad Scientistqlue # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:05:11 PM

They've removed some shorcuts and changed others. I miss the 'skip to the bottom' but I'm thrilled with this beta overall!

. This is virtually my default browser now! I use it on my phone and on my computer!

. I love the in-line text as it makes using it in the MicroEmulator more natural. y only problem is that, for some unknown reason, the MicroEmulator doesn't have any sort of carriage return option! There is no carriage return on the on-screen keyboard and the enter key behaves as an 'ok' key so no carriage return!

. It's not, technically, a bug as Opera Software don't intend for it to be used outside of a mobile phone!

. Ido like that I have access to special characters like, ääóòéê etc and ®©¤§ that I normally can't enter from my computer's keyboard!

. So it's win some, lose some situation with more pro's than con's!

Cleanclean # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:33:07 PM

Originally posted by Furie:

The long answer is a long and detailed discussion about whether we even need PC web browsers anymore.

Of course we still need PC browsers ... for all us folks who don't have those fancy phones!

(Want).

Dark FurieFurie # Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:48:11 PM

I wasn't talking about the applications.

I was talking about Puties themselves.

Cleanclean # Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:01:34 AM

I know. Still want.

Dark FurieFurie # Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:19:02 AM

Ah, the survival instinct.

There's a lesson somewhere on the community blog about using Mini as your browser on a PC. Looks quite easy and should be easy to adapt for this version too. Give it a try.

Charles SchlossChas4 # Thursday, September 17, 2009 2:03:11 AM

There was water

I am testing Opera Mini 5 beta in a java emulator

Mad Scientistqlue # Thursday, September 17, 2009 2:29:29 AM

I'll post a tutorial later today!

.
It works well under Ubuntu although there are some strange anomalous resource usage that appears sometimes.

.
The quick repair seems to be a reboot.

.
It only happened once but it virtually froze my computer!

.
I suspect that I had a rogue zombie or two putting along in the background but it was easier to just reboot than to try tracking them down.

.
Operamini5 beta is much more pc friendly due to the inline text editing than Operamini4.2 is.

53north # Thursday, September 17, 2009 8:03:03 AM

Yeah, mine downloaded as a 236Kb application, then after initialising it jumped to nearly 350Kb. Om4 got slightly bigger or smaller depending on history, bookmarks and saved pages - but not immediately doubling it's weight by half.. =o} It no longer feels like part of the phone, more like a video link into Mount Pleasant / Oslo.

MinaMinenow # Thursday, September 17, 2009 11:42:49 PM

I do like quite a bit about the 5.0 Beta.... I'm a creature of habit and having a tough time with getting used to it. Time will help, tho, and that isn't really a concern.

I'm almost ashamed to admit I'm on 4.2 now, because I am having some problems with the comment boxes. If I write my comment and want to go back into it before submitting, it closes my browser out completely! Happened many times in a row before I

just put the old browser up.

Has this happened to anyone else? I changed settings to fix the inline editing tooling around and it helped with other issues, but this remains!

Any ideas? That's one quirk I will have a hard time living with!

Dark FurieFurie # Friday, September 18, 2009 12:48:27 AM

Submit a bug report. It's probably a RAM issue, but Mini is notorious for not being compatible with this site.

MinaMinenow # Friday, September 18, 2009 12:50:48 AM

Irony at it's finest.

Will do, Mik.

KYrenKYren # Friday, September 18, 2009 7:25:29 AM

I am using only 4.2 until the next beta is released.

Bad WolfCois # Friday, September 18, 2009 10:00:07 AM

Mik.. Not a RAM issue.. Been running 5 beta ever since I got it.. I tried to paste something in after a long comment and it closes the browser each time and only when I try to do that..the browser doesn't even shut down when I disconnect my connection or run multiple applications.
The others close but 5beta is still there so I dunno..
Irritating beyond words as it makes the copy and paste function redundant at present.
Have you any idea to get to the private files on Saved Pages?
I can't find it as I changed folder to memory card..

53north # Friday, September 18, 2009 10:56:35 AM

If you mean designating folder to find saved pages it's in settings>advanced>saved pages..
Turning off inline editing allows native c+p.., if that helps.

Bad WolfCois # Friday, September 18, 2009 11:27:31 AM

No help yet

.. I know how to change it.
I just need to find the default folder when I first loaded the application.

Dark FurieFurie # Friday, September 18, 2009 3:17:33 PM

Chances are it's in the application files which are hidden on the device. I've had a look through and can't find them so far. If you want to get rid of them you'll have to uninstall, reboot then get it again.

Bad WolfCois # Saturday, September 19, 2009 2:52:22 PM

Ah I gave up actually.. Had to go searching for that stuff again..
Seems if you have a few tabs open and it goes super slugish even after clearing history..RAM still fine though..
Ever try opening pictures on gmail? I can't do it.

KYrenKYren # Saturday, September 19, 2009 2:59:05 PM

5 is really unstable on e71. It starts reinstalling whenever I start it.That's why I deleted it.

Mad Scientistqlue # Sunday, September 20, 2009 6:30:40 PM

Report, report, report.

.
That's the whole point of a beta!

.
I won't be using OM5 much untill the re-instate the sync function.

.
I rely too much on sync to give it up.

1 2 Next »

Showing comments 1 - 50 of 51.