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Opera Mobile

for Symbian and Windows Mobile

The wait is (almost) over

By Frode Hauge. Thursday, 26. June 2008, 20:09:51

, ,

We have some exciting news to share today. It's almost time to release Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile to the world. We thank you for your patience and support as we make what we (and many others) believe is the best browser for mobile phones. A release testing phase is underway now and the target date for the first beta is July 15th. You will be able to download it from opera.com just like you would any other versions of Opera.

Opera Mobile 9.5 will be based on the same browser engine as Opera 9.5 for desktop, and this is the reason why it has taken some time to get it ready. A new version of the browser engine will ensure that you can surf the Web with a browser supporting the latest and greatest in Web standards.

Some versions of Opera Mobile 9.5 are already shipping on great phones like the HTC Touch Diamond, and some of you have asked why we wouldn't be able to release it publically yet. As you probably know, releasing a version that works on a large variety of phones is more complex than making it work on one specific phone. You should also expect a few differences between the versions that are pre-installed on phones and the public version of Opera Mobile 9.5.

We'll have more details about the product in the near future. Thanks again, and we hope you're ready for some beta testing with us.

Hang in there!Leave no platform behind

Comments

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 20:15

Anonymous writes:

What about Symbian-based phones?

-.-

Kuja-IX 26. June 2008, 20:17

Why didn't you say that to us before ? We waited during a lot of time without any news, it was very annoying and, for some of us, changed our perception of Opera Software.

Did you read all the comments posted in the "Hang in there" post ? It wasn't nice at all to let us like that without saying a word.

piroxicam 26. June 2008, 20:25

Finally Frodo! Some news!
What about Symbian phones? We won't get the new Opera 9.5 for Symbian phones? And please don't wait another 2 months to answer this.

MrFukov 26. June 2008, 20:51

Woohoo... Finally some respond!

Now I can wait it peacefully.

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 20:56

Anonymous writes:

My god, if this is not available on Symbian I will be sooooooo pissed off. They don't even mention Symbian.

Doesn't Symbian have a bigger market share then Windows Mobile? How could they not even mention it?

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 21:00

Anonymous writes:

And why would anyone believe this date after what they pulled with that last blog entry? July 15th may mean November 15th from previous experience. And we won't hear back from them until September.

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 21:02

Fawaz writes:

Seriously if opera wont be available for symbian phones that will suck, do you expect us to be happy with opera mini while WM users having a desktop-like experience?

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 21:08

Anonymous writes:

Perhaps the tag line at the top of this page is a clue - "Opera Mobile for Symbian and Windows Mobile" :)

FataL 26. June 2008, 21:12

It's almost time to release Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile to the world.

How about Symbian? My SE P1i wants an upgrade from version 9!

piroxicam 26. June 2008, 21:17

Will be a huge, huge mistake if they don't develop for Symbian.
Symbian OS market share: 65%
Windows Mobile OS market share: 12%
I repeat. A huge, huge mistake.

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 21:24

Anonymous writes:

It certainly would be a huge mistake. And this is what keeps the Iphone superior in a way to the Nokia N95. There just isn't a great browser that does it all for it.

Maybe this is Microsoft communism at work, where they paid off Opera to release Windows Mobile and ignore Symbian. That market share that you quoted seriously could change based on that alone. I know I'm not content having a Symbian device at the moment, and this is the only reason.

ARJWright 26. June 2008, 21:40

Wow, As much as I like Opera as a browser some of you are really throwing out there some unrealistic expectations from a company that doesn't owe you anything but through their business model provides something for you (and freely in most cases).

Like many as well, I await news of Opera Mobile for more than just Windows Mobile devices. However, I understand how development works. Designing for Windows Mobile is probably a good deal easier than any other mobile platform for Opera because of the similarities in Windows and Windows Mobile. It made sense to go that route, and I'm sure that the pressure from Apple on other mobile manufacturers to get it done without Safari or Webkit made for a nice investment into Opera.

When the news happens it does. There's more to life than these browsers, mobile tech, etc. Its hard to see that sometimes, but we live a fuller life when we let developers do their thing, and when appropriate, respond with the kinds of comments that encourage them to keep going.

ares07 26. June 2008, 22:36

Like it was said READ THE TAGLINE AT THE TOP! It says for symbian and wm, so why people are assuming it only be released for wm?

Opera 9.5 has been publicly demoed in wm and symbian uiq phones, so the beta should be, at least, for those 2

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 22:50

Anonymous writes:

"Like it was said READ THE TAGLINE AT THE TOP! It says for symbian and wm, so why people are assuming it only be released for wm?"

maybe this why..

"We have some exciting news to share today. It's almost time to release Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile to the world."

my guess it will be for symbian also at the same time

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 22:57

Anonymous writes:

hope...they will

ares07 26. June 2008, 23:11

My bad, was reading this quickly in the phone, and did not notice.

But its strange if its only for wm. Opera needs to come out and explain this

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 23:14

nzgeek writes:

----- Begin Quote -----
@ARJWright
Wow, As much as I like Opera as a browser some of you are really throwing out there some unrealistic expectations from a company that doesn't owe you anything but through their business model provides something for you (and freely in most cases).
----- End Quote -----

I hate to break this to you, but all of the newer Symbian S60-based phones (S60 v3, a.k.a. OS 9.0+) have their own browser and do not come with Opera. This means that a large number of people have paid for their copy of Opera. (Even when Opera is included on the phone, the manufacturer still has to pay a license fee.)

I bought a copy of Opera because it works better for pages that contain a lot of other images. It wasn't a lot of money, but I still would expect some sort of software maintenance schedule.

Opera 8.65 has been the "new" product for at least 2 years now. In that time, they should have released at least a minor update with a couple more small features. This at least proves that the product is being worked on.

(And if you think that 2 years isn't a long time, Microsoft has about 3 years between *operating system* releases. That's several orders of magnitude more code than a browser, requires translation to more than 20 languages, and has to work with a huge amount of existing software and hardware.)

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 23:21

Anonymous writes:

at least they responded finally.

Anonymous 26. June 2008, 23:29

Surur writes:

I think WM needs it more. Nokia already have a greak webkit based browser, while WM phones suffer from PIE :(

ares07 26. June 2008, 23:30

However, even now they blew it. Even if symbian version is delayed, or whatever, WHY dont they say whats happening with that version?

Investor 26. June 2008, 23:31

Guess no Old Symbian version...

The input technology which is expected to dominate over the next few years is the touchscreen – following the success of the iPhone, all of the major mobile phone manufacturers are lining up their own touch-based devices. Devices with an all-touchscreen interface have been a popular goal for some time, but it is only now that technology is catching up... http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/2008061532033/nick-sim/the-key-to-rethinking-input-technologies.html


Symbian UIQ was in line with future, however now that UIQ is *gone* there is no more a market for Opera ?...


(awaiting New Symbian Platform... )

ares07 26. June 2008, 23:38

Investor, in terns of market for opera, uiq is not gone. There is a good number of uiq3 devices out there, and g900 is selling well. Also, uiq owners tend to be power users and buy software.

Investor 27. June 2008, 01:29

It's a puzzle...

Why didn't SE pre-install Opera Mobile 9.5 on G900/G700 (UIQ 3.0 devices), released in June, just like HTC Diamond ? Opera had a beta ready in Mars (video of P1 running 9.5), so could have delivered a final by June.

Makes no sense, assuming 9.5 can run on UIQ 3.0. However, if 9.5 by agreement was developed to run on UIQ 3.3 (P5), then that's different, but history.

Now SE project P5 is cancelled, and now UIQ is under Nokia's control.

Opera has no (new) agreement with Nokia for Mobile 9.5.

Wouldn't Opera need support from Symbian (Nokia) in order for Opera to develop a 9.5 version for those older (UIQ 3.0) phones ???...

I believe it's Nokia's call, 100%.

Sreeramu 27. June 2008, 01:53

Soo bad ...

Sreeramu 27. June 2008, 02:13

Fhauge we need one more edit in this post . . . . .

Edit:Opera mobile 9.5 is only for windows mobiles not for symbian mobiles

greencloudz 27. June 2008, 02:20

Thanks fhauge. As is usual your briefing makes
sense, is helpful and is well received.

We'll see you soon; within the three weeks target,
should everything go according to plan.

But even so, any needed "delay" makes sense now.

Very Well Done on desktop Opera 9.5's success.
Its a beautiful product.
green :cheers:

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 03:10

Anonymous writes:

No Symbian .Opera you have gone nuts.(lol)

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 03:14

Push writes:

Mozilla would seize this opportunity for SYMBIAN phones

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 05:18

Anonymous writes:

Fhauge we need one more info in this post

is it for symbian also?!!!
pls guys lets all ask Fhauge for this info :devil:

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 05:37

Anonymous writes:

there si the posib that they want to make it more clearly that NOW THERE IS A WINDOWS NOKIA BROSER FOR YOU WINDOWS MOBILE USERS" (symbian already know that so no point in mention it again ....hope..)
personal i think wm sucks big time and i believe that in the next future in the spirit that micros has done it before with desktop version you will get an "you call has been terminated please ACTIVATE you version of windows mobile now" :D also "you need huge amount of memory to run this crappy small application" and also "waring warning there are tones of viruses on your mobile" and "next windows mobile the breakstone product now available. The wow is here the new windows mobile vista version (system req. you need at least 2 smartphones to run this os.)"

but like always:

windows our future is here ....in your wallet!
and we just buy it because we are force to do so.... buy other software companys who "can't" port their application on linux wich is by far the most complete os out there and now by far more easy to use and upgrade ....but life is life na na na nana ....as a song say..

so opera so here a nice business opportunity and i can understand that Because ITS ALL ABOUT MONEY!!



ps: agree with the you so

"Fhauge we need one more info in this post

is it for symbian also?!!!"

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 05:38

Anonymous writes:

..windows nokia browser :)) sorry for that but you get the idea

prking 27. June 2008, 07:18

How bizarre not to mention Symbian, Opera Mobile's biggest market.

Le()niD 27. June 2008, 07:32

Waiting for S60 support

Qasibr 27. June 2008, 07:54

Fhauge said he'd have more details in the future. Details are *sorely* missing at the moment. What do you guys accomplish by giving only bits of information that leave alot of questions unanswered and open to speculation?

Is a Symbian release planned for a later date? Is Opera planning on skipping S60v3 and waiting for the S60v5 Touch interface? What about current UIQ 3 and 3.3 products, if Opera's planning on doing a touchscreen-only release, do they get 9.5? What about non-touchscreen Windows Mobile smartphones, are they out of luck too?

It would just take a sentence or two to clear out all these issues. If you're planning not to release a Symbian version, or if the plan is to just release it on a later date, how about just telling us now? Why make us wait in anticipation for another "couple of weeks".

S60 does have a webkit based browser, but opera mobile can carry it's own weight and compete effectively with it. When Pocket IE gets updated in the not too distant future, would Opera pull out from that platform too, making 9.5 the last winmo release? Why though? I'm guessing sales on the S60 platform haven't been too good in the recent months.

The Windows Mobile version was released less than a year ago, and sales are probably better. Symbian still holds a much bigger marketshare, and just because the old version isn't selling well doesn't mean the new version won't. Backing out of Symbian because there's already a free browser doesn't make much sense either, Windows Mobile's got Minimo, Skyfire, the soon to be released Firefox Mobile, just to name a few, and they're all free.

We'd all appreciate some answers.

ares07 27. June 2008, 07:58

Its indeed bizarre: having the sony ericsson p1, a symbian uiq device, in the banner of this blog, showing the same phone in videos running opera 9.5, and now not mentionin symbian uiq regarding the beta testing. Whats happening Opera?

prking 27. June 2008, 08:20

Qasibr, it may not have sold on Symbian because 8.65 doesn't work properly with many S60 v3 phones. Problems range from refusing to start, through not being able to move the pointer to smaller irritations on other models. This makes it even stranger that Symbian is being ignored.

Qasibr 27. June 2008, 09:30

That's exactly my point. Opera shouldn't look at sales on the Symbian platform and decide that now that S60's got that webkit browser, Opera Mobile won't be very sucessful here.

Mobile 8.65 works decently on the original S60v3.0 platform, and products based on that were released in 2006. The fact that Opera Mobile's last release on the Symbian platform's over two years old, and the fact that Opera Mobile is borderline unusable on the newer devices can't be looked over.

Wouldn't it be great if Opera decided to be open with it's end users, and cleared this mess and confusion up once and for all.

Furie 27. June 2008, 11:42

So all us Symbian users agree it was worth the wait then? That's it, I'm activating my suicide monkeys. :bomb:monkey

Garion 27. June 2008, 12:52

Opera - will there be a symbian version?

ares07 27. June 2008, 13:10

Is it too hard to answe this simple question???

Grizlupo 27. June 2008, 13:18

Jesus, people...

I think the needed phrase here is... "thank-you"

We (at least I) have been complaining about the lack of communication from Opera about the status of OM 9.5. Opera has now responded with an explanation and a new target date.

Thank you, Opera.

Yes, the Symbian issue is an important one (although I honestly can't imagine they would release OM9.5 without a Smybian version and I think that is what he meant by "a version that works on a large variety of phones"), but July 15 is about a couple [meaning two :wink: ] weeks away. Let's see what is available then and, meanwhile, enjoy the Summer.

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 13:26

Anonymous writes:

Agreed, Grizlupo. Everyone is just so angry because they waited so long that this announcement just isnt sitting well. I use windows mobile and was seriously considering getting in line july 11th to switch to the i-phone. however, this(Opera Mobile 9.5) just might make me stay.

GoJoeGo 27. June 2008, 13:54

Symbian is a mess right now. UIQ and S60 are dead ends. The unified platform might be a more tempting target for Opera.

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 14:15

Anonymous writes:

If they do not release a Symbian version I am uninstalling Opera 9.5 from my desktop PC as well.

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 14:41

Anonymous writes:

Symbian is for girls. Get real! Girls do not pay for soft. Windows = business = $$$

ares07 27. June 2008, 14:49

"Symbian is a mess right now"...right, and still it completely trumps WM worldwide in sales sistematicaly...imagine when its out of the "mess"

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 15:17

Hardeep Singh writes:

If you read through the entire page, you would find there is just one question being asked by almost all users except one or two.

Don't they still get it that Windows Mobile doesn't matter and it's the Symbian version that people are looking forward to.

I've already lost all hopes of Netfront ver 3.5 for Symbian and now this. Come On UCWEB, seize the opportunity.

Furie 27. June 2008, 15:32

Joe, it's most likely that the unified platform is going to be an extension of s60 with some features added from UIQ and MOAP. It should be fully backwards compatible with s60 3rd edition.

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 15:51

dave writes:

Hardeep Singh, I understand the frustration from you and others but don't take it out on Windows Mobile users. I like windows mobile and yes I own a wm device. It may not be as used worldwide but Opera obviously values it enough to offer a version, correct? I might be in the minority being a WM user, but I don't take pleasure in this announcement at the expense of others, nor would I slam WM users at the displeasure of Symbian users. just my opinion though.

Anonymous 27. June 2008, 18:11

Anonymous writes:

by the way fhaunge, Thanks for coming back and adding the update yesterday. As much as there has been a lot of tension and terse comments going around, I appreciate you providing us feedback. It should be noted that Opera controls the release date, not the messenger.

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