Our core department has released a new version of Opera Presto which contained support for Opera Turbo, more advanced web standards, Gears and several other improvements. We wanted to make this available to our users as soon as possible, and chose to upgrade the core version in Opera Mobile. Updating the browser core is a big step forward for us, and it felt natural to change the version number.
We have to upgrade to a new browser core as often as possible. Several products using a wide range of browser core versions introduces a lot of overhead (several version of core has to be maintained and worked on at the same time), so we try to use the most current stable core version at all times.
With regards to Symbian S60, I can only tell you that we're working on it.. but I'll also add that it's really awesome, and we can't wait to let you guys play with it
I'm Helene, and I work as a project manager in the Windows Mobile team at Opera Software. We are a dedicated team working with developing the Opera Mobile browser for Windows Mobile touchscreen devices.
My group works with the consumer product and new feature development in particular, and we are excited about the opportunity to focus on new technology and our end users. We're happy to announce our upcoming release: Opera Mobile 9.7 Beta for Windows Mobile touchscreen devices.
The Opera Mobile 9.7 Beta will include the following great features:
Improved rendering engine Opera Mobile 9.7 Beta uses the Presto 2.2 rendering engine, which will also be used in the Opera 10 desktop browser. Presto 2.2 offers faster page loading, and we're excited to use this state-of-the-art rendering engine and be at the forefront of standards support with 100/100 on Acid 3.
Opera Turbo Finally we can show you Opera Turbo on mobile! Opera Turbo accelerates the browsing experience by reducing bandwidth consumption up to 80%. Many of you will be familiar with Opera's compression technology from using Opera Mini, and with Opera Mobile 9.7 you'll get the best of both worlds - a full-fledged browser with extra Turbo capabilities. It's not the full version of Opera Turbo yet (yes, that's a Beta feature in a Beta release), but we couldn't wait to show you this cool feature.
Improved Widget Manager Opera Widgets are small, handy Web applications that run locally on your mobile phone. Our new Widget Manager has improved usability and design, and runs independently from the browser.
Gears Gears is a Google open source project that enables more powerful web applications, by adding new features to your web browser. Read more about Gears on Opera Labs.
OpenGL ES Hardware acceleration with OpenGL ES support, ensuring smoother scrolling, panning and a more fluid user interface.
Also, we've tried to iron out some of the major issues with the 9.51 Beta, among other things:
Installation on storage card is now possible, and the Beta happily coexists with preinstalled versions of Opera Mobile.
Better IME support (although a lot of non-standard 3rd party IME applications still make this a difficult task).
Better performance and feedback when clicking links.
We look forward to sharing this great product with you, so stay tuned
PS: If you're in Las Vegas during CTIA, make sure to drop by the Opera booth (6724 in Central Hall) to test out a preview of Opera Mobile 9.7.
WIDGETIZE