by Stan Schroeder
Opera Mini, the Java-based mobile browser from Opera (
) (which means it can run on any phone, regardless of platform, that runs Java ME), has a new version out: Opera Mini 5 Beta. It brings a number of improvements compared to the previous major version, Opera Mini 4.2; if your phone is not an iPhone (which uses the fantastic Safari () for web browsing), you should try the new version out, as it blows away most built-in mobile browsers.
The most important new feature is tabbed browsing; I’ve tried it out on my Sony Ericsson P1i, and it looks really slick, taking cue from the way it’s done on the iPhone. Fans of Opera’s Speed Dial feature (which lets you quickly open your favorite websites from a grid of thumbnails) will be happy to see that it was included as well. I’ve never used that feature before, but I have to admit that on a phone like the P1i, being able to quickly access 9 sites that you often use is great.
Other important new features include password management, and better optimization for touchscreen phones, meaning that at the bottom of the screen you now have larger icons for important commands: back, forward, refresh, tab management and settings. There’s also a very functional virtual keyboard for entering text, something that was sorely missing in the previous version.
What everyone probably wants to know is: are the web pages displayed better, and is it faster than the previous version? The answers are yes, and yes. When it comes to web page rendering, although Opera Mini 4.2 was already miles ahead of the built-in mobile IE, it still wasn’t the perfect browsing experience. On the new version, it’s comparable to the iPhone, which is pretty much the highest praise I can give it. As far as speed goes, it feels snappier, although not drastically faster than before. But, when it comes to speed, any improvement is very welcome.
If you want to try Opera Mini 5 beta out, visit the address m.opera.com/next using your phone’s default Web browser.
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