Opera Mini 5 Browser Final Version Available

Hey,

For those of you who have been using the beta version of Opera Mini Browser 5, the final version is available for download. For those who have not tried it, give it a whirl. The final version features Opera Link, which syncronizes your bookmarks,etc from Opera desktop version. Also, RSS feeds works in this version too. The web pages I browsed loaded very fast and with no problems. Tabbed browsing works great too. If you want to know more, cruise on over to Opera's web site and find out more.

Doc

Accepted answers

StreetDocRN

Hi, all,

I installed Opera 5 final version yesterday. I have put it through the paces, testing it on various web sites. First, let me say, I have used Opera Mini v 4.2 on my Pearl for a couple of years and then on my Tour, with no problems. I ran the OM 5 beta versions, testing it on my Tour, with a few minor problems. I also have Opera 10 browser on my PC, which runs well. I use the Opera Link feature to syncronize my bookmarks, RSS feeds, speed dial, etc between my PC and Tour. The sync feature was not activated by Opera on the beta 5 versions. However, it is active for the final version of OM 5. Here is what I have noticed thus far.

1. Download of OM 5 overwrites OM 4.2, not the beta versions. It is best to backup your bookmarks and RSS feeds to your PC to Opera 10, if you have it installed. If you use Windows IE 8, you can click on File, Import/Export, Import from another Browser, and select Opera. Do this so you don't loose your bookmarks or RSS feeds.

2. Intallation was easy enough. No hitches noticed.

3. The pretty dark colored loading screen you noticed in Opera Mini 5 beta is gone, replaced with the same loading screen as OM 4.2.

4. Navigation is different than 4.2. You now have tabbed browsing. This can be cool if you like it, if not, it will take some getting used to. Shortcuts are available by pressing the * button.

5. OM 5 is touted as being "fast" and will make your browsing experience overall faster. Not for me. I did not notice any big speed difference. Web pages load by default full pages, like on your desktop. You select an area of interest and click the trackball to zoom into.

**6. I "starred" this item because it is of importance. I did have a lockup of the browser. It simply froze while trying to load a page. I tried to navigate to close the browser, but controls would not respond. I could only press the Blackberry Menu key to hold down and get the multi task panel, which allowed me to go to my homescreen. I checked, my BB Tour was not locked, only the OM 5 browser. I had to pull the battery to reset. I later found the problem is with the sync feature called Opera Link. Opera Link is what allows you to sync your bookmarks, RSS feeds, speed dial, etc with your Opera 10 desktop. I read in the Opera forums of this happening to a few other users. This is a known issue with Opera's folks, and will be addressed in a future update. If you don't use the Opera Link, you should be fine.

7. You can not change the color of the browser as you could with OM 4.2. One of the features in 4.2 was the ability to change your browser's color on the top and border. Oh, well, purely asthetics.

8. You can not change the Blackberry's default browser from the native BB browser. This controlled by the BB OS software, not by Opera or any other browser. This is actually a good idea in my opinion because if you download a file such as a theme or ringtone, the Opera browser would probably not be recognized by the server you were downloading from and might cause problems.

Overall, it is nice to see someone doing something with a browser for the Blackberry. A lot of BB users use the internet feature of their device for surfing the net. They want pages to load fast and accurate. I am curious to see what RIM has in store for a browser for OS 6 which might be down the road next year (or sooner). I know, I know, Verizon has not even give Tour owners 5.0 yet. That's another thread for discussion...

Anyways, I just wanted to share my findings for Opera Mini 5.0 final version which was released yesterday. Some of you may be thinking of downloading and installing, and I just wanted to give you my findings thus far. Good luck.

Doc

All comments

StreetDocRN

Hi, all,

2. Intallation was easy enough. No hitches noticed.

3. The pretty dark colored loading screen you noticed in Opera Mini 5 beta is gone, replaced with the same loading screen as OM 4.2.

4. Navigation is different than 4.2. You now have tabbed browsing. This can be cool if you like it, if not, it will take some getting used to. Shortcuts are available by pressing the * button.

7. You can not change the color of the browser as you could with OM 4.2. One of the features in 4.2 was the ability to change your browser's color on the top and border. Oh, well, purely asthetics.

Doc

DSLSPTR

Does anybody know if using a "socket" connection on OM5 works? I was never able to use it in OM5Beta. I could only use http.

SFObrien

DSLSPTR wrote:
Does anybody know if using a "socket" connection on OM5 works? I was never able to use it in OM5Beta. I could only use http.

Yes it does.

SFObrien

Hey StreetDoc,

Can you send your IE8 bookmarks to Opera on the phone? I had read a while back you could but can find no way to do it. Other than rebuilding a bookmark list it and can't make it default it runs very well on my device. Definitely better than BlackBerry Browser.

StreetDocRN

SFObrien wrote:
Hey StreetDoc,

Can you send your IE8 bookmarks to Opera on the phone? I had read a while back you could but can find no way to do it. Other than rebuilding a bookmark list it and can't make it default it runs very well on my device. Definitely better than BlackBerry Browser.

Hi,

I do not think you can send your bookmarks directly to Opera Mini from IE8. You can install the free version of Opera 10 for desktop and import them to Opera for desktop. Then, place them in the Opera Mobile folder in Opera 10's bookmark section and use Opera Link to sync your settings to OM 5. It works for me.

Doc

JB21386

StreetDocRN wrote:
Hey,
For those of you who have been using the beta version of Opera Mini Browser 5, the final version is available for download. For those who have not tried it, give it a whirl. The final version features Opera Link, which syncronizes your bookmarks,etc from Opera desktop version. Also, RSS feeds works in this version too. The web pages I browsed loaded very fast and with no problems. Tabbed browsing works great too. If you want to know more, cruise on over to Opera's web site and find out more.
Doc

I have been using Opera Mini 5 for about 2 weeks now and I love it. I love being able to use the tabs! So far I have only found two very minor things.

1.) Pressing "t" to move to the top of the page or "b" to move to the bottom of the page do not work like in the native BlackBerry browser.

2.) If I have Opera Mini open and the click on a link in my email for example and select "open in opera mini" it opens the browser, but not the page. It did on a link once, but normally it does not. If I have Opera Mini closed before clicking on the link and selecting "open in opera mini" then it does open the page in Opera Mini. Not a big deal, but slightly annoying.

Over all, it is great and I would recommend it to any one that uses their blackberry for web browsing on a regular basis!

SFObrien

StreetDocRN wrote:
SFObrien wrote:
Hey StreetDoc,

Can you send your IE8 bookmarks to Opera on the phone? I had read a while back you could but can find no way to do it. Other than rebuilding a bookmark list it and can't make it default it runs very well on my device. Definitely better than BlackBerry Browser.

Hi,
I do not think you can send your bookmarks directly to Opera Mini from IE8. You can install the free version of Opera 10 for desktop and import them to Opera for desktop. Then, place them in the Opera Mobile folder in Opera 10's bookmark section and use Opera Link to sync your settings to OM 5. It works for me.
Doc

Thanks Doc, think I will stay with IE8 and just add bookmarks to Opera on the device as I visit the sites.