Slashdot Mirror
Web Browser Wars Go Mobile
alphadogg writes "A new generation of mobile Web browsers is finally making the Web a reality on handheld devices.
The latest example is last week's beta launch of Opera Mobile 9.5, a native Web browser for high-end smartphones. It's an evolutionary release for the Norwegian software company, but it comes just days after Apple's iPhone 3G, with its highly capable Safari browser, went on sale. Other brand-new entrants, such as Mobile Firefox and Skyfire, are expected later this year, at least in beta form. But the evolving mobile browsers are only one part of the picture. Mobile browsing is affected by the client hardware, ranging from the processor to the kind of wireless network being used, all of which have improved markedly. It's also affected by the design of Web sites being targeted, and there's new attention being focused on optimizing these sites for mobile users."
Are you kidding? "very slow 3g connections"? I guess you don't remember when 14.4 kbps modems were considered blazing fast because to me bringing up most websites in Safari on my iPhone 3G is very snappy unless I'm somewhere with bad coverage so that my phone has to resort to connecting using Edge.
Also, the user interface when using Safari on the iPhone 3G is vastly superior to anything else I've experienced on a cellphone, including a bunch of Opera-using ones. My last phone came with Opera and I really tried to like it but the UI made me want to smash my phone into little pieces....
/Mikael
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
The writing in the description is poorly constructed. When someone reads "It's an evolutionary release for the Norwegian software company, but it comes just days after Apple's iPhone 3G, with its highly capable Safari browser, went on sale" they would reasonably assume that in the context of the article, this "Browser War" has suddenly sprung up, and that all of the opening shots are being fired right now.
No they wouldn't. Why do so many people read things with the attitude of, "well, *I* understand what they said, but this is going to be confusing to the average reader [who is naturally not as smart as me] and thus I must step forward and defend these poor souls who will naturally draw wrong conclusions that only super-smart people [like me] will realize aren't true."
Of course, the "highly capable" Safari browser has been out for a year on the pre-3G iPhones too, a distinction that the text confuses terribly.
No it doesn't. It mentions that a new generation of iPhone is out, in context with a new version of Opera, and that entirely new browsers are coming. These are relevant facts, and there's nothing confused about them, despite your assertion that people [other than you] will misread what was said.
The 'browser war' has been mobile since the first day God crapped out a WAP-enabled cell phone, and just as humans went from sticks and rocks to atomic weapons, the years of mobile browsing 'warfare' has progressed to a point where the phones are almost within eyeshot of being as capable as the desktop machines.
Yup. And with a new generation of devices coming out with certain existing browsers, along with entirely new browsers being released soon, it's going to heat up quick.
To declare this a 'new war' is disingenuous at best, and manipulative of page hits for the purpose of generating advertising revenue at worst.
Good thing they didn't do that, then.
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Except Mini can only interact with a very limited amount of the host OS. With 4.1 it can finally read and save files, but it's a pain. Its saved pages require converters to view on any other browser. I can't set links to open in Mini by default without serious modifications. It can only use a limited amount of system resources (can't display all images on "heavier" websites)
The fact that everything goes through Opera's proxy server is good for speed (usually, I've had plenty of times where it sat processing for over a minute on large pages), but do you really want your bank info being pulled up there? And what is this very slow 3G connection you're talking about? Pulling up slashdot on Opera Mobile 9.5 on AT&T's 3G takes about 6 seconds. Formatted perfectly too. Mini is great for simplified browsing, but Mobile is just so much nicer for "real" browsing.
Opera Mini kind of sucks, it gets all crashy on my Centro, yet no other mobile browser is coming out for Palm. I like the feel of Opera Mini, but the proxy, or the fact that it's Java, means that pages load much more slowly than with Blazer.
Does anyone have any suggestions, beyond cranking up the memory available for Java apps and threads (which I've done, and it made a huge positive difference), that might make it more stable?
I like music
Although I'm not sure why this is relevant, it might be worth noting that the Nokia N60 uses WebKit (the same engine as Safari) by default, as will all the Android phones. It's also at the core of many other applications. What's more, there have been several reports that Safari has the highest mobile market share in terms of actual use, rather than mere installed base.
E pluribus unum