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Opera Mini 2.0 Released

Published May 3rd, 2006 9:20 AM EDT By Daniel Goldman

Opera today released its first major upgrade to Opera Mini, Opera Mini 2.0.

Opera Mini is designed to enable the web on mobile phones that would normally be incapable of running a Web browser.

Instead of requiring the phone to process Web pages, Opera Mini uses a remote server to pre-process the page before sending it to the phone, which makes it perfect for phones with very low resources, or low bandwidth connections.

Pages are reformatted and compressed before being sent to the phone, so they only use about one fifth of their normal amount of traffic.

The main new feature to Opera Mini 2.0 is the ability to download MP3s, ringtones, images and other Web content directly to their mobile phone.

New capabilities in Opera Mini should help businesses take the pain out of mobile commerce. Opera Mini now supports seamless mobile commerce via SMS. For example, users can click directly on the Web site to purchase ringtones, games and other content which will then be delivered as an SMS. The charge will appear in the phone bill as an SMS with the price set by the seller. This form of mobile commerce - direct from the browser to SMS - simplifies the transaction for both the business and the consumer.

Since its release in January of this year, more than 2.5 million users downloaded Opera Mini.
Opera Mini runs on all phones that support Java, which most already do. It is estimated that there are more than 700 million Java enabled mobile phones in the market.

New features in Opera Mini 2.0 include:

  • Content download: Download images, MP3s, etc. directly to the phone.
  • New skins: Make Opera Mini your own by selecting from several new and bold skins to suit your mood.
  • Multisearch: Opera Mini offers advanced searching functionality by allowing users to select extra search engines for the home page.
  • Speed dial: Bookmarks displayed on the home page are assigned a shortcut key combination, giving users faster and easier access to their favorite sites.
  • Visual navigation: Quick and smooth horizontal panning when browsing backwards or forwards.

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Download Opera Mini 2.0

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10 Comments

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  1. 1 Wilbert May 3rd, 2006 at 9:58 am
    using Opera Opera 8.51 on Windows Windows XP

    “Opera today released it’s first major upgrade to Opera Mini”

    *gasp*

  2. 2 Daniel Goldman May 3rd, 2006 at 10:19 am
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows 2000

    Wilbert, thanks — I corrected it.

  3. 3 Ramunas May 3rd, 2006 at 10:46 am
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Linux Linux

    This version rocks :)

  4. 4 Daniel May 3rd, 2006 at 12:30 pm
    using Camino Camino 1.0 on Mac OS Mac OS X

    I just tested it, but I didn’t think it was any better than the old version.

    My own Website rendered a little better though.

  5. 5 Daniel Goldman May 3rd, 2006 at 1:33 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows 2000

    Opera Mini 2.0 is available in the following languages:

    Opera Mini International
    Opera Mini American English
    Opera Mini British English
    Opera Mini English (India)
    Opera Mini ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
    Opera Mini Deutsch
    Opera Mini Español-Castellano
    Opera Mini Español
    Opera Mini Português
    Opera Mini Português Brasileiro
    Opera Mini Français
    Opera Mini Canadien Français
    Opera Mini Italiano
    Opera Mini Nederlands
    Opera Mini Frysk
    Opera Mini Afrikaans
    Opera Mini Eλληνικά
    Opera Mini Svenska
    Opera Mini Norsk (bokmål)
    Opera Mini Norsk (nynorsk)
    Opera Mini Dansk
    Opera Mini Suomi
    Opera Mini Türkçe
    Opera Mini Magyar
    Opera Mini Polski
    Opera Mini Русский
    Opera Mini Čeština
    Opera Mini Български
    Opera Mini 日本語
    Opera Mini 简体中文
    Opera Mini 繁體中文
    Opera Mini 한국어

  6. 6 Federico May 3rd, 2006 at 10:03 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows XP

    Excuse me, but has the “rendering engine” been updated too? If so, has the Opera mini simulator been updated too?

  7. 7 Federico May 3rd, 2006 at 10:23 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows XP

    Forget what I said: Opera mini has been updated.

  8. 8 Jimmi May 4th, 2006 at 4:22 am
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows XP

    This version also supports new codepages (so now we can read hungarian homepages correctly, yeah), nice new effects (page up/down, backward), page caching and http://FTP. It rocks. Font smoothing is missing though :(

  9. 9 MarkB May 5th, 2006 at 11:14 am
    using Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.1 on Windows Windows XP

    I tried it with a view to getting AJAX based apploications working on it, but it seems that the setTimeout function is not implemented :( Anyone any idea why that is?

    More details in my blog http://happyworm.com/blog/?p=4

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Opera Watch, an Opera browser blog, is run by Daniel Goldman, who used to work for Opera Software as a Technical Evangelist.

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About Opera


Q: What is Opera?
A: Opera is one of the most powerful Web browsers around. A Web browser is the program that allows you to view Web pages. Opera is well known for innovation for PC browsers and bringing the full web to mobile phones and devices.

Q: Is Opera free?
A: Absolutely free.

Q: Why should I download a browser? Doesn't my computer already come with one for free?
A: It's about getting more out of the time you spend on the internet. Opera is designed to be much faster than these browsers and gives you powerful features that the default browser lacks. Default browsers like Internet Explorer are also more likely to be subjected to dangerous software such as viruses and spyware.

Q: Will Opera keep me safe from fraudulent websites and malicious hackers?
A: According to Secunia, a respected firm that tracks security in browsers, Opera has the best reputation and track record when it comes to browser security. Keeping our users safe from security vulnerabilities, fraudulent websites, and malicious hackers is a top priority for Opera. Opera is maintained by hundreds of engineers, developers and security experts who are constantly looking to make the browser even safer.

Q: Doesn't Opera copy all of their features from other browsers?
A: Absolutely not. In fact, many of the features that are popular in other browsers today were invented and pioneered by Opera a long time ago. Opera invented the precursor to tabs (in 1994), Page Zoom (1994), was the first browser to block pop-up ads (2000), first to add a Search field in the browser toolbar (2000), Sessions (1996), deleting private data (2000), Mouse Gestures (2000), User JavaScript (2005), BitTorrent support (2005), Widgets (2006), Speed Dial (2007), and much more.

Q: Does Opera support extensions, such as those found in Firefox?
A: Much of the functionality provided through Firefox extensions is already built directly into Opera, so you don't have to download additional extensions in Opera. In addition, Opera is highly customizable and supports all standard plug-ins.

Q: Can I also use Opera on my mobile phone?
A: Yes. And your Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS or almost any connected device and mobile phones. Opera Mobile oftens comes preinstalled from the manufacturers, but if it doesn't you can install Opera Mini which runs on nearly all phones.

Q: This all sounds great, so how do I download Opera?
A: -- Opera on your computer
-- Opera Mini on your phone
-- Opera Mobile on your phone
-- or learn more about Opera at www.opera.com