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Opera Mobile becomes the first mobile browser to pass the Acid2 test

Published May 24th, 2006 11:06 AM EDT By Daniel Goldman

Opera Mobile for the Series 60 (S60) mobile phones has passed the Acid2 test in its internal builds (See screenshot below), according to Gerdur Jonsdottir, an Opera developer working on the browser.

This makes it the very first mobile browser to pass the Acid2 test.

“This is a version still in its early stages but this is definitely promising”, says Gerdur.

The Web Standards Project (WaSP) released the Acid2 test, a test page for web browsers. It has been written to help browser vendors make sure their products correctly support features that are part of web standards.

Acid2 tests for features that are part of existing standards but haven’t been supported by major browsers. Acid2 is a complex web page. Though not all web standards are tested, it uses features that are not in common use yet, because of lack of support, and it crams many tests into one page.

Opera 9, Konqueror, and Apple’s Safari browser have passed the Acid2 test on their desktop browsers.


Screenshot of an internal build of
Opera Mobile passing the Acid2 test

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9 Comments

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  1. 1 Kelson May 24th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Linux Linux

    Excellent!

    But how different is Opera Mobile from Opera Desktop? I thought they used the same rendering engine. Is this just a matter of merging the changes from the desktop version into the mobile version?

  2. 2 Daniel Goldman May 24th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows 2000

    Kelson, I don’t think it would make sense to say that the rendering is the same for desktop and mobile browsers.

    The core, which I believe is the parser and DOM structure, is the same, the rendering, however, is different — since Opera’s mobile browsers use the ERA architecture, which eliminates the horizontal scrollbar by reformatting the page. So the formatting (redering) is different.

    Perhaps one of the Opera developers can shed more light on this.

  3. 3 kL May 24th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Mac OS Mac OS X

    I always thought that we don’t need .mobi domain. I’d rather see Ireland give its TLD to some primitive browser :)

  4. 4 FataL May 25th, 2006 at 8:49 am
    using Opera Opera 8.54 on Windows Windows XP

    Opera 9, Konqueror, and Apple’s Safari browser have passed the Acid2 test on their desktop browsers.

    Daniel, you forgot to mension iCab ;)

  5. 5 Ramunas May 25th, 2006 at 9:33 am
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows 98

    Cool :)

  6. 6 MadJo May 25th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
    using Mozilla Firefox Mozilla Firefox 1.5 on Linux Linux

    I just tried this, and for me, Opera 9 beta 2 passed the Acid2 test.

    I’ve put up screenshots on my website.

  7. 7 Think May 26th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows XP

    Daniel,

    your wrong about the rendering engine being different. Its exactly the same as on desktop. The ERA feature your refer to also exists in the desktop browser.

    /t

  8. 8 Daniel Goldman May 26th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
    using Opera Opera 9.00 on Windows Windows 2000

    Think, so how than would you explain Kelson’s point above?

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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