Opera auditions for iPhone browser spot Opera Software will be demonstrating its eponymous browser on Apple's iPhone next week, but don't expect to see it popping up in iTunes any time soon. The announcement comes ahead of Mobile World Congress, the industry's annual shindig in Barcelona, where Opera Software will be demonstrating Opera Mini running on an iPhone to …
It's a load of rubbish anyway, because it's hardly going to confuse users who will have to specifically look for alternative web browsers. The REAL reason is that they don't want other people releasing browsers that stops people from using Safari on it, or maybe including stuff that they generally ban for their own political ends (like Flash, maybe?).
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You obviously haven't used Opera much, it's one of the best browsers out there and many of the features found in leading browsers today have been copied from Opera. I acknowledge this even though it's not my current browser of choice.
Secondly Opera complaining about the monopoly practices of Microsoft seems fair considering how much Microsoft has abused its position, be it browsers, operating systems, etc.
Thirdly why do you think you know what is best for iPhone users? Why not give people the choice?
OS X users deal with the "confusion" of choice all the time. How many of them use firefox or chrome rather than safari? Apple simply doesnt want competition for its own browser. If it did, it might be forced to continue to innovate to keep its own browser viable, something it clearly would rather not have to do.
is simply showing that there is an alternative "complaining"?
"Be it an iPhone, or an iMac or Apple TV you switch it on it integrates into your network job done"
That reminds me of the disclaimer on every iPhone ad I've seen: "sequences shortened". Here's a hint for you. If your network is even marginally well secured, it just doesn't happen that way. If it's that easy to connect to your network, you've probably got a few visitors you don't even know about.
"You introduce someone elses stuff you get instability, bugs and exploits that need fixing because of unknowns being introduced."
So you've downloaded NO non-Apple apps for your iPhone, then?
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I just don't agree with it:
"But the argument here is simple Opera are complaining they don't get a a fair chance when what they are demanding is their product is distributed to everyone without them having to do the leg work."
Opera have never demanded that their product be distributed without them doing any work. They asked the EU to prevent Microsoft from using their monopolistic OS market share to gain (or maintain) undue leverage in the browser market. Even if you were to consider that to be unnecessary complaining, that is not what they are doing here. They're demonstrating a product on hardware for which it has yet to be approved. That's all. By the way, if you're really worried about self-interested corporate whinging, I'd suggest you review Steve Jobs' whine-fest about the GooglePhone.
"Oh and my network is very secure including separate networks for Wireless N and Wireless G clients with WPA keys so I am quite confident their is no one on my network."
Which means that when you turn on a brand new piece of *any* hardware, it won't automatically configure to your network; you'll have to set up the encryption parameters. Which is exactly what I told you.
I find it strange that Opera would be pushing their Java based Opera Mini browser, when a closer match would have simply been their Opera Mobile product, which already is a native application. I have downloaded and run Opera Mobile for Symbian Series 60 on my Nokia 5800 as an additional browser, and it works OK, although the Nokia 5800 built-in browser is good too and has some support for Flash (Flash Lite).
It would be nice if Apple would allow Opera Mobile into their app store, or even better an Opera Mobile with Adobe Flash support, but I can't see this happening anytime soon based on what Apple are saying about not wanting competing products, products with their own scripting, etc. It is possible to get Opera with some Flash (Flash Lite) on the Nintendo Wii, but the Opera for the Nintendo DS does not have Flash.
Can't see anything else in Opera's strategy here. In the fight with MS, MS never stopped them adding Opera, it was open to it, it's just not supplied with it and not a choice on install till the EU Courts got them. Now we have Apple in the same situation, or quiet probably the largest market share mobile phone actively banning competition, and barring Opera's browser.
If they manage to get the same judge sheesh Apples so screwed!
I was a skeptic about using opera software, but one year I started using it over Firefox and IE.. so much so I paid -yes paid-(when it was still pay for) for it.
I would like to see opera come to the iPhone and the iPod Touch.
I don't think many people who use mobile phones for web browsing would honestly stick with the default browser..
Rss feeds built into Opera Mobile, Sync between your phone, apple stuff and your pc? Nice...
...and they get it. Simply because Apple DO allow other browsers on the iPhone.
I have got Google browser on my phone but I could have downloaded DOZENS of them and had them all installed, side by side...
So you FAIL!
(Besides which, Safari on the iPhone is actually pretty good!)
"iPhone users don't want choice, they want simplicity"
should read
"target market segment iPhone users don't want choice, they want simplicity"
i.e. Apple want to sell the device to people who want a seamless, simple experience - they take care of everything, they minimise complexity. The iPhone aims to be an "appliance" - would you want a config.sys and system.ini file to be able to edit on your TV to be able to change how it behaves ? Some people like to buy a topfield PVR so they can tinker, 99% of the population want a simple, easy to use PVR - in fact, some people want a PVR to behave just like a video recorder - see http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/07/24/review_digital_video_recorder_digital_vision_gigo_dv_dtr1/
"Apple thinks an alternative browser would confuse users, just as an alternative e-mail or music download client would, and they're probably right"
Change that to:
Microsoft thinks an alternative browser would confuse users.
Of course, the DoJ, EU etc.. all disagreed with that, but as it's Apple and not Microsoft, we'll overlook it a little.
They've got their transparent proxy set to mangle images already, so having it done twice by o2 and Opera would probably slow things down and ruin the images further.
There's one other reason there's no need for Opera on iPhone- unless it supports Flash or Java it's not going to be any better than Safari anyway, so why waste the storage on it?
Come on, Bill...what's with the fact-free, "soap opera"-type coverage between Apple & Opera (no pun intended).
It will be interesting to see if Opera's advtanges -- tests showing 6x faster rendering than Safari and 9x less data (ergo cheaper data plan) -- will be allowed for iPhone's non-US, tiered data plan customers.
http://my.opera.com/haavard/blog/2010/02/10/opera-mini-iphone
Yes, you can download other browsers. They just use the same browser engine as Mobile Safari. Apple will emphatically not allow other engines , though (not even Google's version of WebKit, let alone Gecko or Opera). These "browsers" (even Google's) are skins over Safari.
At the same time, Java is not allowed. So Opera builds a native application (no Java) that does the same that Opera Mini does: it requests rendered and reformatted pages from the Opera server farm (where the render engine is Opera), and renders this "thin-and-light" version in a skinned Mobile Safari with Opera bookmark sync, tab handling and branding. For Internet statistics, the sites were accessed by Opera, so it's a wizard's wheeze.
"First off I genuinely do have very few non apple apps on my computer and iPhone. I use OS X, iWork, iLife as the majority of my work is done building websites from CMS's like wordpress. "
I truly love these throwback types.
A web developer who pretends there is only one web browser in use in the world. Tim Berners-Lee would be awfully proud of 'ya.
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