It’s Friday once again. And on Fridays, we do a Free Software of the week that we hope would make your mobile experience even better. There are a lot of great software out there in the Windows Mobile world with more being added to the list every day. Alot of these software are actually free ones but they do not get the recognition they deserve because of the price tag attached to them. However, that is not usually the case. This week we show you why with our chosen software: Opera Mini 4 beta.

Introduction

Opera Mini 4 is still under beta (at beta 3 as this post is written). However, that does not stop may of the users from trying out this software. While Opera recently launched Opera for Pocket PC v8.65, the $29.95 price tag might not sit well with many users. However, Opera Mini has always been free and that could explain it’s higher popularity. But does this popularity stand up to the test?

Made For The Small Screens

Small screen rendering…	And zooming in on a portion.

When I started using Opera Mini 4 beta, the thing that caught my eye was how it rendered web pages. Instead of showing the site in its full glory, it instead gives you a screen shot of it. You then select which portion of the site you want to view and it magnifies to a reading level (you can set the size of the font in the settings). This way, Opera claims your pages load faster and uses less data, 2 features that are key to any mobile browser. If what you zoomed in was not what you want, just zoom out and reselect another area.

Grab And Scroll

Like the Opera for Pocket PC v8.65, it also features grab and scroll, which is a technology developed by Opera that allows you to view sites just by dragging your finger across the screen instead of using scrollbars. This feature was first made popular by the Apple iPhone but since then, other devices such as the HTC Touch and now even softwares, such Spb Pocket Plus, are offering this feature. Is it useful? Definitely. This should be the way we view sites on our mobile devices right from the start. The only drawback to this feature is that when you want to copy something, such as text, from the website, it can be tricky to select that text. With the Opera for Pocket PC v8.65, you can easily turn the grab and scroll feature on and off, but with the Opera Mini 4 beta, I could not find such an option.

Synchronize Between Operas

If you are an Opera 9.5 beta user, this feature would definitely be useful for you. With Opera Link built into this latest beta version, your bookmarks can be synchronized across platforms so you can take them with you, wherever you go. Imagine finding a great article online but having to rush off for a meeting. Just save it on your desktop and synchronize. While on the way to the meeting, fire up Opera Mini 4 beta and you can access that bookmark while on the go (provided you have a mobile data connection). Minimal fuss, maximum enjoyment!

Other Cool Stuff

There are quite a few other nifty features under the hood of this latest beta as well. However, they require interaction with a keypad and since my Eten Glofiish X500 does not have a hard keypad, it can be kind of a hassle to use them. But if you have a device with a hard keypad or love using your soft keypad for browsing, then functions such as Keystrokes For Quick Browsing and Speed Dial are just some of the things you might want to try out.

The Down Side

If Opera Mini 4 beta was all that great, then Opera would have a hard time selling their Opera for Pocket PC v8.65. The software does come with its drawbacks, some of which make surfing unbearable and sometimes, even impossible.

Google/Ajax Sites. I tried using the browser to check my Gmail. Works great. But when I tried it for my Google Reader, it just hangs at the loading page. I can’t see any news there. I guess it would be the same for all other Ajax loaded site. The mobile version of Google Reader works fine though.

Cut/Copy/Paste. There is no such capability for this in the browser but I guess this could be more of a limitation by my Java manager. Which means if a friend sends me a link to a site via email, I would have to memorize the link or write it down somewhere if I want to view it in Opera Mini 4 beta. But if you are using TouchPal, then you could overcome this problem.

Click on a download link…	And it opens up in Pocket IE.

Downloads. Somehow Opera Mini 4 beta does not handle downloads natively. If you were to be downloading a file, it would open Pocket IE and the usual Save As dialog will come up, allowing you to decide where to save the download. While this can be a problem if you are running low on memory (because Pocket IE can only download as much as the free space left in your Main Memory before moving it to the storage card, if that is your decision) downloading large files might be a problem.

No HardKey Support. For users of the Eten Glofiish range of devices, and many other Pocket PCs, it is sad that there is no support for our hard keys. Which means we are not able to enjoy the shortcuts that comes built into this software due to a lack of numeric keypad. Thankfully, there are some tweaks that Werner “Menneisyys” Ruotsalainen over at Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine have come up with that you could give a go.

Conclusion

Get this software if you have not already done so. Just point your browser to mini.opera.com/beta to download the midlet to your phone directly. You would need a Java manager to use it but between spending money for a Java manager or Opera for Pocket PC v8.65, it would be a tough call. The good thing about the Opera Mini 4 beta is that I would most probably use it to replace Opera for Pocket PC v8.65 for my mobile browsing experience.

What is your favorite mobile browser?

Tags: free software