Arve Bersvendsen

Mobile Opera Bits

Ok, two pieces of news for you today.

Opera Mini 3.0

Opera Mini 3.0 is out. Go get it. Opera Mini is a truly fantastic piece of software, and the 3.0 version features some real improvements:

• Feed Reader: I’ve let this replace the native feed reader I have on my phone. The UI is better than what the Sony Ericsson M600i offers, and it actually supports a multitude of formats, including Atom 1.0
• Photo upload. My phone has no camera, but here it is, direct photo upload from within Opera Mini.
• Support for secure connections: You can finally use secure services and stay safe all the way.
• Since most web authors have no regard for mobile usability (and no, dotmobi won’t help), Opera Mini 3.0 has content folding, where long navigation lists and other filler fluff is collapsed so you don’t have to scroll past 323 pages to get to your actual content.

If you want to give Opera Mini a try before you download, check out the Opera Mini Simulator

The Ajax Phone

Over at Jan’s blog I found a video of Aida:

Would you like to get personalized and always updated newsfeed directly on the idle-screen of your mobile phone? How about location based traffic information or a map service similar to Google Maps? This is what Opera, Telenor and FAST set out to test in a R&D study named ‘Aida’ earlier this year. The solution was tested on a large number of end users over many months and was very well received among the testers.

Aida is a terrific project that shows what Ajax applications on the phone really are capable of. I just wish every phone had this;

• Newsfeeds.
• Real-time location-based traffic information — buses, trams and subways. What are the nearest stops, and when does your transportation leave.
• Map services and location-aware search.
• Device integration. Search phone directories and add the contacts directly to your device contact list.

There’s more. Spend a few minutes watching the video. This is the future of Ajax: