I recently learnt what the clever technique was for making full web page browsing so fast with Opera Mini on my S6o 3rd smartphone (e61i). Yes, they use a proxy that both pre-processes and compresses the web pages in advance of delivery to your mobile. It is clever design like this that often differentiates a product and a product design team. Its Achilles heal is that interactive pages cannot always be used, sometimes there is no button to do a “Confirm”, or a “Save” results in nothing. Maybe not surprising considering the proxy. But I have actually on occasion used it to post here so it can be done (trick with WordPress being to switch between visual and html editor views).
The Nokia built-in browser is equally impressive in its speed and full web page rendering, though my version does not cache pages e.g. move back a page and you are re-loading from the server. I use Wi-Fi mainly, but for some this would hurt on mobile browsing bills. It can also stick repeatedly on some sites (like SiteMeter) which leaves one waiting ages to read some simple information. You also have to burn firmware if you want an upgrade. Mine is due, trying to edit these pages will easily crash the browser! That and the sticking resulted in my search for another browser and my inclusion of Opera Mini as a prized S60 tool.
It was my recent review of the odd SiteMeter stats about Opera Mini browsing (sometimes showing user at Oslo instead of Brisbane) that I also saw a later browser version string captured by Sitemeter that was not me, and actually was Opera Software ASA in Norway! Anyway, in a nutshell, I upgraded from 4.1 to 4.2, the latest as I write. And my conclusion, before I was very dismayed at the slow start-up and close of this Java application. This has been rectified! Not to mention that complex sites are rendering better and faster than ever.
My recommendation, if you browse on a smartphone, make sure you also try Opera Mini, you will not be disappointed.
I did take another aside along with that upgrade, I tried Opera Mobile. It, like the built-in Nokia browser, goes direct to servers. Though it is in Beta, I must say it was so bad at rendering sites that it was next to useless. Sorry Opera Software, but you seem to have a long way to go with this product! But I do love Opera Mini – thank you to the folks in Oslo.
