New Opera Mobile beta with Opera Widgets on WM and UIQ
Opera Mobile 9.5 adds Opera Widgets to deliver a one-click mobile Internet experience
– Opera Mobile 9.5 beta with Opera Widgets on Windows and UIQ now available for download
– Opera Widgets Software Development Kit (SDK) with Opera Widget manager for S60
Oslo, Norway – October 20, 2008 – Opera Mobile 9.5 now introduces Opera Widgets to the mobile Internet experience, enabling one-click Web content access. This release marks the second Opera Mobile 9.5 beta for Windows Mobile and the first-ever beta for UIQ-based phones. A developer version of S60 Widget manager is also available within the Opera Widgets SDK.
T-Mobile has already embraced Opera Mobile with Widgets for their web n’walk initiative, as previously announced on September 18, 2008. Like T-Mobile, other operators can now incorporate Opera Widgets into their customer offering. This means that customer-selected Web content can be accessed from a list of icons on the home-screen. Widgets can also serve as a means of customer communication, as automatic notifications are now easier to instantly deliver to subscribers.
“Opera has built its second Opera Mobile 9.5 beta based on user-generated feedback following its first public release earlier this year,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “In addition to Opera Widgets, this new test version promises to be a smoother ride than the previous version, as we have improved page loading times and increased our focus on end-user productivity.”
Several Opera Widgets are now pre-installed in the Opera Mobile 9.5 beta builds. Additionally, Opera offers downloadable widgets at http://widgets.opera.com.
Opera always encourages more user-generated widgets and therefore recently updated its Opera Widget Software Development Kit (SDK). This SDK will enable developers to quickly and easily create widgets using standards-based Web technology. The Opera Widgets SDK now includes two new features:
• Opera Dragonfly debugging tool – Develop faster with this tool for debugging JavaScript, inspecting Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and the Document Object Model (DOM). Find your errors and get your widget right.
• Widget manager for on-device testing – Widget managers for S60, UIQ and Windows Mobile are included with in the SDK for testing widgets directly on the mobile phone.
Opera is launching the updated SDK with a developer competition called the “X-Widget Challenge”. Opera is offering $10.000 in cash prizes for the best cross-device widget submissions. Read more about the competition from http://my.opera.com/widgets.
“Opera has kept developer needs at the heart of this beta release,” said Håkon Wium Lie, Chief Technology Officer, Opera Software. “All great developers need great tools to work with. Opera is an industry leader in making the Web a developer-friendly place by constantly innovating within the confines of Web standards. We will continue to create with developers in mind, as we intend to continue to grow our developer toolkit with each consecutive release.”
Coming to an event near you
Check out Opera Mobile 9.5 with Opera Widgets in Europe, North America and Asia at the following events:
• Smartphone Show in London on October 21-22, 2008
• Mobile Internet World in Boston on October 22-23, 2008
• Web Applications Conference in Seoul on October 23, 2008
Availability
Opera Mobile 9.5 beta with Opera Widgets is ready and waiting for download from http://www.opera.com/products/mobile/
The Opera Widgets SDK can be downloaded from http://www.opera.com/b2b/solutions/widgets/
About Opera Software
Opera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform Web browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world.
The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.