Crave

It's been a few days since Opera unwrapped its latest beta browser for mobile phones, and we've had some more time to get acquainted. Opera Mobile 10 beta (download), which runs on certain Symbian Series 60 smartphones, adds some improvements to its password manager and has made a few tweaks under the hood. However, its most significant alterations are in its visual design. Bottom line: We like it, and we like how similar it is to Opera Mini 5 beta, a recent overhaul of the free Opera browser for Java phones.

There are some downsides with the version 10 beta browser that have cropped up--these go beyond the known issues and bugs. Opera's smartphone browser continues to struggle with accurately rendering complex pages. When zooming in on CNET Download.com on the Nokia N97, we saw text and graphics overlap. While Web sites often redirect to a URL optimized for mobile phones, we'd still like to see graphically rich pages rendered more faithfully in Opera Mobile on those that don't have specialized versions.

Its responsiveness was also an issue on the Nokia N97 test phone, but we suspect this has more to do with the device than with Opera. CNET reviewers dinged the Nokia N97 for its choice of an inconsistently responsive resistive touch screen instead of the capacitive touch screen that's found on the iPhone.

Even if you don't have a compatible Nokia, Samsung, or Sony Ericsson phone to test Opera Mobile 10 beta with yourself, you can watch our First Look video to see the new browser beta's features--its new tabs interface shines.

These days, Mozilla's Fennec and the Skyfire browser have been stealing all the thunder in the mobile browsing space. On Wednesday morning (that's Tuesday night for us in San Francisco), Opera yanked some of it back with the release of Opera Mini 5 beta for Java phones.

Introducing a graphically enriched layout topside and new features below decks, the new Opera Mini beta browser is snappier, more attractive, and more advanced than last year's predecessor, Opera Mini 4.2. Mini 5 beta brings over several features from Opera's desktop browser (Opera 10 for Windows | Mac.) Tabbed browsing is among them, as is a password manager. Each page opens with Speed Dial, a grid of nine thumbnail images and Opera Desktop mainstay, that you assign to favorite Web sites and can select among to quickly launch a Web page. The Speed Dial view replaces Opera Mini's previous landing page, a tangle of links capped with a search box and URL field. These thumbnail images make the landing page more meaningful, both in giving users a visual they can instantly recognize, and creating an easier target for users to accurately hit on touchscreen phones than a scrawny little link.

While the URL field and search bars haven't joined together in this beta as they have in other mobile browsers and in most desktop browsers out there, Opera has at least consolidated the two onto a single line. To address another long-overdue fix, Opera now lets you type directly into a text field. In previous versions, clicking a field opened up a blank page, where you were prompted to start typing before you could return to the main interface.

Opera Mini gets into Opera Desktop's Speed Dial start screen.

(Credit: Opera Software)

Opera Mini's navigation menu received another overhaul in Mini 5 beta. Opera moved it up to the top and made it completely icon-based. Press downward (on a D-pad for a keypad phone) to engage more items, like bookmarks, history, settings, and the Find in Page search tool, a new one for Opera Mini. Find in Page has previously been available in Opera Mini; it's nice to see it return.

The password manager that's new to Opera Mini works as expected, producing a dialog box the first time you log into a site asking if you'd like it to remember your credentials. You can turn this off in the Privacy portion of the Settings submenu.

Many additional features carry over from previous Opera Mini versions, including options to view the page as you would from the desktop versus a mobile view. There are also the usual shortcut keys and support for landscape mode on most phones (not on BlackBerrys, unfortunately, an ongoing omission). There are also additional options that pop up in response to long presses on the 'select' key or on the touchscreen, like for selecting and copying text, opening the image, and now, for opening content in a new tab.

We knew that Opera Mobile 9.7 beta was on its way (in fact, we expected it in May,) but the build released to Windows Mobile consumers on Monday morning isn't exactly what we had anticipated given certain hints in the business build that support for Flash video was on its way. We should say, the inclusion of Opera Turbo was dead on. What we hadn't expected was a separate widget gallery to replace the one built into Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, the previous version.

More on Turbo and widgets in just one moment, but first the answer to what we think you really want to know--should you upgrade? Based on our tests of the preview build Opera let us test the Friday before the release, here's our take: While it won't slow you down if you do upgrade to Opera 9.7 beta from Opera 9.5 beta, and while it may even help you in a pinch, those with reliable fast coverage who don't plan on using more than Opera Mobile's core browsing features won't have much cause to reinstall.

Turbo-charged Opera Mobile 9.7

Enable Opera Turbo when you've got a weak connection.

(Credit: CNET/Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt)

Now back to your regularly scheduled review. Opera Turbo is the by now much-touted compression and proxy engine used in Opera 10 beta (review), the desktop browser version released the first week of June. On Windows Mobile phones, Turbo also makes browsing faster for data connections below 3G speeds--in other words, EV-DO, EDGE, and other 2.5G connections. When Turbo's revved on the phone, it sends the page data to Opera's servers for proxy rendering. The servers then send a lighter version of the page back to the phone. While that makes Turbo much faster on data- and image-rich Web pages over slow connections, it also predictably slashes image quality.

Turbo's implementation in Opera Mobile 9.7 beta is (disappointingly) unchanged since we got a demo at CTIA in early April. Though automatic detection is enabled in Opera's version 10 beta desktop browser, beta testers will need to manually switch it on and off each time. It's easy enough to do in the Advanced portion of Opera Mobile's settings menu, but there is a detriment to letting Turbo slave away. If you're on Wi-Fi or 3G, you could experience more lag time while Turbo sends your data to Opera's servers and back. Also, your image quality will suffer. This will be the singlemost challenge for 9.7 beta testers.

It seems that the fellas over at The Boy Genius Report got their hands on leaked screenshots of an alpha version of Skyfire's mobile browser for BlackBerry. Their source has proclaimed it "already being the best BlackBerry browser ever."

The BlackBerry version of Skyfire looks a lot like the other smartphone versions, just wider.

(Credit: Boy Genius Report)

Wow, that's some potentially overblown praise, especially as Opera's mobile browser has been the alternative of choice for many BlackBerry users. It's also not the first time that the free Skyfire browser has been overhyped. No disrespect meant to Skyfire--its mobile browser for Symbian and Windows Mobile has a solid design, competitive speeds, and supports (imperfect) video playback--but let's give this all some perspective before declaring it the next killer browser.

First, we've known for a while that BlackBerry was next on the list of Skyfire's smartphone development, after Windows Mobile and Symbian, which are available now in an advanced beta that's very soon expected to tip over into the first full release.

Second, a look at the screenshots reveals a design that's very similar to the most recent, and still frequently tweaked, builds available now. Sure, that won't help you if you're a BlackBerry user, but in absolute development terms, it's less interesting than the fact that at its inception, Skyfire hatched exclusively on mobile (versus Opera Mobile and Mozilla's Fennec, both products born first from desktop browsing) and emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become such an anticipated application. I'm all for choice when it comes to mobile browsing, and I'm happy to see Skyfire being prepped for BlackBerry fans, too, but also keep in mind that it could be a long road between now and final development, and that much could change in the mobile industry from now until then.

Third, Skyfire brings some interesting features and good diversity into the mobile browser mix that Opera Mobile has held onto for so long, but it's far from being the magic bullet of mobile browsing. Support for downloading certain content is still variable and video playback can be choppy even over a strong, secure Wi-Fi connection. The browser can always get faster, and it still lacks some of Opera Mobile's advanced features, like in-line search.

It's unsurprising that Skyfire had no official comment to share, but the leak's photographic evidence makes it apparent that something's in the works. Again, it may be some time before Skyfire publicly acknowledges the alpha, and opens up a beta app, but when it does, we'll be there with a hands-on review.

Editors' note: Since this article published, Skyfire has offered the first hundred CNET readers immediate access to Skyfire's Symbian beta program. (Note: Only U.S. phones at this time.) Enter the promo code CNET100 in the sign-up page. Once you have signed up for the Skyfire Symbian Beta with the beta code, an SMS message will be sent to your mobile phone prompting you to create a password. Once you enter a password, you will be presented with a download link.

On Thursday, mobile browser start-up Skyfire announced the opening of a private beta for the Symbian Series 60 (S60) platform--nearly a week after a Symbian users Web site busted the news.

Skyfire is positioned as a resource-light Web browser that relies on Web servers to deliver a desktop browsing experience. I covered Skyfire soon after its initial Windows Mobile release and agree that it has a nice design and good potential; however, with rendering and crashing issues, it's not nearly ready for open beta. That's too bad because adding an identical build for Symbian means that Skyfire has two platforms in private beta with some tall performance hurdles to leap.

Skyfire will debut on 10 Nokia handsets, including the high-end N95 and E71.

(Credit: Skyfire Labs)

Going global (and taking on Opera)
Skyfire's Symbian beta program is the mobile browser's second platform, and its entree into the European market, where it will be rolling out later this year. This move improves Skyfire's competitive position against Opera Mobile, whose release of a free version 9.5 beta for Symbian is also scheduled for "the near future."

Opera Mini, Opera Software's build for Java phones and BlackBerry, has pretty much dominated alternative browsers in Europe, but Skyfire could destabilize that position. As a direct competitor to Opera Mobile 8.65, which sells for $24, Skyfire's free beta brings a few advantages to the table. It's true that Opera Mobile 9.5 beta is also currently offered for free, but with its Symbian build also in development, there could be an interesting battle over Symbian owners.

Pricing isn't the only point of comparison between Opera and Skyfire. Opera wants to bring Symbian owners the "authentic" desktop experience through a rich client and Skyfire will attempt to do so by pulling data from its servers. That makes Skyfire lighter on system resources, but it won't have as many search and linking capabilities out of the gate as Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, which integrated some tricks from the desktop browser. Conversely, Opera's cell phone browsers verge on cluttered, so there's a benefit to Skyfire's pared-down look.

Article updated 5/2/08 at 8:00am with additional information.

The youngest mobile browser to hit the scene can do quite a few more tricks after this week's feature-enhancement and bug-fixing release.

At the request of testers enrolled in Skyfire's closed beta program, version 0.6 has included several housekeeping functions. There are the basics of pasting a URL or search term, deleting bookmarks, and beefing up the soft-key menu with a shortcut to search the current Web page. There's also the highly demanded security nod that disguises passwords as you type. Though this hasn't caught on to the text field on the T-Mobile Dash I was using, Skyfire's CEO and co-founder Nitin Bhandari has assured me that experience is atypical and the feature is expected to work on most Windows Mobile phones, including other T-Mobile Dash handsets. (There may be an issue with my phone's configuration that Skyfire's tech team and I are in the process of working out.)

The zooming features, so crucial to reading in full-Internet mode, have also been enhanced. Double-tapping and -clicking will now zoom the screen in and out (in addition to using the Back key.) Additionally, Skyfire has relaxed a stringent return to default settings across Web pages and settings. Now, persistent sound, zoom, and SmartFit settings will carry from one URL and session to another. Touch-screen users can also achieve variable levels of granularity by clicking and dragging to resize the zoom box. On both touch screen and non-touch handsets, using the 1 and 3 keys moves you through four levels of magnification.

In addition to the zooming and maintenance work, Skyfire has paid attention to text. Instead of a single line of entry with a maximum of 256 characters, users can now type in up to 2,000 characters on multiple lines of text for any text field, making lengthier blog authoring or form-filling possible. Newly added support for predictive text will make inputting text faster and less nerve-wracking, too.

Finally, folks with 12-key and half QWERTY Windows Mobile phones will now also be able to surf on Skyfire with or without a virtual keyboard. The former feature in particular readies the browser for mass-market Symbian phones, which Skyfire has told me will debut when the beta opens. The combined changes in this 0.6 update give Skyfire a much better footing as the clean-looking application develops, though it has miles to go before being pit against Opera Mini in any meaningful way. Perfecting flash video playback would be one key victory.

Beta users should act fast to download the 0.6 upgrade from Skyfire's site. According to a statement, both 0.5 and 0.55 releases time out on May 7th and users will lose any bookmarks and cookies created after April 30. Skyfire is still technically accepting beta testers, though newly signed-up users may be months away from access.

There's nothing fun about being on a wait list, especially when you're told the wait just got longer.

Skyfire (video), a new cell phone browser demoed in February, hit such demand in its closed beta program, the company split participation into two rounds. According to a Skyfire statement, those lucky ducks who signed up before March 1 made the cut for Beta 1 and will receive the golden invitation to join the testing in phases from now until the end of April.

This first phalanx of users will also be invited to continue their testing as the second round of beta testers, who signed up March 2 or after, is welcomed aboard sometime this summer. If you've got a Windows Mobile phone, it's still not too late to add your name to Skyfire's growing list of second-session testers.

In the meantime, live vicariously through this video of the browser's current features.

It wasn't too long ago we editors--or anyone!--got acquainted with Skyfire (review), the newest mobile browser to challenge Opera Mini's dominance. Check out the fresh minimalist design and clever search options, plus one disappointing feature that's far from a thriller. (Go ahead and award yourself 10 points if you spot that reference in the video.)

>>See all First Look videos

Skyfire's start page, plus a browsing toolbar for touchscreen phones.

(Credit: Skyfire)

Skyfire (video), the latest mobile browsing upstart, has been touted as faster, cleaner, and smarter than its competitors, and that's before it was released in private beta. It's easy to praise an app when it's first being demoed, and another story when users and reviewers can get their hands on a living specimen. Frankly, the hype is overblown. While Skyfire has its perks--very nice ones--it hasn't won the competition yet.

Like Opera Mini (see video), Skyfire uses a proxy server to help render pages and control text flow. Also like Opera Mini, Skyfire utilizes a mouse and takes advantage of zooming to jump from a microscopic full-page view to a legible text size by navigating the rectangular zoom field to a starting point before activating it. After that, scrolling takes you around at the same zoom percentage until you click something else.

Zoomed in on Wikipedia.com.

(Credit: Skyfire)

Skyfire's start screen is a simple, attractive triple-tiered header that makes use of a search bar, bookmarks, browsing history, and features tab, the latter whose contents include prechosen links for popular sports, news, social networks, and video sources. Think CNN, eBay, and YouTube and go from there.

You can do the usual URL entry, bookmarking, and refreshing, but one differentiator is Skyfire's quasi search egalitarianism. Not only does a search yield Google and Yahoo results in separate tabs, it also has tabs for searching images, videos, and maps.

So, how good is Skyfire's Flash video playback? This is Skyfire's triumph, but also its weak point. A YouTube video was slow to buffer and rather pixelated. Automatically tipping the video on its side would have at least made better use of screen space; instead it played in only the top portion of the screen, an inch-and-a-half diagonal on my test phone. The fact that Skyfire doesn't yet recognize your hardware and adjust video size accordingly means that users with a vertical rectangular screen see a lopped-off picture when zooming in to a horizontal video.

Pint-size videos chug along on small screens.

(Credit: Skyfire)

Overall, Skyfire does achieve a relatively comparable desktop browsing experience. With the exception of two unobtrusive soft keys on a keypad phone and an additional toolbar on a touch-screen phone, all signs of the browser disappear in page view. There's a lot the browser doesn't do yet that the much more established Opera Mini does, but there's also tremendous room for sophisticated growth.

To try Skyfire on Windows Mobile phones versions 5 and up, sign up for the closed beta on Skyfire's site. Symbian users, we hear it's your turn next.

Related articles:
*Skyfire brings desktop-quality browsing
*Will Opera Mobile perform for free?