Opera is currently in the process of releasing a browser for the Windows Mobile platform. Latest word is that it will be ready in late January.
In the mean time, a "hacked" version found its way online. This version was designed for WM5, but locked to a specific PDA type. Hackers quickly changed the file to run on all Windows Mobile 5 PDAs. Win-vista.net took a look at it.
Test system:
Device: Dell Axim x50v
Processor: Intel PXA 270 624mhz
Memory: 128MB ROM / 64MB RAM
Screen: 3,7 VGA at 640x480
Graphics: Intel 2700G
OS: Windows Mobile 5
We downloaded the .cab file from http://ftp.opera.com/pub/.custom/partners/sharp/ , and the hacked .dll from another site (For legal reasons, we cant tell you where to get it. Google is your friend). It was a simple process of copying the CAB file to the device, and run it. After the installation was complete, we copied the hacked DLL file to the program files/opera directory, overwriting the old one. Finally, time for first run!
Opera opens quite fast, compared to Netfront, but not as fast as PIE. I started viewing some websites, and was amazed over how fast they loaded. Finally someone figured out real multithreading! Also, sites render way better than PIE, appearing almost as they would on a desktop browser.
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Opera for WM5 also supports multiple windows, just like its desktop version. However, the tabs are missing. Instead, you have to open up the menu > tools > windows to select window. Really, there should be a option to turn on tabs. Still, the feature is there, and my bet is, that within two weeks of release, someone will create a hack for that also (If its not present in the released version).
One disappointment was HTTPS sites. Opera often refused to load sites on HTTPS. After a few more tries, it finally loaded it, and I was able to check my online banking. Very nice! Services such as hotmail, gmail, yahoo mail also works fine.
Opera for WM5 also comes with a download manager. Finally a browser with resume support! I do however miss the opportunity to see file size, transfer rate and percentage (There is a bar, but it does not show numeric percentage)
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I also tried to load the Acid2 test, and to my surprise, it looks better on Opera for WM5 than on Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP.
Opera for WM5 also comes with the zoom function known from its desktop version. very great when loading very wide websites, or very big images.
Hopefully Opera will fix the small bugs and problems we encountered. Still, its a better choice than both NetFront and PIE, basically parking them in both performance, rendering and functionality. Opera for WM5 will change the way we browse the web on Pocket PC.
Pros:
Very fast rendering
Sites looks great, almost as on desktop browsers
Supports framed sites
Javascript's load perfectly
Zooming support
Multiple windows support
Auto image resizing
SSL support
Cons:
Slow startup
Some minor bugs (Will probably be fixed when its released to all WM5 devices)
Tabs missing!
Total score: 9/10
Click here to see all screen shots
