A year after the arrival of Opera Mini 4, it is now time to graduate to the next version of Opera Mini, arguably the worlds most widely used Mobile Browser.
The Beta version of Opera Mini 5 has just been released, and as always, we take close look at the browser. The browser has been released at a time when quite a few contenders have been at Opera heels to gain a foothold in the fiercely competitive mobile browser market. The players apart from Opera include Skyfire, Bolt and even Mozilla's Fennec. With Opera Mini 5, Opera once again seems all set to retain its position in the mobile browser arena.
Opera Mini 5 takes a giant leap in terms of look and feel with almost nothing that makes it resemble its older brother. The icons, the buttons and almost every element of the browser sports a new, fresher, rounded look - compared to the more "business like" approach of its older versions. Even the icons have been given a facelift. And guess what, the changes here are not just cosmetic. Under the hood, Opera Mini now gets some real firepower - tabbed browsing included. Perhaps the most sought after feature for the browser ever since its inception back in 2005. So, what's new? Lots In fact! Let's take a look.
The UI
The first thing you'd notice about the Opera Mini 5, right from the installation procedure, is the changed look and feel of the browser. The white installation window is now black and there is a "new" Opera logo as well. Post installation you get a welcome screen that mimics the look of the Opera Mini's desktop cousin, the Opera 10, complete with speed dials that you can customize according to your browsing habits. Depending on the kind of device you are using, Opera will adjust itself and optimize its looks to suit your device.
Most of the screenshots you see here are on an Omnia HD and for the same reason some things might not look familiar for those using a normal "keypad" enabled phone. The interface is snappy and responds immediately to your commands. For touch devices, there is a slight resemblance to the Apple and Android browsers with buttons being easily clickable. The URL text entry field is STILL separate from the search box - but they are in the same line instead of being atop each other as in the previous version. A major change we found in the UI is that entering URLs is a lot easier now and clicking a text entry field doesn't lead you to a page where you enter your text and hit OK to come back to the page. In fact, Opera Mini uses a QWERTY keypad of its own on full touchscreen devices (which works quite decently)
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