News tagged ‘browser’

Here is a video of Opera Mini for iPhone (Alpha version). Now the product is in complete beta, so this video is a bit outdated. However it still it gives some impression of what Opera Mini on iPhone looks like:

Opera had finally demonstrated new Opera Mini for the iPhone at the Mobile World Congress.

In comparison to the default iPhone browser it looks pretty quick - Opera Mini loads the New York Times like 5x faster than its rival. Its main disadvantage is that it lacks the all-important feature pinch-to-zoom, and the only alternative is a method of double-tapping the webpages. Generally, the iPhone owners will find that the usual silky smooth scrolling through favorite webpages and responsive interface are maintained at the very best.

Unlike other platforms, the iPhone variant actually remembers the website you happened to browse last - the feature that will obviously be favored by a legion of iPhone admirers.

Company says as soon as beta tag is removed the browser will be submitted for approval. And it is not obvious whether Apple approve it or not, because it maintains the option of rejecting any app that "duplicates functionality" of the apps Apple builds into the iPhone. Opera co-founder Jon von Tetzchner has his own point of view on this:

"Opera Mini is the world's most popualr mobile browser and users on the iPhone deserve a choice."

Opera Software company just announced that it plans to show Opera Mini browser for iPhone during the Mobile World Congress 2010 (MWC).

"We are thrilled to offer journalists and partners an exclusive preview of Opera Mini for iPhone during the year’s biggest mobile event,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software. “This is a unique opportunity to introduce the fast, feature-rich Opera Mini experience for the iPhone, and to showcase our latest beta releases of Opera Mobile and Opera Mini on other platforms and devices. Opera’s mission is to bring the Web to the world, and by making Opera Mini available on yet another platform, we are one step closer."

But remember that Apple would never allow alternative browsers that are not based on WebKit. So what's the point of all this? A Cydia Store release? The real intent might be to draw attention to Opera's Mobile and Mini browsers running on other platforms where the software is actually released like Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Android.

The official Mobile Spectator Guide for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games is now available for iPod Touch and iPhone. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

This application is a location-aware schedule that details more than 2,000 sport and cultural events taking place for 17 days between February 12 and 28, 2010.

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Apple has improved their new iTunes Preview service by activating in-browser previews for iPod and iPhone applications.

iTunes Preview was launched by Apple in November. It worked for those iTunes links, which used to simply open the application. Before that your browser would open a blank page and prompt you to open the link with the iTunes application. Now you are also able to view screenshots, changelogs, descriptions and reviews for iPod Touch and iPhone applications.

Besides, last month Apple also started using QuickTime to offer 30 second song samples encoded in 44.1 AAC 300+ kbits/second.

Google released a software update for Android-based Nexus One smartphones. The update offers a number of enhancements, but the most interesting one is a support of the multi-touch technology in phone's Browser, Gallery and Maps applications. The new functionality is called "pinch-to-zoom".

Google previously had an agreement with Apple, that Android OS would not support multi-touch in the U.S. Now it looks like all the agreements are gone.

Engadget posted a video of the Nexus One's pinch-to-zoom functionality:

Apple rejected Google Voice native application for iPhone. Now Google is launching a new version of mobile web app for iPhone OS 3.0 and higher. It uses the power of HTML5, so users can run it right from the Safari browser.

To get started, just visit http://m.google.com/voice in your mobile browser. For quick access, just create a shortcut to this URL on your home screen.

Voice Band iPhone applicatin let's you make music with your voice. By simply singing into your phone, Voice Band transforms your voice into 10 different instruments in real time. Looks really cool. Take a look:

Here is another good video with "Smoke on the Water":

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Skype for the iPhone has been updated to add landscape mode, performance improvements, and a call quality indicator

With Skype on your iPhone or iPod touch you can call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free. You can also call landlines and mobiles and send SMS anywhere in the world, at great rates.

What's new in version 1.3:

• Landscape mode for IM
• Hints and Tips
• General performance improvements
• Call quality indicator
• Fixed call drop issue when returning to a held Skype call

You can download Skype from the App Store for free (link).

TechnoBuffalo has posted two YouTube videos comparing the Nexus One and iPhone 3GS. Covering specs, browser, speed, navigation and more. Let's watch:

Wind Os is a simple application that brings the feeling of using Windows on the iPhone. There is a bottom bar and user can open the Start menu and access minesweeper game and the notepad. The applications are fully functional, but there is always a possibility of some errors in the system:

This application has no real value and is therefore directed more to jokes. Just make friends think that you have installed a lightweight version of Windows on the iPhone. Wow!

Wind Os is avaliable in AppStore for $0.99 (link).

This is the first video hands-on of Nexus One, best known as the first Google Phone to be released in early 2010. In the movie we can see the Android Market, the speed of the processor, quite functional browser, the ability to open documents, and even Google Maps Widget.

Here are some characteristics of the device:

• OLED display with capacitive touchscreen
• Home Screen renovated with the possibility of using an animated background
• Two microphones to reduce background noise during a conversation
• The new version 2.1 operating system,
• Snapdragon processor
• Supports GSM networks
• WiFi
• Great camera
• Virtual keyboard on the screen, but there is ability to use voice to dictate the words

Here is a side-by-side photo of Nexus One and iPhone:

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Microsoft just released an official application of its search engine "Bing". The app looks really good and is well done. It allows you to find websites, images, videos, maps, shopping, news and offers step by step directions to navigate from one point to another! There is even a voice search, a business directory, ability to add pushpins and save locations.

Bing app is avaliable for free via AppStore (link).

iPhone Explorer is a handy application for Mac and Windows. It allows users to use a USB connection and access all the system files. Users can create, delete and rename files and folders on iPhone or iPod Touch, or use the device as a flash drive. If you have a jailbroken device can gain access to the root directory. The functionality is somehow similar to iFunBox and iPhone Folder applications.

The application is completely free and you can download it from here.

There is an app for about everything. iMaya is an iPhone application that shows a countdown clock until time X of 2012.

Here is a quick story about this Maya calendar. Maya civilization had several different calendars, the longest one, The Long Count, identifies a date by counting the number of days from the Mayan creation (August 11, 3114 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar or September 6 in the Julian calendar). But instead of using a base-10 (decimal) scheme like Western numbering, the Long Count days were tallied in a modified base-20 scheme. Thus 0.0.0.1.5 is equal to 25, and 0.0.0.2.0 is equal to 40.

The Maya name for a day was k'in. Twenty of these k'ins are known as a winal or uinal. Eighteen winals make one tun. Twenty tuns are known as a k'atun. Twenty k'atuns make a b'ak'tun. Confused? Don't panic. 1 B'ak'tun is about 144,000 days or 394.3 years.

The date December 20, 2012 is simply the last day of the 13th b'ak'tun. And here is the big misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. There is a belief, that this date is the basis for a New Age and for a big cataclysm. For the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle. But that is not the end of the Long Count because the 14th through 20th b'ak'tuns are still to come. So we need to wait for another 7 b'ak'tuns (> 2700 years), when this Long Count calendar will end.

The app costs $0.99 and is available in AppStore (link). It requires firmware 3.1.2 and is localized in various languages.