Opera: Mini 5 browser ready for iPhone if Apple will have it
Opera is set to show off an iPhone version of its Opera Mini 5 mobile Web browser to the press during the Mobile World Congress next week. However, there’s no guarantee that the software will ever make it into the hands of users.
Opera Mini is a browser specifically designed for mobile phones that aren’t capable of running an otherwise full-fledged browser (those of you who surf the Web with regular cell phones may be familiar with it). It sends URL requests to a proxy server run by Opera, which renders a page into an image that is sent to the phone for display. This method typically offers much faster browsing than downloading an entire page and all its resources and rendering it on most underpowered mobiles, and is especially nice for devices limited to EDGE or slower connections.
Opera makes a full-fledged browser for smartphones called Opera Mobile, but that version and its JavaScript interpreter might run afoul of iPhone developer agreement stipulations that prohibit applications form downloading and running executable code or scripts. The way Opera Mini works should not violate that rule, and may be different enough from Mobile Safari that it could be argued it doesn’t duplicate functionality of an Apple-supplied app.
Other third-party browsers have been approved in the past, though they all use built-in WebKit frameworks for rendering and offer functionality that differs from Mobile Safari is some way. It should also be noted that while most versions of Opera Mini are built for JavaME, the version for the iPhone is built using the native iPhone SDK, and not wrapped in a virtual machine.
Taking all those steps offers Opera no guarantee that Opera Mini 5 will be accepted by Apple, however, if and when it ever submits the app for approval. Opera had previously developed a version of Opera Mini 4 that was said to have been rejected by Apple, though it’s likely that version was never submitted to Apple in the first place.
We asked Opera if Opera Mini 5 had been submitted for approval. “We have not submitted Opera Mini to Apple, and I cannot confirm when we will submit it,” Opera spokesperson Thomas Ford told Ars. However, he said, “we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in Web browsing experience.”
Opera: Mini 5 browser ready for iPhone if Apple will have it
Opera is set to show off an iPhone version of its Opera Mini 5 mobile Web browser to the press during the Mobile World Congress next week. However, there’s no guarantee that the software will ever make it into the hands of users.
Opera Mini is a browser specifically designed for mobile phones that aren’t capable of running an otherwise full-fledged browser (those of you who surf the Web with regular cell phones may be familiar with it). It sends URL requests to a proxy server run by Opera, which renders a page into an image that is sent to the phone for display. This method typically offers much faster browsing than downloading an entire page and all its resources and rendering it on most underpowered mobiles, and is especially nice for devices limited to EDGE or slower connections.
Opera makes a full-fledged browser for smartphones called Opera Mobile, but that version and its JavaScript interpreter might run afoul of iPhone developer agreement stipulations that prohibit applications form downloading and running executable code or scripts. The way Opera Mini works should not violate that rule, and may be different enough from Mobile Safari that it could be argued it doesn’t duplicate functionality of an Apple-supplied app.
Other third-party browsers have been approved in the past, though they all use built-in WebKit frameworks for rendering and offer functionality that differs from Mobile Safari is some way. It should also be noted that while most versions of Opera Mini are built for JavaME, the version for the iPhone is built using the native iPhone SDK, and not wrapped in a virtual machine.
Taking all those steps offers Opera no guarantee that Opera Mini 5 will be accepted by Apple, however, if and when it ever submits the app for approval. Opera had previously developed a version of Opera Mini 4 that was said to have been rejected by Apple, though it’s likely that version was never submitted to Apple in the first place.
We asked Opera if Opera Mini 5 had been submitted for approval. “We have not submitted Opera Mini to Apple, and I cannot confirm when we will submit it,” Opera spokesperson Thomas Ford told Ars. However, he said, “we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in Web browsing experience.”
etc: If you’re dying to get your hands on a Nook, they’re available online from Barnes & Noble and will be in stores “beginning mid-week.”
If you’re dying to get your hands on a Nook, they’re available online from Barnes & Noble and will be in stores “beginning mid-week.”
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Barnes & Noble
Amazon puts out one e-book pricing fire as others flare up
Just as it looked like Amazon was about to achieve an iTunes-style lock on the e-book marketplace, the impending arrival of Apple’s iPad seems to have emboldened book publishers. After a pricing dispute caused all Macmillan titles to disappear off Amazon’s virtual shelves, other publishers joined the pricing revolt, demanding greater flexibility in setting prices on their wares. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has apparently settled the first of these disputes by capitulating.
According to the Journal’s report, Amazon will give up on its $9.99 pricing target for e-books, and allow Macmillan greater flexibility to set the rates for its content. The new prices may be as much as $5.00 higher. Although Amazon had announced that it had no choice but to concede given what it termed Macmillan’s “monopoly” over its content, the publisher’s books were slow to reappear in the retailer’s site. That apparently changed over the weekend following a full settlement of the dispute on Friday.
Unfortunately for Amazon, it appears that Macmillan will be the first of many publishers that seek to renegotiate terms, as at least two others (Harper Collins and Hachette) have voiced their intention of doing so. The trigger for the sudden uprising, according to nearly every report on the matter, is the impending arrival of Apple’s iPad, as Apple has negotiated deals that allow publishers to retain significant control over e-book prices. As we noted in our earlier coverage, this is a complete role reversal compared to the dispute over downloadable music pricing.
For Amazon, it all has to be a major disappointment. After remaining relatively circumspect about Kindle sales, the company allowed itself a bit of back-patting after both hardware and e-book sales boomed over the holidays. Its primary competitor, Sony, appeared to be struggling in comparison, and newcomers to the e-book reader market appeared to have a bad case of first-generation hardware blues, something that Amazon had already put in its past. But the mere threat of Apple releasing a competing product seems to have encouraged Amazon’s key suppliers (the publishers) to think different.
etc: Acer says that sales of Liquid, its Android smartphone, have exceeded expectations, leading to shortages.
Acer says that sales of Liquid, its Android smartphone, have exceeded expectations, leading to shortages.
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BusinessWeek
Microsoft investigating disappearing music from Zune Pass
According to a post on the Zune Forums, owners of the Zune Pass are having a bit of trouble accessing the music they’re paying for with their subscription, as first reported by Engadget. In less than two weeks, the thread in question has passed 50 replies as users complain and list what they can no longer access: specific songs, entire albums, or even everything produced by an artist.
The sixth reply in the thread is thankfully one from a Microsoft representative. “Hey all—we’re hearing you! We are investigating your reported missing albums indicated in this post—and will come back to you as soon as we understand why they’re missing,” Michelle A. of the Zune Product Team writes. “It is extremely helpful that you advise the album title and artist names to us, so that we can include them into our investigation.” As a result, the rest of the thread is filled with lists of missing tracks. Apart from the initial response, Microsoft has not posted an explanation of what has gone wrong or how it plans to fix the issue. Customers affected are confused and annoyed as they are constantly seeing errors when trying to play parts of their music collection.
The only way users can still access missing songs is if they previously saved them (Zune Pass subscribers get to choose 10 songs each month to keep). Microsoft’s customer service is pointing to record labels pulling music, but the reports from users suggests there’s no pattern in the content that is being pulled. We will let you know when Microsoft has an explanation and/or a solution to this issue.
etc: Like ‘em or not, Superbowl halftime performers definitely get a post-game album sales bump—to the tune of 555 percent, on average.
Like ‘em or not, Superbowl halftime performers definitely get a post-game album sales bump—to the tune of 555 percent, on average.
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Nielsen Blog
etc: Popular find-a-restaurant app Urbanspoon has arrived on the Android platform.
Popular find-a-restaurant app Urbanspoon has arrived on the Android platform.
Read More:
Mashable
Publishers continue pummeling Amazon over e-book prices
Amazon’s $9.99 e-book price point may be a rarity as more book publishers declare that they’ll set their own prices for books, with the seller taking a standard 30 percent cut. Another major publisher has decided to move to what’s referred to as the “agency model” while others are hinting that they, too, are about to force the new model on Amazon.
Hachette has become the latest publisher to announce that it was done with what it calls the artificially depressed e-book prices imposed by Amazon. In an e-mail to its employees, CEO David Young extolled the virtues of the agency model, noting that it “allows Hachette to make pricing decisions that are rational and reflect the value of our authors’ works,” according to an excerpt posted by Media Bistro. “Without this investment in our authors, the diversity of books available to consumers will contract, as will the diversity of retailers, and our literary culture will suffer.”
Microsoft drops Zune HD prices without explanation
Microsoft this week slashed $20 off both versions of the Zune HD, as first spotted by Gdgt. It seems this is the source of a mini price war that customers have been noticing over the past couple of days. When the device first debuted, the 16GB version sold for $220 and the 32GB version went for $290. A few retailers have taken Microsoft’s $20 price cut as an opportunity to cut the price down even lower. Here are the prices from a few online retailers:
| 16GB | 32GB | |
|---|---|---|
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Microsoft
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Best Buy
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Circuit City
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Newegg
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Amazon
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Buy.com
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Speculation is rampant on why Microsoft chose this week for the price cuts (as opposed to, say, a few weeks before the 2009 holiday shopping season). It’s possible that Microsoft has adjusted the prices in anticipation of a 64GB version, which has been rumored to be coming for many months, even before the Zune HD launched. The even-more-expensive-by-comparison iPod Touch has had a 64GB version for five months so Microsoft really has no excuse for releasing one and undercutting Apple again.
Another possibility to consider is that Microsoft has a new Zune product up its sleeves, or up someone else’s sleeves, that is coming sooner than previously expected. In two weeks, Microsoft is set to unveil Windows Mobile 7 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We know that Zune will play a role in Windows Mobile’s big day, but nobody is sure to what extent. Rumors range from a Zune phone completely designed and developed by Microsoft (think Zune HD plus phone capabilities, iPhone style), to multiple Windows phones with Zune media services preloaded. In either case, we would not be surprised if the device(s) sell(s) for just above the new prices for the Zune HD.
Houston-Hull, TX