Nordic browser kings Opera Software have released Opera Mini 2.0, a spanking new version of their tiny Web browser that runs on almost all mobile phones.
Building on the success of the first version – which has already notched up 2.5 million users since its January 2006 release – Opera Mini accelerates mobile surfing by using compression and reformatting techniques.
The latest version of the Java-powered browser adds a selection of tweaks and refinements, including the ability to download multimedia content, like images and MP3s, directly to the phone.
There’s also a selection of new skins available to customise the look of the browser, and a natty new multisearch feature, letting users select extra search engines for the home page.
Also new for version two is a speed dial widget, which lets surfers call up bookmarks by assigning shortcut key combinations.
“Opera Mini has kick-started real mobile Web browsing by enabling non-smartphone owners to surf the full Internet on their phones, just as they do on their PCs,” purred Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software.
With Opera Mini supporting mobile commerce via SMS, users can directly buy ringtones, games and other content for delivery as an SMS.
This system lets the seller set the price with charges appearing in the phone bill as an SMS.
The new browser is compatible with a host of phones, smartphones and PDAs (including Sony Ericsson, Pocket PC and Palm handets) and can be downloaded for free by typing in http://mini.opera.com into your WAP-tastic browser or by delivery via SMS download for a small fee.
Research firm Gartner has said that it expects Vista, Microsoft’s major Windows upgrade, to not appear until the second quarter of next year.
Microsoft’s current plans involve releasing Vista to manufacturing in October/November 2006 and making it available to enterprises through volume licenses by the end of this year, with the OS becoming available to computer manufacturers for shipping in January, 2007.
“Respectfully disagreeing” with Gartner’s view, the spokesperson said that that finished Windows Vista would ship in November and January with a second beta ready to roll in the second quarter of this year.
Broadband giants Telewest have had to bend over and feel the sharp swish of the Advertising Standards Agency’s corrective ruler on their ample rumps after their broadband radio advert was deemed ‘misleading.’
A Telewest customer – clearly already living in a Telewest area – liked the sound of the deal so much they rang up to sign on, only to find that they were clearly in the wrong sort of ‘Telewest area.’
The ASA concluded, “We considered this important restriction should have been explained in the ad and that “Conditions apply” had not been adequate to cover such a significant condition to the offer. The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) Radio Advertising Standards Code section 2, rule 3.”
Pulling out its big book of alliteration, Samsung have declared their new D520 phone to be full of “Stylish Simplicity and Stunning Sophistication.”
The SGH-D520 should be appearing on the shelves around Europe any time now.
The Cloud has announced plans to roll out a new flat-fee Wi-Fi tariff in the summer, slashing the current high cost of accessing the Internet on the move.
The extra freedom of the ‘pay as you go’ version comes with a sting though, with your twelve quid giving you just a week’s unlimited access.
The Cloud’s chief executive George Polk said that his company has been working their Internet-enabled socks off to “make the Wi-Fi mobility world real” (whatever that means).
Search engine big-boys Yahoo have unveiled a shopping site for consumer electronics backed up by expert advice and user-contributed reviews.
The magazine-style site will use Yahoo’s tried and trusted community tools to help users find information about products and prices and share their opinions with friends, family and other consumers.
Content
The new Yahoo! Tech is currently focussed on the U.S. market, with Houston saying that there are no imminent plans to expand into other countries.
Proof that podcasting is moving further into the mainstream comes with the news that MP3 players from mobiBLU will be shipping with preinstalled software designed to download podcasts with just one click,.
With a wagging finger and nodding head, Russell Holliman, founder and CEO at Podcast Ready sighed, “There is a huge perception that podcasts are for Apple users only, and if you’re not using an iPod it’s a difficult process.”
The appropriately named mobiBLU Cube is, at 0.94″ square, one of the smallest in the world and comes with a large OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display.
In an attempt to grab a bigger slice of a music download market currently dominated by Apple’s iTunes, Napster is letting users gorge themselves on the 2,000,000+ tracks in their bulging catalogue. All for free.
The freebie web-based service uses a Flash application to provide a basic music player interface along with windows for album art and the inevitable advertising.
Gorog believes the boom in online advertising will pay dividends for Napster’s new advertising-supported business model, noting that their website currently averages 2 million visitors a month.
Channel 4 is offering a UK online exclusive of the entire first series of the cult hit show, Lost.
You’ll have to be quick to watch the new series online though, as episodes one and two will only be free to view for two weeks (until May 11th 2006.)
Obsessive fans hoping to work out the dark complexities of the series by analysing each show in infinite detail will be disappointed to learn that it’s only possible to watch episodes for a 24 hour period on a single PC before the pesky thing goes into auto-destruct,
Lost video is only available to UK users using Windows Media Player 10 or above.
If you’re wondering why your Website barely gets any traffic past the odd passing tuft of virtual tumbleweed, it may be time to pay a visit to the Link Popularity Checker at 
You’ll then be presented with a long list of results, colour coded from ‘limited presence’ (0-1,000 references) to ‘Contender’ (20,001-100,000) right up to dong-waving, ‘900lb Gorilla’ if your site has over half a million references in search engines.
There’s also the option to get a ‘trend/history’ report charting your Website’s link popularity over time.
We have to say we’ve found the results to be a tad variable at times, but the site is still a useful tool to find out who’s linking to your site and how you’re doing against both your rivals and the big boys of the Web.