Opera 6.20 Beta for S60

[donpedro]

A beta release of Opera 6.20 for S60 is now available from http://my.opera.com/forums/showthrea...914#post521914.

Please post your feedback in the MyOpera forums or in this thread.

Dag Olav Norem
Opera Software

[Raven]

Good stuff. Been using Opera on my phones for 1.5 years now, and I truly find it to be the best mobile browser around. I've just installed the new version, and have some initial impressions. I'll report back again when I've tried it some more.

The new Home page looks much better than the previous version. It's less "messy" now and easier to navigate. However, right after I installed and first loaded Opera 6.20, the Home page didn't show up correctly, but after I opened a web page and then went back to the Home page it was fine. And now when I exit and restart Opera it's displayed correctly. It might just be a small bug upon the first launch, I'm not sure, I guess you'll have to wait for more feedback to find out for sure. Another strange thing (bug?) about the Home page is that when you highlight a menu item from the top it's unreadable once highlighted, but as you scroll down to the bottom menu item they get clearer, and the last item is perfectly clear. I've attached a couple of screen shots to illustrate this.

It does seem to perform a little better now, faster, better formatting. The new 'Delete private data' as well as the 'Tags' option are both very welcomed additions.

A few suggestions, and things I find very annoying in both this and the previous S60 version:

-The annoying thing first. When I already have an active Internet connection and want to open a page in Opera, Opera will then just close my active connection and sometimes not even open the page I selected (even if it is the very same connection I want to use). So I then have to select to open that page two times. First for Opera to close my already open connection and then for Opera to actually start loading the page I have selected. This is annoying. I don't see why Opera can't just use my open connection? I have even set it to use the default connection in 'Settings'. This was never an issue in the UIQ version. I really hope you will correct this.

-Navigating. The new 'Tags' function seems very useful, but I haven't had a chance to test it out just yet. However, I have a suggestion that you enable some sort 'speed scrolling' when you hold in the cursor either UP or DOWN.

-Fonts. Please give us some font changing options, like in the new UIQ version. It would also be nice with multiple windows, although I'm not sure most S60 users would need/use it. There's also the RAM issue in phones like N3650 etc.


That's all I can think of for now, but I'll report back later if there's more.

[GhostDog]

Another great release!I can't add anything to the buglist,i had exactly the same problems as Raven except for the:

However, right after I installed and first loaded Opera 6.20, the Home page didn't show up correctly, but after I opened a web page and then went back to the Home page it was fine.

problem.

[GhostDog]

One more issue.I can't seem to login to the wap version of this forum: http://wap.allaboutsymbian.com/forum/ .I get a incorrect Username or Password error.I'm pretty sure i'm typing it right because i logged in the www version of the forum without any problems.

[Raven]

Ghost,

I think that's a problem with this site's WAP version, not with Opera itself. I already reported this in the Admin forum a little while ago here. I guess Rafe will have a look at it when he gets the time...

[GhostDog]

Maybe,but i just logged in using the builtin browser and ttemulator.

[donpedro]

Another strange thing (bug?) about the Home page is that when you highlight a menu item from the top it's unreadable once highlighted, but as you scroll down to the bottom menu item they get clearer, and the last item is perfectly clear. I've attached a couple of screen shots to illustrate this.

Thanks for the screenshots, very helpful. Are you using a 3650? We've mainly tested on devices with 64K colors, I suspect that may be the reason we have not seen it.

-The annoying thing first. When I already have an active Internet connection and want to open a page in Opera, Opera will then just close my active connection and sometimes not even open the page I selected (even if it is the very same connection I want to use). So I then have to select to open that page two times. First for Opera to close my already open connection and then for Opera to actually start loading the page I have selected. This is annoying. I don't see why Opera can't just use my open connection? I have even set it to use the default connection in 'Settings'. This was never an issue in the UIQ version. I really hope you will correct this.

We had a lot of problems with people who would have a WAP or MMS connection open and then start Opera. The browser would then use that connection and stay at 0kb downloaded, appearing to do nothing. Since it is not possible for the browser to know what connection is already open we implemented it so that Opera will only use connections which have been initiated by Opera itself. So this is a "feature" - the best of two evils.

On Symbian OS 7.0s (6600 and newer) this is not a problem as it supports multiple connections.

-Navigating. The new 'Tags' function seems very useful, but I haven't had a chance to test it out just yet.

Try changing the setting "Jump to text" to "Automatic". We'd really like to have it enabled by default, but are worried it will confuse new users.

However, I have a suggestion that you enable some sort 'speed scrolling' when you hold in the cursor either UP or DOWN.

There is some logic for this already. We can't make it too agressive because many users would not be able to keep track of where they are in the page.

-Fonts. Please give us some font changing options, like in the new UIQ version.

I wish we could. Problem is we need Truetype support in the OS. No Symbian device currently ships with Truetype support, but for UIQ there is a freetype engine available which third-party application developers can include in their app. So in the latest UIQ release we bundled that dll and an extra font.

Problem is that noone has ever tried that freetype.dll on S60. We experimented a bit with it, but could not get it working. If any other developers out there know how to solve this please let us know.

We are looking into some other alternatives, but even if they work out it will likely be some time.

It would also be nice with multiple windows, although I'm not sure most S60 users would need/use it. There's also the RAM issue in phones like N3650 etc.

We originally left it out because of RAM issues. But there is also a problem making a good user interface for it without a pointing device. No easy way to to do e.g. "open link in new window". We might bring multiple windows into a future release, but it's not on top of the to-do list.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'll report back later if there's more.

Thanks for your help!

[Raven]

Originally Posted by donpedro

Thanks for the screenshots, very helpful. Are you using a 3650? We've mainly tested on devices with 64K colors, I suspect that may be the reason we have not seen it.

Oh I see. I am using an N-Gage (4096 colours).

We had a lot of problems with people who would have a WAP or MMS connection open and then start Opera. The browser would then use that connection and stay at 0kb downloaded, appearing to do nothing. Since it is not possible for the browser to know what connection is already open we implemented it so that Opera will only use connections which have been initiated by Opera itself. So this is a "feature" - the best of two evils.

I understand, but shouldn't Opera still use my default connection when I have set it to do so in 'Settings', and also set that default connection to be my GPRS Internet connection? This is a real problem for me, and I'm sure for other users as well. As I am constantly connected to GPRS Internet using other programs such as IM messengers, and quickly want to look up something in Opera, the process of first closing my IM connection and then starting a new one in Opera becomes tedious. I used the 'Doris' browser for a while and this was never an issue there... Doris would recognize my active connection immediately and use it. Doris is of course an inferior browser compared to Opera in many ways, but being able to_quickly_open a web page is perhaps the most essential thing about having a mobile Internet browser.

A solution to this is to always have Opera open and active, but that is far from a perfect solution.

Couldn't you just make Opera recognize a "faulty" connection such as WAP/MMS, and respond with an error explaining that Opera can't use the current connection? I know I'm oversimplifying it, but surely there must be a solution to this?

About fonts, I understand. Multiple windows would be nice for us N-Gage users where RAM isn't such a big issue though. Shouldn't really be an issue for 6600 and SX1 users either, just for x650 users really.

Anyway, many thanks for such a great browser, and it's nice to see that you are listening to the users and constantly looking to improve an already terrific mobile browser!

[donpedro]

Originally Posted by Raven

Oh I see. I am using an N-Gage (4096 colours).

Problem confirmed on 3650. Will fix for the final release.

This is a real problem for me, and I'm sure for other users as well. As I am constantly connected to GPRS Internet using other programs such as IM messengers, and quickly want to look up something in Opera.

I can definately understand your problem. As mentioned previously it was a choice between two evils. Hard to say if we made the right decision.

Couldn't you just make Opera recognize a "faulty" connection such as WAP/MMS, and respond with an error explaining that Opera can't use the current connection?

As far as we know this is not possible with Symbian OS 6.1 (and we investigated quite a bit). The OS does not provide a way to query which connection is active. So Opera can't know if it is the right one or a useless WAP-connection.

I know I'm oversimplifying it, but surely there must be a solution to this?

Yes. Symbian OS 7.0S... ;-)

[badger]

I have one comment.

On the home page, if you switch to full screen, then back, then full screen once more the tab on the right hand side is out of sync. It stays in the same position even through the screen size has changed.

It only happens on the Opera home page, If I change it to a page I created myself it is then OK.

Will the 7610 be shipping with this broswer?

Just wondering as the Keyboard Shortcuts has an image of one next to it!

[donpedro]

Originally Posted by badger

On the home page, if you switch to full screen, then back, then full screen once more the tab on the right hand side is out of sync. It stays in the same position even through the screen size has changed. It only happens on the Opera home page, If I change it to a page I created myself it is then OK.

It's because that page is smaller than the screen (when in full screen).

The position of the tab changes when there is new scroll information. But since it is not possible to scroll at all the tab does not get new coordinates. The correct behavior would probably be to have no tab at all...

Will the 7610 be shipping with this broswer? Just wondering as the Keyboard Shortcuts has an image of one next to it!

Our web designer made all the graphics. I've seen this new startpage dozens of times every day for weeks and never actually noticed that that one looks like a 7610!