Opera Mini

Opera Mini
Red letter "O" viewed from the side at 45 degrees angle. A green label on the bottom right corner reads: "Mini".

Screenshot of Opera Mini on Android
Developer(s) Opera Software
Initial release 10 August 2005 (2005-08-10)
Stable release(s) [±]
Android 28.0.2254.119213 / 18 July 2017 (2017-07-18)[1][2]
iOS 14.0.0 / 16 June 2016 (2016-06-16)[3]
Windows Mobile 10 and Phone 8.1 9.1.0.232 / 16 June 2016 (2016-06-16)[4]
BlackBerry 8.0.1 / 10 July 2014 (2014-07-10)[5]
Symbian 7.1.32453 / 6 December 2016 (2016-12-06)[6]
Java ME 8.0 / 12 March 2014 (2014-03-12)[7]
Preview release(s) [±]
Android 29.0.2254.119972 / August 12, 2017 (2017-08-12)[8]
Written in C++, Java, Pike[9]
Operating system Android, iOS, Tizen, Windows 10 Mobile
Engine Presto (using server-side rendering), Blink
Available in 90 languages[10]
Type Mobile browser
License Freeware
Website www.opera.com/mobile/mini

Opera Mini is a mobile web browser developed by the Opera Software company. Primarily designed for Java ME platform. Later, it is available for Android, iOS and Tizen. It previously supported Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry.

Opera Mini was derived from the Opera web browser. Opera Mini requests web pages through Opera Software's compression proxy, the compression server process and compress requested web pages by up to 90% before sending them to the mobile phone, speeding up transfer by two to three times and dramatically reducing the amount of data transferred, chargeable on many mobile phone data plans. The pre-processing increases compatibility with web pages not designed for mobile phones. However, interactive sites which depend upon the device processing JavaScript do not work properly.

In February 2013, Opera reported 300 million unique Opera Mini active users and 150 billion page views served during that month. This represented an increase of 25 million users from September 2012. [11]

History

Origin

Opera Mini was derived from the Opera web browser for personal computers, which has been publicly available since 1996.[12] Opera Mini was originally intended for use on mobile phones not capable of running a conventional Web browser.[13] It was introduced on 10 August 2005, as a pilot project in cooperation with the Norwegian television station TV 2,[14] and only available to TV 2 customers. A beta version was made available in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland on 20 October 2005.[15] After the final version was launched in Germany on 10 November 2005,[16] and quietly released to all countries through the Opera Mini website in December, the browser was officially launched worldwide on 24 January 2006.[17] On 3 May 2006, Opera Mini 2.0 was released. It included new features such as the ability to download files, new custom skins, more search engine options on the built-in search bar, a speed dial option, new search engines, and improved navigation.[18] On 1 November 2006, Opera Mini 3 beta introduced secure browsing, RSS feeds, photo uploading and content folding into its list of features and capabilities.[19] Content folding works by folding long lists such as navigation bars into a single line that can be expanded as needed. A second beta was released on 22 November,[20] and on 28 November, the final version of Opera Mini 3 was released.[21]

Opera Mini 4

On 7 November 2007, Opera Mini 4 was released. According to Johan Schön, technical lead of Opera Mini development, the entire code was rewritten.[22] Opera Mini 4 includes the ability to view web pages similarly to a desktop based browser by introducing Overview and Zoom functions, and a landscape view setting. In Overview mode, the user can scroll a zoomed-out version of certain web pages.[23] Using a built-in pointer, the user can zoom into a portion of the page to provide a clearer view; this is similar to the functionality of Opera's Nintendo-based web browsers. This version also includes the ability to synchronise with Opera on a personal computer.[24][25] Prior to Opera Mini 4, the browser was offered in two editions: Opera Mini Advanced for high-memory MIDP 2 phones, and Opera Mini Basic for low-memory MIDP 1 phones.[26] Opera Mini 4 replaced Opera Mini Advanced.[27] Originally, Google was the default search engine on Opera Mini.[28] On 8 January 2007, Opera Software and Yahoo! announced a partnership to make Yahoo! search the default instead.[29] On 27 February 2008, Opera Software announced that Google would henceforth be the default search engine for Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. A version for the Android operating system was announced on 10 April 2008. Rather than port the code to Android, a wrapper was created to translate Java ME API calls to Android API calls.[30]

Later versions

On 16 August 2009, Opera Software released Opera Mini 5.0 beta, which included tabbed browsing, a password manager, improved touch screen support, and a new interface, with a visual Speed Dial similar to the one introduced by Opera Software in their desktop browser.[31] The browser's use of compression and encrypted proxy-based technology to reduce traffic and speed page display has the side effect of allowing it to circumvent several approaches to Internet censorship. Since 20 November 2009, there have been reports from Chinese users that when they use Opera Mini, they are redirected to an error page leading them to download Opera Mini China version. This is almost certainly due to the Chinese government being concerned that users are using Opera Mini to bypass the Great Firewall of China. Opera agreed to route all of their traffic through government servers.[32][33] In 2009–10: A press release announcing that Indonesia's Smart Telecom had chosen Opera Mini for their devices said that Opera Mini was the world's most popular mobile browser, and that Russia and Indonesia were the largest users.[34] An iPhone version was approved for distribution by the Apple App Store on 13 April 2010.[35][36]

On 3 September 2014, Opera started taking registrations for the beta version of Opera Mini for Windows Phone.[37] Opera Mini was released for Windows Phone six days later, on 9 September 2014, as a public beta.[38] This marked Opera's return to Microsoft's mobile platform since the demise of Windows Mobile.

Functionality

Opera Mini use a transcoder server to translate HTML/CSS/JavaScript into a more compact format. It can also shrink any images to fit as the handset screen. This translation step makes Opera Mini fast.

The functionality of Opera Mini's Extreme data savings mode is somewhat different from a conventional Web browser, with the amount of data which has to be transferred much reduced, but with some loss to functionality. Most versions of Opera Mini work in this mode. It was completely redesigned and can switch between Mini, Turbo, and Uncompressed modes. Gaining functionality at the cost of lower compression in non-Mini modes.[39]

Most Opera Mini versions use only the Mini server-based compression method, with maximal compression but some issues with interactive applications. A selectable server-based Turbo mode (called "High Mode" or "off-road" in some versions) was added later, similar to Mini mode but bypassing compression for interactive functionality, at the expense of less extreme data compression. Opera Mini can operate in Mini (called "Extreme" mode), Turbo and Uncompressed modes (called "Data Savings Off" mode), effectively combining the functionality of the Mobile and Mini versions.[39] Turbo and Mini modes reduce the amount of data transferred, and increases speed on the slower connections. A test in 2015 found that for some typical Web content, Opera Mini reduced the amount of data transmitted by about 90% in Extreme Mode; in High mode it reduced amount by about 50% similar to Google Chrome's Reduced Data mode.[40]

Unlike straightforward web browsers, Opera Mini fetches all content through a proxy server and reformats web pages into a format more suitable for small screens.[41] A page is compressed, then delivered to the phone in a markup language called OBML (Opera Binary Markup Language), which Opera Mini can interpret.[42] The data compression makes transfer time about two to three times faster,[23] and the pre-processing improves the display of web pages not designed for small screens.[43]

By default, Opera Mini opens one connection to the proxy servers, which it keeps open and re-uses as required. This improves transfer speed and enables the servers to quickly synchronize changes to bookmarks stored in Opera Mini server. [44]

The Opera Software company maintains over 100 proxy servers to handle Opera Mini traffic. They run Linux and are massively parallel and massively redundant."[45]

Standard support

From 16 March 2015, Opera Mini's extreme compression mode uses an upgraded version of the Presto layout engine that is included in Opera 12.[46] Consequently, Opera Mini supports most of the web standards supported in Opera 12. Presto's development has continued for Opera Mini and further support was added for HTML5 input types, CSS Flexbox model, CSS rem units and ECMAScript 5.[46] However, unlike the desktop edition of Opera, frames are flattened because of client limitations, and dotted or dashed borders are displayed as solid borders due to bandwidth and memory issues.[47] As Opera Mini reformats web pages, it does not pass the Acid2 standards compliance test.[48][49] Opera Mini supports bi-directional text, meaning that it can correctly display right-to-left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew in addition to languages written left-to-right. However, it will not display right-to-left text if the font size is set to small or very small.[22] Indic and Chinese scripts are supported only if an appropriate font is installed on the device as the default system font.

Small-Screen Rendering

For devices with screens 128 pixels wide or smaller, the default rendering mode is Small-Screen Rendering (SSR). In this mode, the page is reformatted into a single vertical column so that it need only be scrolled vertically.[23] Long lists and navigation bars are automatically collapsed (hiding most of the list or bar) by a feature known as "content folding". A plus (+) sign is displayed next to the collapsed content; when clicked, it toggles content folding.[50] Web developers can turn on SSR on the desktop edition of Opera to see how their websites will be displayed on mobile editions of Opera.[51] In SSR mode images are scaled down to no more than 70% of the screen size in either direction.[47]

Complex script rendering

Opera Mini can send content in bitmap image form if a font required is not available on the device, which is useful for indic scripts. Hindi, Bengali and a few other non-Latin character sets are supported.

JavaScript support

When browsing the Web in Opera Mini mode, JavaScript is processed by the proxy server, and is merely rendered on the device. This limits interactivity. Scripts cannot be run in the background on the device. If a script is paused (on the server), the browser must communicate with the server to unpause it. JavaScript will only run for a couple of seconds on the Mini server before pausing, due to resource constraints.[52] On Opera Mini, before the page is sent to the mobile device, its onLoad events are fired and all scripts are allowed a maximum of two seconds to execute. The setInterval and setTimeout functions are disabled, so scripts designed to wait a certain amount of time before executing will not execute at all.[53] After the scripts have finished or the timeout is reached, all scripts are stopped and the page is compressed and sent to the mobile device. Once on the device, only a handful of events are allowed to trigger scripts:[53]

When one of these events is triggered, sends a request to the proxy server to process the event. The proxy server then executes the JavaScript and returns the revised page to the mobile device.[53] Pop-ups, if not blocked by the JavaScript restrictions, replace the web page being viewed.[55] Opera has published Web content authoring guidelines to assist authors.[56]

Opera Mini can run in Turbo and Uncompressed modes, in addition to Mini mode. In Turbo mode, the amount of data transferred is still much reduced by compression, but, unlike Mini mode, JavaScript is not intercepted by the server and works properly. After the scripts have finished or the timeout is reached, all scripts are stopped and the page is compressed and sent to the mobile device. Once on the device, only a handful of events are allowed to trigger scripts:

Privacy and security

Opera Mini encrypts the connection between the mobile device and the Opera proxy server for security. The encryption key is obtained on the first start by requesting random keys a certain number of times.[57]Opera Mini supports most advanced version of Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol [58] it also supports modern secure ciphers like AES-GCM and ECC. So the personal details, like credit-card information or passwords are safe.[59] However, Opera Mini's Extreme mode does not offer true end-to-end security when visiting secured HTTPS encrypted website only for data saving purpose.[60] With "Extreme/Mini mode" when visiting an encrypted web page, first the Opera Mini's servers decrypt the page, compress it for data saving then re-encrypt it themselves and finally forward it to the destination phone.[61] While browsing secured site with "High/Turbo mode" or "Uncompressed mode" the connection isn't intercepted by the Opera Mini server. That means High mode or Uncompressed mode does not break end-to-end integrity. [62]

Features

Opera Mini uses cloud acceleration and data compression technology. Opera Mini servers act as a proxy which compresses and renders the data of web pages before sending it to users. This process helps to load web content faster.

The display may be toggled between portrait and landscape mode by keystrokes, or will switch automatically on phones with orientation sensors. The default orientation can be changed.[23] The image quality may be set to "Low", "Medium", or "High".[63] Page load times are affected by the chosen image quality setting.[64] Opera Mini supports only one font,[47] which can be set to "Small", "Medium", "Large", or "Extra large" size.[63] If a web page uses Courier or a generic monospaced font, the one font is still used, but the characters are spaced out so that each character takes up the same amount of space.[47]

Browsing tools

Opera Mini's address bar is capable of using several pre-configured search engines. The user can add more search engines.[63] The default search engines are Google and Wikipedia.

Opera Mini supports Ad Blocking feature. If adblocking feature is ON then Ads are blocked by the Opera Mini servers & then webpages rendered to the phone. [65]

Opera Mini supports web feed aggregator, Night mode, Private/Incognito browsing. And can save bookmarks, download files, streaming, save web pages for offline reading, and it remembers the user's browsing history.

Opera synchronization

By signed into Opera Account; Saved Bookmarks, Speed Dials, Opened Tabs could be backed-up and synchronized between different phones or with the Opera browser on computers, using the "Opera Sync" service. And can be accessed through web interface at https://sync.opera.com/web/

Market adoption

The overall share of the Opera family in the mobile Web browser market was about 5.58% in July 2017.[66] Figures for Opera Mini within this were not available. Most users come from India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, China, Russia, Ukraine and Pakistan.[67]

Data centers

Total data consumed by Opera Mini users worldwide from 2006 to mid-2008 in TB

Opera Mini relies on data centers processing the Web page before sending it back to the phone in a compressed binary form. Opera Software operates data centers in United States, Norway, China, Korea, Poland and Iceland.[68][69]

Network operators

Several mobile network companies pre-install Opera Mini on their mobile phones, including Telenor, AT&T, Vodafone, T-Mobile, KDDI, Omnitel, Pannon GSM, Telefónica Móviles de España and TMN.

Devices

The following devices came pre-installed with Opera Mini as of August 2007. Some listed devices only included Opera Mini when bought from certain network operators.[70]

While not officially supported on Chrome OS, Vlad Filippov published a guide how to run Opera Mini inside Chromium browser.[73]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Opera Mini - fast web browser APK". APKPure. 18 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Opera Mini - fast web browser". APKMirror. Illogical Robot. 18 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Opera Mini web browser on the App Store on iTunes". 16 June 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Opera Mini - Windows Apps on Microsoft Store". 16 June 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Opera Mini web browser - BlackBerry World". 10 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Opera Mini web browser for Symbian on softonic". 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "New Opera Mini for Java and BlackBerry - Opera Software". 12 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "Opera Mini browser beta APKs". 13 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Lextrait, Vincent (January 2010). "The Programming Languages Beacon, v10.0". Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  10. ↑ https://blogs.opera.com/india/2016/01/opera-mini-is-going-even-more-multilingual-this-republic-day/
  11. ↑ https://thenextweb.com/dd/2015/12/24/the-unknown-browser-with-300-million-users-thats-breaking-your-site/undefined/dd/2015/12/24/the-unknown-browser-with-300-million-users-thats-breaking-your-site/
  12. ↑ "Affiliated Organization of Firefox and Mozilla" (PDF). Mozilla Japan. 2006. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  13. ↑ Goldman, Daniel (3 May 2006). "Opera Mini 2.0 ReleasedDaniel Goldman". Opera Watch. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  14. ↑ "Have WAP but want WEB? Introducing Opera Mini for mobile phones" (Press release). Opera Software. 10 August 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  15. ↑ "Mobile comfort in the cold: Opera Mini beta now available free in the Nordics" (Press release). Opera Software. 10 November 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  16. ↑ "The full Internet for all mobile phones: Opera Mini launched in Germany" (Press release). Opera Software. 10 November 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  17. ↑ Gohring, Nancy (24 January 2006). "Opera Officially Launches Mini Browser". PC World. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
  18. ↑ "Mini Gets Mighty: Introducing Opera Mini 2.0 for your mobile phone" (Press release). Opera Software. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  19. ↑ Goldman, Daniel (1 November 2006). "Limited testing of Opera Mini 3 beta". Opera Watch. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  20. ↑ Spilling, Marianne (22 November 2006). "Opera Mini 3.0 Beta 2". Opera Software. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  21. ↑ "Opera Mini drives social networking on mobile phones" (Press release). Opera Software. 28 November 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  22. 1 2 Schön, Johan (7 November 2007). "The power of the Web with Opera Mini 4". Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Opera Mini Features". Opera Software. February 2009. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Calore, Micheal "Opera 4 Beta Released", Wired News, 19 June 2007
  25. ↑ Heater, Brian "Opera Mini 4 Goes Live", AppScout (Ziff Davis), 7 November 2007
  26. ↑ "Opera Mini FAQ". Opera Software. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. |section= ignored (help)
  27. ↑ "Generic Advanced MIDP 2". Download Opera Mini. Opera Software. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  28. ↑ "Opera Software chooses Google as search partner". Reuters. 28 December 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
  29. ↑ "Opera Names Yahoo! Exclusive Global Partner for Mobile Search" (Press release). Yahoo!. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
  30. ↑ "The story behind Opera Mini on Google Android". Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  31. ↑ http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2009/09/16/
  32. ↑ "Opera Mini国际版屏蔽国内用户" (in Chinese). Solidot. 21 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  33. ↑ Millward, Steven (22 November 2009). "Opera accused of censorship, betrayal by Chinese users". CNet Asia.
  34. ↑ http://www.mobile-fun.org/reviews/category/indonesia/
  35. ↑ "Opera Mini Submitted to App Store".
  36. ↑ "Opera Mini Approved for App Store".
  37. ↑ Opera Mini Beta Subscriptions Now Open For Windows Phone
  38. ↑ Opera Mini beta for Windows Phone now available for anyone to test
  39. 1 2 Opera development Web site:Opera Mini 8 for iOS released, 26 June 2014
  40. ↑ Mihir Patkar (11 September 2015). "Is Opera Mini's Data Compression Good Enough to Switch?". Makeuseof.com. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  41. ↑ "Developer case study: Managing Java fragmentation, Opera Software's Java ME browser client: About Opera Mini". Sony Ericsson. 23 June 2006. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  42. ↑ "Opera 3Q05 Results" (PDF). 21 November 2005. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
  43. ↑ Duncan, Geoff (24 January 2006). "Opera Mini Officially Brings Web to Mobiles". Digital Trends News. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
  44. ↑ FAQ, What is the difference between ‘http connection' and ‘socket connection'?.
  45. ↑ Gohring, Nancy (24 January 2006). "Opera Officially Launches Mini Browser". PC World. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  46. 1 2 Lawson, Bruce (16 March 2015). "Opera Mini server upgrade". Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  47. 1 2 3 4 Storey, David (31 August 2007). "Evolving the Internet on your phone: Designing web sites with Opera Mini 4 in mind". Opera Software. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  48. ↑ "Opera Mini 4 beta out". June 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  49. ↑ "Opera Mini Simulator". Opera Software. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  50. ↑ "Content folding". Opera Mini Features. Opera Software. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  51. ↑ "Opera's Small-Screen Rendering". Opera Software. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  52. ↑ Opera Mini: web content authoring guidelines: Javascript support
  53. 1 2 3 Mills, Chris (25 October 2007). "JavaScript support in Opera Mini 4 (deprecated article)". Opera Software. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  54. 1 2 3 4 "HTML event types". Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Events Specification. 13 November 2000. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  55. ↑ "Designing With Opera Mini in Mind". Opera Software. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  56. ↑ Opera Mini: web content authoring guidelines
  57. ↑ "Opera Mini FAQ". Opera Software. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19. |section= ignored (help)
  58. ↑ https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/viewMyClient.html
  59. ↑ https://blogs.opera.com/mobile/2016/03/opera-mini-takes-care-security/
  60. ↑ McGee, Brandon (14 October 2007). "Recommendation for Mobile Banking Vendors & An Update on Opera Browsers". Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  61. ↑ FAQ, How does encryption work in Opera Mini?.
  62. ↑ https://opera.com/turbo
  63. 1 2 3 "Opera Mini Simulator". Opera Mini Features. Opera Software. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  64. ↑ Goldman, Daniel (15 August 2007). "How to get higher quality images with Opera Mini?". Opera Watch. Retrieved 4 January 2008.
  65. ↑ Opera Mini 16 for Android
  66. ↑ "Browser Market Share Worldwide". StatCounter. July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  67. ↑ "Opera Mini becomes one of the world's most popular Android apps". 4 May 2015.
  68. ↑ "Opera slashes power usage with new server parks". Opera b2b. Oslo, Norway: Opera Software. 24 June 2010.
  69. ↑ "Serving up more Opera Mini in Europe: Opera opens new data center in Poland". Opera b2b. Oslo, Norway: Opera Software. 30 June 2009.
  70. ↑ Goldman, Daniel (27 August 2007). "Phones with Opera Mini pre-installed, distribution partners, and more". Opera Watch. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  71. ↑ "Motorola and Sprint Announce World’s First Push-To-Talk Android-Powered Smartphone – Motorola i1" (Press release). Motorola. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  72. ↑ "Opera Mini Web browser pre-installed with Nokia 6300" (Press release). Opera Software. 14 December 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  73. ↑ Dev.Opera — Opera Mini on your Chromebook for fun and bandwidth
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Opera Mini.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.