We know that beta versions of apps are supposed to have their share of hassles and issues. But even then, the recently released version of Opera Mobile had us stumped a fair bit. For the uninitiated, Opera Mobile is a browser for smartphones that was pretty much the last word in getting a desktop like browsing experience on your handset. Before the iPhone appeared on the horizon with its nifty Safari browser. A reply was necessary and sure enough, the folks at Opera promised a much more powerful Opera Mobile last year. A working sample was shown in February and had our jaws bouncing off the floor with options like panning and zooming, tabbed browsing and the like. So when Opera announced the release of the first beta version of Opera Mobile 9.5 a few weeks ago, we were rubbing our hands with glee. Yes, it was a beta, but then this is Opera we are talking about –- a company that gave us extremely powerful beta versions of Opera Mini, arguably the most popular mobile Internet browser around.

It seems we were a tad premature. For, the app comes with a stackful of issues. First off, it was available only for Windows Mobile and that too, only for touchscreens (the earlier version was available for Symbian and Windows Mobile – touchscreen as well as non-touchscreen devices). Then there was the little matter of getting it installed – we struggled for hours before finally getting it working on our Asus P320. To top it off, there are the problems that Opera themselves admit exist. This is what their website says are ”known issues” athttp://www.opera.com/products/mobile/download/:

“ActiveX is disabled — Flash plugins and embedded video streaming do not work.
Custom IME’s (like HTC’s IME) will be buggy at best, not working at worst.
Not multilingual build — Only English is supported. Problems with other languages (and input methods) are not unexpected.
Installation on memory cards may cause problems.
Text wraps in overview mode.
Main testing has been done on English HTC devices (Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, Touch, Touch Dual, Touch Cruise, TyTN and Wizard) and Samsung i900.”

All of which makes one wonder why Opera bothered releasing this version at all. It has been tested on a very limited of devices, has clear functionality issues and for all its promise, does not quite work the way it is supposed to. It might be a beta, but a very un-Opera one. For us, this represents the first real false note from the company on the mobile platform. Mind you, given Opera’s track record, we bet they will recover from it real soon.

We just hope they do it fast.

Related posts:

1. Opera Mobile 9.5 beta now available
2. Opera vs MS: The mobile angle?
3. Opera releases Opera Mini 4.1
4. Opera – adding Spice to the mobile Internet revolution
5. Opera Mini logs on to Android