Fast GPRS Web Browsers for Slow Connection and Opera Mini for Windows

Opera Mini is quite a popular application and used by almost all of us on Mobile devices for web browsing because it offers fast browsing even on slow GPRS connection. Problem comes when you are connected to Internet via GPRS on Computer / Laptop and you are stuck with slow loading webpages.

At the time of writing this article, I am at a rural place, far from my home without any fast 3G connection. Only option left with me is Airtel GPRS connected to Laptop and I was experimenting things to get things done somewhat faster.

Here are some results and my experiences with different web browsers at slow speed.

Though there is no program called for Opera Mini for Windows or any Desktop but Opera (Desktop version) has an awesome feature called Turbo which does similar job.

Opera Turbo offers faster web page loading and speedier browsing even on slow GPRS / EDGE connection. Obvious question is how does Opera Turbo mode does that and how can it squeeze out speed. So, let me tell you how.

Unlike regular web browsers, Opera Turbo doesn’t serve downloaded page elements (images, text, scripts, etc) from server. Whenever you request to open any web page, it first loads on Opera servers and compressed there before they actually load on your computer.

Opera turbo WebP Compression Mode

Opera Mini does similar thing but then it degrades image quality but Opera 11 came with a solution for that. Since Opera 11.1, Opera Turbo mode compresses JPGs using Google WebP image format offering loss-less compression.

Not just Fast

As the data loaded by you and using machine is compressed one and light in weight, you save bandwidth. This is useful when you are traveling and using Wi-Fi which is charged according to use.

Testing Firefox and Google Chrome on GPRS

Till version 3.6, Firefox never worked well on slow connections but Firefox 4 really does a good job even on GPRS connection comparing to its predecessor.

I will limit myself from giving out timings in seconds but even Google Chrome couldn’t outperform Opera Turbo Mode.

For browsing, I can conclude that Opera is a clear winner and you can call Opera Turbo as Opera Mini for Windows Computer.

When Downloading, I used Internet Downloaded Manager to squeeze out maximum possible speed from storage server. Maximum speed I received was 27.32 Kbps with an average speed of 22 kbps when tried on multiple sites.

Opera Mini 6 for iOS is out, high-res and with new UI

Has it been over an year since the last update? Anyway, Opera Mini 6 for iOS is finally here, nearly two months after v6 for other devices came out. The new version of the browser has much improved handling on the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, switching its user interface to make better use of the Retina screen or the tablet form factor respectively.

The star feature of Opera Mini, up to 90% reduction in data traffic, is still here, of course, but there are changes both on the inside and on the outside.

The interface has been polished (including an iPad-specific version of the UI) and there are Share buttons that will tell your friends what you like (over Facebook, Twitter or vKontakte). Panning and zooming are much faster and smoother than they used to be.

Here’s what the new tablet interface looks like:

Opera Mini 6 on iPad

The phone UI on the other hand looks mostly the same but is now Retina display ready (Opera Mini 5 for iOS came out before the iPhone 4 and was never updated).

Opera Mini 6 on iPhone

Opera CEO says they’ve put a lot of thought behind Opera Mini 6. They also take pride that they’ve submitted a single entry into the App Store that will mold itself to work on all iOS devices.

Opera Mini 6 and Opera Mobile 11 lanuch

Today, Opera took another step forward to solidifying their place as the mobile web browsing leader with the release of the new versions of their two mobile browsers. Opera Mini 6 and Opera Mobile 11 are immediately available for download on a large number of platforms.

Opera Mobile 11 utilizes the full power of HTML5, Flash (where supported) and the Opera Presto browser engine, which is used in the desktop version of the Opera 11 browser.

Both the Mini 6 and Mobile 11 now support pinch-to-zoom, improved scrolling, panning and zooming, and a share button, which let's you quickly share any page to Facebook, vKontakte, My Opera, and others.

We took the two new browsers for a spin and we have to say we are pretty satisfied with their performance. We have seen smoother zooming and panning, but it's good enough not to become irritating.

Opera Mobile 11 screenshots

The new Opera Mobile 11 is compatible with Windows 7 tablets, too, so if you happen to have one you might consider giving it a try.

Opera Mini 6 screenshots

The Opera Mini 6 is available for the Android, Blackberry, Symbian/S60 phones and the J2ME framework. As for the Opera Mobile 11 you can get it for Android, Symbian, MeeGo, Maemo and Windows 7 desktop (don't confuse it with Windows Phone 7). Happy browsing!