3 ms·

Opera Mini for iPhone submitted to Apple for approval (video)

25 points by glymor 17y ago

ZeroGravitas 17y ago
Are any of the existing webkit browsers any good? The built in one is great but I think I could get benefit from a more geek-focused one.
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
- hexley 17y ago
  iCabMobile is pretty geeky
yread 17y ago
I for one am looking forward to the ballot screen on iPhone!
bruceboughton 17y ago
They have a count-up timer of how long it's taking to be approved: http://my.opera.com/community/countup/ http://my.opera.com/community/countup/ It's not clear what statement they're trying to make with this but it's not pretty.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  Yes I agree; the counter is a bit of an idiotic move... it's like sticking a finger up at Apple and saying "deny us if you dare" Which is fine; but I think they lose some of the validity to be disgruntled if declined.
  - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
    Yes, because you should always show all due deference to the owner of your plantation, sorry platform. No backtalk or you'll lose your disgruntlement privileges.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      Well for a start it hands Apple an excuse to not approve them (i.e. by saying Opera was rude and uncooperative in it's submission or something). Also if your later disgruntlement is going to be based around the fact Apple are being nasty (a fair complaint if they are refused for a random reason) then being a bit narky yourself doesn't help. But most of all it makes this whole application process look a lot like them trying to force a confrontation...
      - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
        If Apple is banning apps because the developers are rude to them then that right there is a problem worth highlighting. I would suggest it is already a confrontation, the fact that almost all other developers have cowed before Apple (because they have no leverage and will therefore lose, possibly for utterly random reasons) and Opera has chosen not to, doesn't change the fundamental nature of things.
        ErrantX 17y ago
        > If Apple is banning apps because the developers are rude to them then that right there is a problem worth highlighting. All else equal if someone submitted a program to a platform I ran then created a "how long since we submitted the app...." counter I would probably click the "go away, jerk" button, to be perfectly honest ;) There's no need to fawn, certainly. But being grown up is advisable IMO. > I would suggest it is already a confrontation, the fact that almost all other developers have cowed before Apple (because they have no leverage and will therefore lose, possibly for utterly random reasons) and Opera has chosen not to, doesn't change the fundamental nature of things. Entirely irrelevant. Opera are just blowing smoke in a sense; Apple are approving apps much faster now, Apple are approving browser apps. There is no prior art that would suggest they are likely to not approve Opera mini. I dont see how a counter is leverage in this - if Apple want to drop them then they'll drop them. As already pointed out whatever they do there will be whinging - so it doesn't matter too much to them either way. I dont think the outcome of this will fundamentally alter anything about the app store or Apple's process. And I expect Opera mini will be approved...... This is a PR stunt to Opera. Nothing more.
- EsquireCats 17y ago
  Maybe they can post a timer showing how long it took them to release it - since in the time that they started talking about Opera for iPhone, there have been numerous other releases from less hype-heavy developers. (e.g. iCab)
IgorPartola 17y ago
I hope that this gets approved. I don't care much about their extra features, but on the 3G model Safari is dog slow.
ashleytowers 17y ago
Doing all the rendering on the server side is certainly an interesting approach - however, I wonder if the speed comparison will be as favourable once that server is doing the rendering for millions of users!
- IgorPartola 17y ago
  Yes, but that's Opera's problem. I wonder though, if they fall back on using WebKit/other local HTML rendering engine if their servers go down.
- glymor 17y ago
  From 2008: Opera Mini has become the world's most popular mobile browser. Since its worldwide launch in 2006, more than 44 million people have downloaded and used Opera Mini. More than 11.9 million people used Opera Mini in March 2008. I think they can handle the load.
  - axod 17y ago
    The privacy issue is probably bigger. I don't really want every page I browse to be going through their proxies.
    - glymor 17y ago
      Your pages are already going through an ISP proxy. And that ISP is also retaining your web activity for at least government use.
      - ErrantX 17y ago
        Adding another proxy is adding another "line of attack" though. Also where are the Opera servers located (and Opera as an entity etc.)? could be that it provides another country the opportunity to subpoena your records from them etc.
        glymor 17y ago
hexley 17y ago
I'm hoping Apple will deny it simply because I'm excited to see the huge quantity of whine that it will result in -flooding the tubes for weeks with it's open letters, Op Ed pieces and my favourite of all, the endless indignant blog posts. Way better than a soap.
- smokinn 17y ago
  It doesn't really matter what Apple does at this point, there will be whining either way. Either they reject it and people whine that they want Opera or they accept it and people whine that Apple is giving Opera preferential treatment.
  - stcredzero 17y ago
    If I were Apple, I'd hold up Opera's approval for a few weeks while implementing the thing in-house. A couple of months after Opera Mini's on the iPhone, Safari would have the same capability.

25 points by glymor 17y ago

Are any of the existing webkit browsers any good? The built in one is great but I think I could get benefit from a more geek-focused one.

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]
hexley 17y ago
iCabMobile is pretty geeky

yread 17y ago

I for one am looking forward to the ballot screen on iPhone!

bruceboughton 17y ago

They have a count-up timer of how long it's taking to be approved: http://my.opera.com/community/countup/ http://my.opera.com/community/countup/ It's not clear what statement they're trying to make with this but it's not pretty.

ErrantX 17y ago
Yes I agree; the counter is a bit of an idiotic move... it's like sticking a finger up at Apple and saying "deny us if you dare" Which is fine; but I think they lose some of the validity to be disgruntled if declined.
- ZeroGravitas 17y ago
  Yes, because you should always show all due deference to the owner of your plantation, sorry platform. No backtalk or you'll lose your disgruntlement privileges.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    Well for a start it hands Apple an excuse to not approve them (i.e. by saying Opera was rude and uncooperative in it's submission or something). Also if your later disgruntlement is going to be based around the fact Apple are being nasty (a fair complaint if they are refused for a random reason) then being a bit narky yourself doesn't help. But most of all it makes this whole application process look a lot like them trying to force a confrontation...
    - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
      If Apple is banning apps because the developers are rude to them then that right there is a problem worth highlighting. I would suggest it is already a confrontation, the fact that almost all other developers have cowed before Apple (because they have no leverage and will therefore lose, possibly for utterly random reasons) and Opera has chosen not to, doesn't change the fundamental nature of things.
      - ErrantX 17y ago
        > If Apple is banning apps because the developers are rude to them then that right there is a problem worth highlighting. All else equal if someone submitted a program to a platform I ran then created a "how long since we submitted the app...." counter I would probably click the "go away, jerk" button, to be perfectly honest ;) There's no need to fawn, certainly. But being grown up is advisable IMO. > I would suggest it is already a confrontation, the fact that almost all other developers have cowed before Apple (because they have no leverage and will therefore lose, possibly for utterly random reasons) and Opera has chosen not to, doesn't change the fundamental nature of things. Entirely irrelevant. Opera are just blowing smoke in a sense; Apple are approving apps much faster now, Apple are approving browser apps. There is no prior art that would suggest they are likely to not approve Opera mini. I dont see how a counter is leverage in this - if Apple want to drop them then they'll drop them. As already pointed out whatever they do there will be whinging - so it doesn't matter too much to them either way. I dont think the outcome of this will fundamentally alter anything about the app store or Apple's process. And I expect Opera mini will be approved...... This is a PR stunt to Opera. Nothing more.
EsquireCats 17y ago
Maybe they can post a timer showing how long it took them to release it - since in the time that they started talking about Opera for iPhone, there have been numerous other releases from less hype-heavy developers. (e.g. iCab)

IgorPartola 17y ago

I hope that this gets approved. I don't care much about their extra features, but on the 3G model Safari is dog slow.

ashleytowers 17y ago

Doing all the rendering on the server side is certainly an interesting approach - however, I wonder if the speed comparison will be as favourable once that server is doing the rendering for millions of users!

IgorPartola 17y ago
Yes, but that's Opera's problem. I wonder though, if they fall back on using WebKit/other local HTML rendering engine if their servers go down.
glymor 17y ago
From 2008: Opera Mini has become the world's most popular mobile browser. Since its worldwide launch in 2006, more than 44 million people have downloaded and used Opera Mini. More than 11.9 million people used Opera Mini in March 2008. I think they can handle the load.
- axod 17y ago
  The privacy issue is probably bigger. I don't really want every page I browse to be going through their proxies.
  - glymor 17y ago
    Your pages are already going through an ISP proxy. And that ISP is also retaining your web activity for at least government use.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      Adding another proxy is adding another "line of attack" though. Also where are the Opera servers located (and Opera as an entity etc.)? could be that it provides another country the opportunity to subpoena your records from them etc.
      - glymor 17y ago

hexley 17y ago

I'm hoping Apple will deny it simply because I'm excited to see the huge quantity of whine that it will result in -flooding the tubes for weeks with it's open letters, Op Ed pieces and my favourite of all, the endless indignant blog posts. Way better than a soap.

smokinn 17y ago
It doesn't really matter what Apple does at this point, there will be whining either way. Either they reject it and people whine that they want Opera or they accept it and people whine that Apple is giving Opera preferential treatment.
- stcredzero 17y ago
  If I were Apple, I'd hold up Opera's approval for a few weeks while implementing the thing in-house. A couple of months after Opera Mini's on the iPhone, Safari would have the same capability.