Installing Opera Mini on the Palm OS

A blogger has posted a nice write up of how to get the new Opera Mini browser up and running on a Palm OS device. The new J2ME proxy based browser optimizes web pages for smaller screens.

Update: Opera Mini has been officially released for Palm OS.

Opera Mini for the Palm OSOpera Mini allows users to access the Web on mobile phones that would normally be incapable of running a Web browser. This includes the vast majority of today's WAP-enabled phones. Instead of requiring the phone to process Web pages, it uses a remote server to pre-process the page before sending it to the phone.

Because it is a Java based application it requires the WebSphere Java Virtual Environment available from Palm. It currently supports both low and high resolution screens. The installation tutorial is available here.

Thanks to PalmAddicts for the tip.

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T3 crash

rasty @ 8/17/2005 2:54:36 PM # Q
For information, I've just tried it on my T3 and it crashes when I try to change language...

RE: T3 crash
hkklife @ 8/17/2005 3:33:45 PM # Q
It's likely just as worthless as Blazer 4 is. WHEN will the OS get a real native web browser???

Is FrankenGarnet just not up to the task??

RE: T3 crash
scorched @ 8/17/2005 3:53:58 PM # Q
it crashes on my T3 the instant it launch it... how did you get to the language part?

RE: T3 crash
joad @ 8/17/2005 4:45:34 PM # Q
"how did you get to the language part?"

Meny (Menu)-> Verktoy (Tools) -> Innstillinger (Settings) -> Sprak (Language) - (pick one then) -> Lagre (Save)

RE: T3 crash
rasty @ 8/17/2005 5:11:04 PM # Q
I didn't do anything special at all! I suspect crashes are random..

Thank you Java!

RE: T3 crash
AdamaDBrown @ 8/17/2005 5:21:13 PM # Q
hkklife, haven't tried it myself, but I've heard from the people who got it running that it's actually quite good.

Besides, there's almost nothing that can suck as badly as Blazer 4.

RE: T3 crash
hkklife @ 8/17/2005 7:25:20 PM # Q
I actually miss the Zire 72's WebPro 3.5 running on my T3. I never got around to trying the Novarra browser on the Zod but I heard that was pretty decent (it's back for sale again, btw, after a temporary hiatus due to Tapwave's closure).



RE: T3 crash
MarcosV @ 8/17/2005 8:51:30 PM # Q

rasty wrote:

" I didn't do anything special at all! I suspect crashes are random..

Thank you Java!"


Your blaming the crash you are experiencing on the Java programming language!?

Do you have any idea how ignorant that is!?

Until Opera tests out their software on an actual Palm OS device, there is absolutely no freakin way of knowing the root cause of the crash. Rest assured though, it would not be caused by the language it was written in since it was surely tested on many J2ME mobile phones before they actually deployed the product.

If you look at Opera's site, you will see no mention of Palm, which means they did not target these devices on this release.

So the next time a native Palm app crashes on you, perhaps you should yell out "Thanks Palm native C API's!"

Sorry man, don't mean to get nuts here, but it's just off base and as a developer, IMHO Java J2ME is the best thinkg to happen to PDA's and Smartphones.

Jim

Oh my.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 8/17/2005 10:18:33 PM # Q
Three guesses who is a Java developer...


------------------------
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.
------------------------

The Palm Economy = Communism™
The Great Palm Swindle: http://www.palminfocenter.com/comment_view.asp?ID=7864#108038

RE: T3 crash
jeg815 @ 8/18/2005 10:36:04 AM # Q
Here are screenshots I took of it running great on my T3. I am also using it on my Treo 650, it is very cool running is Hi-res+ mode on the t3.

http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?p=844550&posted=1#post844550

Also here's a link to my Opera Mini preview at palmaddict

http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2005/08/17/index.html

scroll a few down to read it on the above link.

RE: T3 crash
rasty @ 8/18/2005 11:00:21 AM # Q
"Your blaming the crash you are experiencing on the Java programming language!?"

I blame it on Java, yes, because if it was the utopistic language it's being sold for, such applications would at least be compatible between a Treo 650 and a T3...!

Other laguages don't pretend to generate software that will be cross compatible, so if my device is not supported I don't assume it should be compatible anyway.

Maybe this time it could be just me using the wrong prc or something (the screenshots posted of it working on the T3 don't seem to be coming from the same version I have since the one I've tested won't let me collapse the virtual graffiti area), but usually java apps are really terribly device dependent.
Partially due to the developers of course, but the language could do something more to enforce that..

Just my view anyway, don't take it as a flame against you!

Rasty.-

RE: T3 crash
cervezas @ 8/18/2005 12:34:25 PM # Q
J2ME applications are device-dependent for many reasons, some of them pretty good ones. There are quite a few APIs that are optional extensions, not required to get Sun certification, and it pretty much has to be that way if there is going to be Java support for system features that aren't found on all devices.

The dilemma with Java is one that there is no perfect solution for: either you provide only APIs that will run on all devices from the lowliest cell phone all the way up to the most powerful PDA or set-top box (which means your J2ME apps are pathetically weak on powerful devices) or you accept that you need to allow expanded functionality for devices that can handle it and you break cross-platform compatibility for apps that use them.

Having said that, the IBM J9 VM that ships on the newer Palm devices really should be a lot more full-fledged. It's missing a lot of optional APIs that really ought to be supported on devices of this kind. I'm not sure what specifically could be causing the crashes, but the reality of mobile Java is that you really do have to test on a lot of devices before you know whether your code will run properly on them. Write-once-run-everywhere only works for really simple apps.


David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
www.pikesoft.com

RE: T3 crash
jeg815 @ 8/18/2005 1:31:55 PM # Q
Uss the exact instructions from this link. I followed them exactly. He tells you exactly which files you need with links included. In the past I have ran into major problems with java applications if you use the wrong file. Here's the link, they are very easy, enjoy.

http://operalover.tntluoma.com/8/opera_mini_on_treo

RE: T3 crash
pascanu @ 8/18/2005 6:01:54 PM # Q
Crashes my Treo650 too. Runs great when it does :-) Unfortunately it crashes randomly, apparently with no reason. Nasty thing is that after that I have to manualy delete it (using a file manager that will overcome some write-protection error I get trying to delete it normaly) and then reinstall it.
I'm an old fan of Opera and wished to have it on my Treo but this is way too unstable.

Handspring Visor -> m505 -> Zire71 -> Zire72
RE: T3 crash
jeg815 @ 8/18/2005 9:24:03 PM # Q
It hasn't crashed my treo 650, or tungsten t3. I got emails w/screenshots it's working on zire 72's now, and have added it to my updated list over at palmaddict.

RE: T3 crash
grahamnind @ 8/20/2005 11:55:51 AM # Q
I tried it on my T3. I kept trying to change to English, but it kept crashing until I increased the amount of memory available to Java applications to 4mb in the Java preferences. Seems to be working very well now. Maybe this is why some others are having problems.
It is the only Palm browser I have found which will allow me to access my Lycos e-mail account, so I am very pleased. It is also a lot faster than WebPro. One downside is it only seems to work in 320x320 screen size. Looks extremely promising.

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java writing is on the wall

jackpipe @ 8/19/2005 7:55:23 AM # Q
Both the last two apps posted up here have been J2ME, and in theory (which I realise is not necessarily true in practice) will run on all the new phones coming out seemingly daily. I think this is the future development environment of choice for mobile apps. And palm's midp2 is just an ibm download app.

I just can't for the life of me see how palm have gone from such an exciting position in 96 (and it truly was an exciting time), to such a desperate situation now. Well, actually, I can. Almost 10 years development, and nothing really new.

Reply to this comment

Opera Mini and Tugsten T2

karol.pl @ 8/22/2005 6:34:52 AM # Q
Has anybody installed successfully Opera Mini on T2?

I think that it is impossible, but maybe I am wrong.

Karol


RE: Opera Mini and Tugsten T2
grahamnind @ 8/23/2005 12:41:28 PM # Q
Installed it, but it doesn't work. Just hangs.

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