Our Norwegian friends at Opera Software have just released new versions of Opera Mini and Opera Mobile, bringing them to version 6.1 and 11.1 respectively. The key new feature is integration with Google Suggest, so you no longer have to type a long search query, instead you’ll get suggestions as you type, similar to how Google works on your desktop computer or in the native browser on both iOS and Android. They’ve also made it possible for you to type both a search query and URL in the address bar, so you no longer have to think about which box to type in. Users of Opera Mobile 11.1 will also be upgraded to the latest Opera Presto 2.8.149 engine which has better HTML5 support compared to previous versions.
So what’s the difference between Mini and Mobile? Mini uses servers all around the world to compress the website you want to go to before finally spitting out the page you want to visit. Using this technique, Opera can reduce data consumption by around 90%, which is mighty impressive if you’re in a country with either slow mobile networks or ridiculously expensive data plans. Mobile on the other hand is a full blown replacement to the browser that already comes with your phone. For Symbian users, it’s a must have. For Android owners … not so much. And if you’re on iOS, then forget about it, Apple doesn’t allow third party browsers on their platform. If you’re wondering which one you should download, we say both. It’s not like your smartphone is starved for storage space, and in some cases you’ll need the compression capabilities of Opera Mini, like when you’re on holiday in another country for example and have to pay huge roaming fees, while in other cases you’ll want Opera Mobile so you can sync your bookmarks.
Note: Opera Mini 6.1 isn’t yet in the Apple App Store.