If you've been reading this blog for a while I'm sure you've noticed that I'm a big fan of Opera Mini, it's my favorite mobile browser. The first thing I do when I get a new phone is install Opera Mini on it. It seems like a lot of other people like Mini too. GetJar reports that it's the most downloaded Java ME application of all time. According to Opera, Mini has 21 million active users, more than the total number of iPhones or Nokia N95s sold to date.
Although Opera Mini is a great browser it's not always easy to install and configure. There are also a lot of neat features that aren't obvious including some undocumented ones. This is the first in a planned series of "Opera Mini Tips and Tricks" posts on Wap Review. I recommend reading Opera's own official Opera Mini FAQ and user forum first. However, no one document can cover every potential issue or question. I hope these posts will serve as a helpful addition to the official docs.
I'm going to start at the beginning, installing Opera Mini. Opera's download sites, both the mobile and PC versions seem to confuse many users so here's a little FAQ on installing Opera Mini
Q. What are the requirements for running Opera Mini?
1) You need a phone that is capable of running Java ME Applications. About 90% of phones sold worldwide are. This is not true in the US unfortunately. As the majority of my readers are in the US here is a breakdown of the situation.
If your carrier is Sprint (CDMA only), AT&T, STi or a regional GSM carrier like i Wireless or Einstein you should be able to run Opera Mini.
If you have a BlackBerry, Palm OS or Windows Mobile phone on any carrier you should be able to run Opera Mini. Palm and most Windows mobile users will need to install a Java JVM run-time.
For help in finding and installing the best Windows Mobile JVM (there are several), the best source of information is Werner Ruotsalainen's "(Java) MIDlet Bible"
There is only one JVM for Palm OS but it has been discontinued and isn't very easy to find. You can get the Palm JVM from MyTreo.net. You do have register to download, but it's free and MyTreo is a great site for Palm users. The Palm JVM is rather buggy. It tends to crash a lot running Opera Mini. You can minimize crashes by going to Prefs on the Palm, scrolling down to Other and choosing IBM Java VM, and setting the following:
Verizon, US Cellular, Alltel, and regional CDMA carrier customers who don't have a BlackBerry, Palm or Windows Mobile phone are mostly out of luck as these carriers have blocked Opera Mini in one way or another. There are exceptions so it doesn't hurt to try. I'll get into these exceptions and the generally complex work-arounds involved in a latter installment of this series.
Most T-Mobile USA branded phones are Java capable but T-Mobile has crippled the JVM to prevent users from running Opera Mini and other 3rd party Java applications that connect to the Internet. The exceptions again are BlackBerry, Palm and Windows Mobile and also unbranded GSM phones purchased from Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, etc.
Virgin Mobile phones have Java but Virgin has crippled it to make installing Opera Mini impossible on most phones. Their are exceptions for a few handsets that require some advanced hackery to get it working.
Most Cricket and MetroPCS phones don't have Java and there is no way to add it, but there are a few models that do. Check you phone's manual.
Boost Mobile and Sprint/Nextel iDen users can run Opera Mini but must install it using a PC and data cable. Instructions are on the Opera Mini Blog. They are a couple of years old but still work. The instructions refer to Mini 3.1 but 4.2 works very well on iDen phones.
2) You will need a data plan. I recommend an unlimited data plan if at all
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posted by Dennis Bournique
December 18, 2008 @ 11:06 pm
7 View Comments
