I love it when some pesky start-ups bitch slaps a giant, especially one which has a lock on most of the user-interfacing markets. Norway-based alternative browser maker, Opera, is planning to release a Microsoft Pocket PC Mobile Phone version of its lightweight, lighting fast browser. I have seen it working on a handful of Pocket PC based phones, include the much-in-demand Audiovox, which Scobelizer has deemed the ultimate “bling bling” of phones. The demo I saw was nasty fast, even faster than the one on UIQ platform. Opera is making a lot of headway in the mobile browser space, especially in Japan where it has locked down some serious deals with KDDI. I guess like everyone else I find their Small Screen Rendering technology da “bomb.” Oh did I mention, that the final version of Opera for Pocket PC Mobile Phone OS, and I am assuming other platforms will have an RSS auto-detect feature in the address field. Nice!
The Audiovox in case is not a Pocket PC. It runs Windows Mobile for Smartphone, which is a little different from Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and for Pocket PC Phone Edition.
A Pocket PC has a bigger screen area, is a data centric device and allows touch screen. The Pocket PC Phone Edition is a converged device, with the same characteristics, but with the addition of GSM/GPRS or CDMA.
A Smartphone is a voice centric device, with a smaller screen, no touch screen, and with a UI that facilitates single hand operation.
Although all these devices can be run programs developed with .Net and other tools, and albeit having similar interfaces, they have some differences under the hood and technically they’re in a different class.
oh good catch… i just should have been moe cler. thanks for pointing it out. i corrected it