Opera Mini and your Blackberry

For those of you, that like me are Blackberry Users, you may have noticed that what was a poor Blogger experience is now a non existent Blogger experience. Blogs still view, you just can't log into blogger.com and do any editing or posting.


With the fancy new Blogger User Interface (Which I do like) has come a message when you try to log in from a Blackberry...

"Your browser in no longer supported by blogger"

In my attempt to overcome this I set out searching for an alternate browser for my phone. After a bit of Google work, I came across Opera Mini. Now if your thinking this is a cure for all my ills, it turns out that after a very simple installation process, I get the same message...

"Your browser in no longer supported by blogger"

Never mind, I never really used my phone to blog that much anyway !! I can still use the rather lame email blog posts to yourself system. Maybe Blogger will one day make a mobile app?

But as a positive, Opera Mini is a far better phone browser than the default Blackberry offering. It took me about 10 minutes to grasp the navigation, but once I did, I found that it displays blogs and other websites much more effectively than I have become accustom too.
For example if you view this blog using a Blackberry browser, the right hand column sits on top of the main post area. You can use options to change to Column view, but this puts both the right and left columns at the bottom of the blog. Opera mini however shows the full blog correctly with a clever zoom box. If I set up the blog to use "mobile view" It makes no difference to the Blackberry Browser, where as Opera mini shows the true mobile version correctly. Add in a nice bookmark facility and MUCH faster downloads, I'm impressed enough to blog about it.

So if you are a Blackberry user, or for that matter any smartphone user, give Opera mini a try. It is Free it downloads easily, just click this LINK from your phone and follow the instructions. It doesn't delete your default browser but downloads into your Application folder.

Of course this could lead to the whole Fruit Phone debate..

 

We have a divided home, Mrs RJR is an Apple, where as I am a Blackberry. I like it, it goes every where with me, I feel like I have lost an arm when I don't have it. I'm a Facebooking, Tweeting, blogging Blackberry addict.

Why not Apple? Well the big put off is the iTunes lark !!
iTunes just seems overly protective. While I can just drag and drop mp3 files to my fruit, Apple owners are stuck with a music format only you can use. Then don't get me started on transferring your iTunes from one laptop to another, which we have had to do a couple of times. I hate the words SYNC in Progress !
Fancy a different ringtone ? Just select any mp3 file and your done, oh sorry forgot for iPhone users you need to PAY for a new ringtone from iTunes in an "iRing" format !!

To try and be non biased, I do think Apple make pretty slick products with a very nice User Interface, all this sliding and pinching images is a bit addictive. The products have a very aesthetically pleasing look, Mr Jobs has an eye for detail. But the final nail in the coffin.. I just cant imagine an iPhone touch screen surviving in my world of construction, tile adhesive, wood glue and dust ?

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