Companies such as Ascentive and Propel, which provide tools for desktop Web browsing, use this technique. So do Web sites such as Skweezer.com, which also reformats sites for viewing on handheld screens.
Opera's technology, called Small Screen Rendering, can even change the colors of backgrounds and text to improve their visibility on cell phones.
Compression Question
"There's no question that Opera has some of the best mobile browsing technology," said Avi Greengart, principal analyst for wireless devices at Current Analysis.
He also noted that compressing and reformatting sites for better viewing is always a trade-off, no matter what service -- or browser -- does it.
"If you reformat things, then things don't look right, but it's easier to read," he said. "If you don't reformat, they look right, but you have to do a lot of scrolling."
Format aside, compressing a Web site's code has an added perk. If your cell phone provider charges you by the kilobyte, then Opera's Mini, which needs less bandwidth than other browsers, can save you money.
Best Browsing?
While saving money is an attractive option to owners of any cell phone, Greengart added that Mini is most useful to people whose cell phones weren't equipped with full-featured software right out of the box.
"Where Opera Mini really makes a dramatic impact on the phone is where the phone itself does not have a full HDML browser," he said. (HDML is a markup language used to render content on mobile phones.)
Because Mini is a free download from the Opera Web site, people aren't locked into the software that came with their phones, said Opera's Lien.
She added that Opera is offering an incentive to experiment with the new browser. Users who visit the BlackBerry Web site through the end of November and say why they like Mini can win a BlackBerry or Treo of their choice.
Via Yahoo
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