| Opera browser syncs devices, desktops |
Oct. 26, 2007
 Opera Software on Oct. 25 released a Web-based synchronization service said to share Opera browser information among desktops, mobile phones, and other devices. With Opera Link, says Opera, bookmarks, speed dial, and personal bar are all kept updated, reducing tedious text input.
Opera Link is supported by two beta browsers also released today: Opera 9.5 and Opera Mini 4. Opera claims its Opera Mini is the world's most popular mobile Web browser.
To employ Opera Link, users download both Opera 9.5 and Opera Mini 4, then select "Synchronize with My Opera" from each browser's File menu. Bookmarks, personal bar, and speed dial settings will then be sent to the Opera website, and can then be traded between browser editions.
Users of earlier Opera browsers for Linux, PC, and Macintosh can access similar functionality by using the company's free Opera Link Web interface. Opera says that future versions will synchronize additional browser settings.
While Opera Mini employs J2ME and runs on a wide variety of phones, the company also offers Opera Mobile, specific to Windows Mobile devices and updated earlier this month. Opera did not provide a schedule for making this version of the browser compatible with Opera Link.
Said CEO Jon von Tetzchner, "With Opera Link, we give [Opera users] a consistent experience uniquely suited to the way they want to use the Web."
Desktop/device synchronization has been mentioned as a possible feature of an upcoming mobile version of Mozilla Firefox, due in 2008. The technology is likely to be based on Mozilla's Joey Project, which reportedly would let users download bookmarks and other data from the desktop browser to the mobile browser via automated routines.
A Windows Mobile browser based on the Firefox codebase, MiniMo, already exists in version .2, which does not yet support bookmarks but is said to allow sharing links via its "social networking" functionality. Developer Doug Turner links to the Joey Project on his website, suggesting that MiniMo will incorporate this technology as well.
Other recent news has also suggested a trend toward websites that help synchronize bookmarks and other data between mobile devices and PCs. A free service from Dashwire, for instance, claims to mirror all phone data -- bookmarks, contacts, text messages, calls, photos, videos, and phone settings -- to a website, from where they can be manipulated via a PC.
Availability
Opera Link is available immediately, either via the Web interface, or via downloads of Opera 9.5 and Opera Mini 4. The former runs on Windows XP and, presumably, on Windows XP Embedded. Additional details and downloads are available on the Opera Link page and on the Opera Labs download page.
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