Nokia Xpress Now browser brings content discovery to Asha phones, in beta now

DNP  Nokia Xpress Now browser in beta brings content discovery to Asha phones

Nokia took to its blog today to introduce Xpress Now, an enhanced version of its Xpress browser. Made for Asha devices, the web app delivers personalized content suggestions based both on your personal preferences and those of the browser's "more than 80 million monthly users." These new recommendations come courtesy of three separate browsers views: What's Hot, You May Also like and Most Liked. The categories are largely self-explanatory, and we imagine suggested content will be more spot-on after the app has been around for a few months. For the time being, though, Nokia Xpress Now is in beta in India, and it should make its away to other countries later in 2013.

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Source: Conversations by Nokia

Opera buys Skyfire, wants its video and smartphone optimization expertise

In a sudden joining of former leaders in the mobile browser arena that have seen their fortunes turn, Opera announced tonight that it has acquired Skyfire for about $155 million in cash and stock. According to the press release, Opera believes one of the things the two can help each other with is its WebPass program that provides short-term mobile data, by further optimizing user's data requirements. Skyfire CEO Jeffrey Glueck will become an executive vice president at Opera and oversee joint offerings for the two, as well as remain CEO of Skyfire as an independent but wholly-owned subsidiary of Opera.

If you're still using Skyfire don't expect it to go away anytime soon, as the two indicate its browser will continue to be developed and supported. The company says three large US mobile operators are already customers for its Rocket Optimizer tech, meant to speed up all manner of data even as mobile connections have gone from dial-up to broadband speeds. Opera claims its advertising chops can help the Skyfire Horizon mobile browser and toolbar applications as well. The deal is expected to close before mid-March, and the two will be taking meetings at MWC 2013 later this month to show mobile operators how much better they are together.

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Source: Opera, Skyfire Blog

Baidu and Orange launch mobile browser for Africa, Middle East

Baidu and Orange launch mobile browser for Africa, Middle East

Not content to dominate internet search in China alone, Baidu and France Telecom's Orange are partnering to capitalize on African and Middle Eastern markets as well. Today they launched a co-branded version of Baidu's browser on France Telecom's Egyptian operator MobiNil -- it's essentially the same as the one released last year for the Chinese market but in English / Arabic instead (a French version is also coming). The browser is a pre-installed app on carrier-sold smartphones and features bookmarks for Orange and Baidu services. According to Orange, smartphone adoption in the region has become widespread due to the increased availability of 3G networks -- demand apparently doubled in Egypt in the second half of 2012 alone. With nearly 80 million potential customers at hand, Baidu could certainly give Google a run for its money yet again. You can peek at the full PR after the break.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Reuters, Orange

Firefox for Android adds support for select smartphones with ARMv6 processors

Firefox for Android adds support for select smartphones with ARMv6 processors

Firefox on Android has been a luxury that devices running Google's mobile OS with ARMv7 processors have had, but now Mozilla is broadening its browser's horizons. Now, the latest version of Firefox's mobile incarnation adds support for phones sporting ARMv6 processors with minimum speeds of 800mhz alongside at least 512MB of RAM. With those specs, that brings the HTC ChaCha and Status, LG Optimus Q, Motorola Fire XT, Samsung Galaxy Ace and others into the fold. In addition, the browser's latest version brings Explore by Touch support on Jelly Bean and hardware and software decoding of H.264, AAC and MP3 formats on Android 4.0 and 4.1 devices. Fixes that address instability on Android 4.2 and text deletion issues also tag along in the release. To get your mitts on the download, simply tap the second source link below.

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Source: Mozilla Blog, Google Play

Opera Mini 7.5 update for Android adds Smart Page for social and news updates


Opera Mini 75 update for Android adds Smart Page for social networking and news updates

Opera Mini for Android has been upgraded to version 7.5, bringing with it a new "Smart Page'" feature that aggregates social media updates and news from your most frequently visited websites. Smart Page works by creating feeds for your favorite web destinations and suggesting other sources based on your surfing habits. So far, Opera Mini 7.5 with the Smart Page is only available on Android -- you can download it via the browser's site or through Google Play. Check out a demo of the new feature in action below.

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Opera Mini 7.5 update for Android adds Smart Page for social and news updates originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Baidu launches mobile web browser, wants a bigger slice of China’s mobile Internet

Baidu launches mobile web browser, wants a bigger slice of China's mobile Internet

Being the biggest search engine in China just isn't enough for Baidu, which has revealed its new mobile internet browser. The Internet company already dominates desktop-based internet search but has to spar with the likes of UCWeb and Tencent for attention on smartphone platforms. Baidu says its new browser will improve browsing speeds and offer access to its other web-based apps. The program will also augment Baidu's own mobile OS, which launched back in May, with the company aiming to get its browser pre-installed on 80 percent of smartphones sold in China by the end of the year.

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Baidu launches mobile web browser, wants a bigger slice of China's mobile Internet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 04:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow

Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow

Opera Mini 7 has been available via the Google Play market since the end of March, but if you're still milking a feature phone for all it's worth, you haven't been able to enjoy the latest version of the mobile browser. Opera Mini 7 is now available for basic phones and BlackBerry, allowing these devices to store an unlimited number of speed dials and access the new Smart Page feature for shortcuts to favorite sites. In addition to those new features, Opera Mini 7 includes several improvements and tweaks, including upgrade notifications and the ability to close tabs with one click on touchscreen phones. Of course, the browser still promises to cut down on your device's bandwidth usage, so your flip phone can keep on chugging.

Opera Mini 7 comes to feature phones and BlackBerry, upgrade notifications in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BBC’s coverage promises to make you sick of the Olympics by the time it’s done

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How much Olympics is too much Olympics? The BBC aims to find out at this year's London 2012 games, by offering up "the most comprehensive coverage ever," a list that includes 2,500 hours of coverage via the broadcaster's site and up to 24 live HD streams. Live coverage will be offered up for every sport and each sport, athlete, venue and country will have its own page on the site. The BBC will also be providing a free mobile app, a mobile browser site and apps for connected TVs -- 3D and Super Hi-Vision coverage is a bonus. Check out an explanatory video about the new video player after the break, as well as some scheduling information in the source link below. And maybe think about a training regimen to get ready to watch this summer's games.

Continue reading The BBC's coverage promises to make you sick of the Olympics by the time it's done

The BBC's coverage promises to make you sick of the Olympics by the time it's done originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter makes its mobile site more feature phone friendly

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When you look at the latest, greatest devices from Apple, Samsung, Motorola and the like all day, it can be easy to forget that not everyone out there is sporting a smartphone. But feature phone users have thoughts and feelings that need to be tweeted at all times, too. It's a good thing then, that Twitter's seen fit to update its mobile site to help offer a more uniform experience to users with old browsers, low bandwidth and handsets that don't quite fit under the "smart-" moniker. The new mobile site, available at mobile.twitter.com, rolls out today.

Twitter makes its mobile site more feature phone friendly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 May 2012 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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