Opera Mini Now Available On Verizon Feature Phones

The Opera Mini web browser is the most popular in the world with over 85 million users.  it’s easy to see why. Opera’s proxy architecture compresses web pages by up to 90% before sending them to the phone.  That cuts the cost of browsing,  makes page loads faster and allows even basic phones to load the largest desktop web pages. Up to now non-smartphone users on Verizon, the largest US operator, have been denied the advantages of Opera Mini. That’s … Continue reading

The Best U.S. Prepaid Voice and Text Deals

This post is no longer updated! Please visit PrepaidPhoneNews.com to read the current version. (Originally published in August 2009), last updated 26-Nov-2010 with removal of Virgin Mobile Texter’s Delight Plan, which is no longer offered. Prepaid mobile plans are finally getting the popularity they deserve in the U.S.  This is happening at both the high and  low ends of the market. It’s easy to see why. Post paid plans start at $40 after taxes and that’s  for a limited bucket … Continue reading

Data Plans Now Required On Verizon 3G Feature Phones

Verzion is making a number of  pricing changes effective Monday, January 18.  There’s some good news for heavy talkers, unlimited voice pricing is being reduced from $99.99 to $69.99 and unlimited talk and messaging is dropping  from $119.99 to $89.99. Family plans see similar reductions.  Prices for voice plans  other than unlimited aren’t changing However the news on the data front is not so good. A data plan will be required for anyone switching to most 3G capable non-smartphones (a.k.a. … Continue reading

Updated: Verizon Woos Developers With Openness

I’ve been watching a live webcast of  the Verizon Developer Community Conference that is being held today in San Jose. The U.S.’s biggest mobile operator is saying that they are through with the walled garden and proprietary platforms.  Developers are being promised that going forward it will be much easier, faster and less costly to get their apps to market on Verizon phones. Key elements of the new developer initiative include: A new vCast Application Store launching by year end … Continue reading

No More Openwave SDKs?

I was trying to help a mobile web developer track down a problem that was keeping his pages from displaying properly on phones with Openwave browsers, which are still widely used on feature phones from U.S. operators.  I was going to suggest that he grab the Client SDK, which is really just a browser simulator, off the Openwave developer site. When I went there, I couldn’t find it, just an message that Openwave had sold their browser business to Purple … Continue reading

Opera Mini Coming to Verizon?

Opera Mini 4.1 was released today. While I was poking around on OperaMini.com looking for a feature list and some cool imagagry for a post about the release I noticed something interesting. The OperaMini.com homepage has this statement: “The service is not available to Verizon Wireless subscribers (other than BlackBerry users) yet. Please subscribe for an email notification when we have a version available for Verizon customers. Thanks for your patience!” Not available “yet”. Does that imply that it will … Continue reading