It seems an obvious idea, but it took a long time to come to reality ‘ a mobile browser that reflects a mobile user interface rather than being a squashed-down version of a desktop one. Opera Software, always the most innovative in the mobile browser world, has released Coast, a browser specifically for the iPad, which has a grid of icons.
The product started as a single-person programming project 18 months ago and has now made its commercial debut, replacing the traditional address bar, bookmarks and tabs with icons to represent web pages, search box and other functions.
As tablets start to replace PCs, the old user interface must be reworked, argues Opera, maintaining the disruptive mantra it has always adopted in fighting against the ubiquity of Windows/Internet Explorer in its early days, and bringing browsing to handsets and TVs ahead of the pack. More recently, it has pioneered the split browsers ‘ which do most of their processing in the cloud and therefore suit low end devices – and built a platform around its core product, including stores, advertising engines and other added value features, mainly geared to operators in emerging markets.
The browser itself has been going through significant change recently too. Opera finally abandoned its own browser engine, Presto, the basis of its platform, and agreed to support the open source Blink, used in Google Chrome (or in Coast’s case, the WebKit engine supplied by Apple). The Norwegian firm has now moved its attentions up from the engine to higher level areas of differentiation, notably the user interface, hence the latest product, which we can assume will come to Android and iPhone in future.
Reflecting the new emphasis on experience rather than execution speeds, project leader Huib Kleinhout said: “This app is not about supporting the most standards. It’s not about being six milliseconds faster on the SunSpider speed test. This is about making a better user experience.’ He added: “We need to build a browser for tablets, and for tablet users, and for the internet as it is now — more application-based.’