Berit's Blog

Yesterday, Opera revealed some exciting information: Nintendo selected the Opera browser to run on its widely popular portable gaming device, the Nintendo DS! Opera will come on a DS card and be available in Japan this June. We've been getting a lot of questions about whether Opera for NDS will be available in Europe and the US, and the answer is that Nintendo is still deciding on its global launch plans. I know that many gamers import NDS products from Japan and find that they are compatible with their US-purchased NDSs.

Here are some other questions we've received...and here are the answers (with help from my friendly Opera colleagues)

Q: Will there be any way to download stuff like files, music, and all that?

A: This is not currently planned.

Q: Will Online-playable games be available for use in this Browser? You know, Runescape, World Of Warcraft, games like that? And will I be able to access my blog, forums and Web-based e-mail?

A: The browser has virtually the same level of standards support as the Opera 8.5 desktop and can access the same sites, pages and Web-based games.

Q: Will you be able to have multiple windows with different webpages, open at any time?

A: Tabbed browsing is not available in Opera Small Screen Rendering (SSR) mode.

Q: Is HTTPS supported?

A: Yes, SSL is supported.

Q: Are there page size limits? For example, the browser on my phone won't load pages over a certain filesize. Are there any restrictions like this with Opera for DS?

A: Opera is optimized to work on low memory devices and as such almost all Internet pages will load. In cases where the device does not have enough memory to load the entire page, Opera will manage this situation and the user should not notice.

Q: I assume the standard image formats: JPG, GIF, and PNG are supported.

A: Correct.

Q: Are PDF and Flash supported.

A: No

Q: Can I test the browser for you on my DS?

A: No, at this time we do not have any DS cards with Opera to loan to reporters, bloggers, etc.

Q: Will any sort of features be included in the browser to protect users from viruses lurking the Web?

A: Opera is a tremendously secure browser even on Windows. On the specialized OS in the DS, Opera should be even more protected from malicious code intended for desktop browsers.

Q: Opera will make use of the DS touch screen as a means for users to type via a keypad. Are there any other ways that the software will take advantage of the DS’ twin screens?

A: Opera for NDS has two display modes: Fit-to-width and DS mode. In fit-to-width mode, Opera uses both screens for scrolling up or down a page with both screens completing the view. In DS mode, an overview of the Web page is displayed on the lower screen and a pink square can be moved around an area of the page. The area you have selected is shown on the upper screen. This is a unique way to deliver the Web to take advantage of the DS hardware configuration and Opera has worked closely with Nintendo to optimize this experience.

Q: Is it fast?

A: Of course, it's Opera :-)