Opera Mobile 9.5 to include support for Google Gears

I’m not sure who approached who first, but it’s confirmed - support for Google Gears will be included in the next release of Opera Mobile.

“The inclusion of Gears in Opera’s main browsing products supports Opera’s vision of transforming the browser into a full platform for applications, regardless of device”, say Opera reps.

I won’t disagree. As you may (or may not) probably know, Google Gears is a little something that allows various Web applications and services work offline.

E.g. on a desktop you can have Gool Docs text editor, Google spreadsheet or even your GMail running, while your net connection is down.

Having Gears functionality built-in Opera Mobile is pretty nice. It should come in pretty handy for various Web widgets and mobile apps accessed via the browser on a smartphone, where connectivity interruptions are much more likely to occur then on your desktop.

And, Opera Mobile with Google Gears could save a bundle on your mobile data fees too.

Charles Wiles, Product Manager for mobile web apps at Google says, “Opera will have full support for Gears on mobile when they launch this year.” He further goes on to comment that Opera Mobile 9.5 will be a great example of a high-quality browser on a mobile platform that supports Gears. “This marks the coming of age of the browser as the platform for application development on mobile devices,” says Wiles.

This, with a good enough mobile phone in which Opera Mobile 9.5 is installed, should be a great combo once it finally goes mainstream; that is, in the hands (or within reach) of virtually every person with a phone. We’ll sure be looking forward to it.

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Posted on 29 May 08 - Filed in Wireless - - Written by David Gonzales

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