The UIQ Evangelist

Olim lacus colueram,
olim pulcher exstiteram,
dum cygnus ego fueram.
Miser, miser!
modo niger
et ustus fortiter!

…
On the officially unofficial Opera Mobile blog, we could read the following bewinged declaration yesterday: “Leave no platform behind”.

from the post:

After we announced last week that the first beta was expected on July 15th, many of you asked if we would offer a Symbian version.

Absolutely. This is something completely new. I mean - who really wondered about whether /Symbian/ would be supported in some way? I don’t know. Like, one guy or something. Before the beta - no one really cared. But now, right now(!), people have started to have doubts about whether there’ll be a Symbian version.

Which, of course, Opera does a tremendous job of assuring us there will be:

We will offer a Symbian version of Opera Mobile, but you will have to wait a while. We do not yet know when the Symbian version will be ready because development and quality assurance on mobile devices is time consuming. In the meantime Opera Mini is a great alternative for Symbian users. On July 15th, we’ll release that first beta for Windows Mobile. Then we need your feedback and ideas to help us improve the browser.

So - no mention of specific platforms, no explanation of the types of deployment (standalone, for selected models, on particular platform versions - what are the requirements, technical or more abstract when it comes to manufacturer privilege), no mention of exclusivty on certain devices for parts or all of the program, or on agreements with certain companies that may or may not prevent Opera from carrying through with any sort of general release.

A little over a week ago, Tor Odland had this to say about how much they care about the Symbian market, and UIQ in particular:

Opera’s unique position in the market is that we run on any platform (cross-device, cross-platform/OS). From the most advanced, open smartphone platforms to the most basic, closed, mass market platform, we can run on nearly all (last year we shipped on 116 different mobile phone models - most of them non-smartphones).
(…)
Keep in mind that smartphones are only 10% of the market. The battle for the remaining 90% is just as interesting to Opera. So while we mourn the potential demise of UIQ as a standalone environment, Opera’s market opportunities have never been healthier when you think about the big picture.

In return I asked: what about the widget platform? Does not Opera care that they are sitting on a device, operator and manufacturer independent solution for deployment of “web 2.0″ content? Something which, as I’m sure we’ll all agree, would at least have /some/ impact on - if nothing else - usage of data- traffic, production of device- independent mobile applications for the first time in history, and maybe - maybe - even phone sales? Is that completely uninteresting to Opera in terms of selling their product (or, in other words: are there really no one in the mobile business interested in deploying such a thing)?

Obviously, I never got an answer - or I would’ve written a sterling review right now about how UIQ and Opera would be about to usher in the long awaited boost the mobile business has been continuously sabotaging by virtue of being idiots (thanks for the link, aqualung) for the past fifteen years. Which had now been reversed in an instant thanks to Sony Ericsson’s innovation, nay - fearless visionary drive in the mobile technology arena!

But I won’t be doing that today, will I.

Categories: Apps, Comments, Web
Tags: opera mobile 9, rant