Apps and Software By Lee Mathews Oct. 7, 2014 4:29 pm
Maybe you’re waiting for that one killer app to appear before you rush out and buy a smartwatch. If that app is a web browser, you’re in luck: Opera Mini is coming to the Samsung Gear S.
Yes, soon you’ll be able to surf the web with Opera Mini on a 2-inch, 360 x 480 display… just like you may have done many, many years ago on your last Symbian phone. And since the Gear S has its own SIM card and 4G connectivity, you don’t even have to be connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot or have your smartphone within Bluetooth range to do it.
With its tiny 300mAh battery and a mobile data connection to burn through it, you’re not going to do all that much browsing. Still, you can if you want to. And with Opera Mini’s data compression tech on board, at least the hit won’t be quite as bad as it would be with some other mobile browsers.
It’s hard to imagine Opera Mini on the Gear S actually replacing the browsing experience on your larger-screen devices, but that’s probably not what it’s about. Opera Mini on the Gear S gives us an option we haven’t had in a while: something smaller that we can take along that still packs plenty of modern functionality. Browsing on a screen this small might not be as awesome as it is on the Galaxy Note 4 or iPhone 6 Plus, but at least you can do it if you want to.
One day, Opera Mini on a Gear smartwatch might totally replace the browser on your phone. Possibly not until Samsung starts building one with a display that covers half your forearm, but who knows? That might not be too far off. Samsung does have a thing for building devices with every screen size imaginable, after all…
Now read: How to speed up your slow internet connection
More...
Yes, soon you’ll be able to surf the web with Opera Mini on a 2-inch, 360 x 480 display… just like you may have done many, many years ago on your last Symbian phone. And since the Gear S has its own SIM card and 4G connectivity, you don’t even have to be connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot or have your smartphone within Bluetooth range to do it.
With its tiny 300mAh battery and a mobile data connection to burn through it, you’re not going to do all that much browsing. Still, you can if you want to. And with Opera Mini’s data compression tech on board, at least the hit won’t be quite as bad as it would be with some other mobile browsers.
It’s hard to imagine Opera Mini on the Gear S actually replacing the browsing experience on your larger-screen devices, but that’s probably not what it’s about. Opera Mini on the Gear S gives us an option we haven’t had in a while: something smaller that we can take along that still packs plenty of modern functionality. Browsing on a screen this small might not be as awesome as it is on the Galaxy Note 4 or iPhone 6 Plus, but at least you can do it if you want to.
One day, Opera Mini on a Gear smartwatch might totally replace the browser on your phone. Possibly not until Samsung starts building one with a display that covers half your forearm, but who knows? That might not be too far off. Samsung does have a thing for building devices with every screen size imaginable, after all…
Now read: How to speed up your slow internet connection
More...
