This morning, Dayo notified me of the availability of Opera Mini 5.0 beta. What was exciting about the news was the mention that this version comes with multiple tabs!

I downloaded the new beta and gave it a quick go. My quick verdict: it rocks!

The tabs menu lets you open a new tab or switch between open tabs.

Opera Mini 5 beta features Speed Dial functionality similar to what obtains on Opera for PC. This is in a 3-column format with thumbnails giving you quick access to your favourite websites when a new tab is opened. You click on an empty slot to add a new speed dial.

The touchscreen version I am using on the X1 actually has touch functionaility. Tap and hold a spot on the page and a menu pops up to select text. Tap and hold a link and you get the options to open in a new tab or select text.

It also features an onscreen QWERTY keyboard that pops up anytime you need to enter text. Nifty.

There is a horizontal row of options at the bottom of the page. Tap the Settings icon and a row of options including Bookmarks, History, Saved Pages, Settings and more, pop up. Its all very intuitive.

Along with the usual suspects are full screen and other advanced options.

This version of Opera Mobile mimics the layout of the standard Opera Mobile browser quite well, and I am already thinking of adopting it as my default browser.

I really do like this version of Opera Mini.

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