Opera launches 'Coast,' a new Web browser for Apple's iPad
Opera Software on Monday released a new WebKit-based web browser for Apple's iOS dubbed "Coast," which the company calls the "browser your iPad deserves."
Norwegian browser vendor Opera's newest entry into the tablet browser market represents a significant departure from the company's past efforts in both its interaction model and architecture. Huib Kleinhout, head of the Coast project, said that Opera designed the new browser to target "the devices of the future, not the past."
The browser features a primarily gesture-based user interface with minimal application chrome. There is no title bar, and the address and search fields are normally hidden from view. They can be revealed by a downward swipe.
A small "home" button that returns the user to a desktop Safari-like grid of the user's most visited websites and a "most recent" button that displays the user's recent browsing history are the only persistent interface elements. Navigating backward and forward is done by swiping in the appropriate direction.
Unlike previous efforts by Opera that utilized the company's in-house layout rendering engines, the new browser is built atop Apple's WebKit. Opera previously announced that they would be switching to Google's Blink fork of WebKit for desktop browsers, but Apple requires all browsers distributed through the iOS App Store to use Cupertino's built-in rendering engine.
Coast appears to be the final realization of the company's "Opera Ice" technical demonstration that was revealed in January of this year. At the time, Opera CEO Lars Boilesen was quoted as saying that Opera needs "to focus on getting strong products out on iOS and Android," though there is no word on when - or if - coast will make its way to Google's platform.
Norwegian browser vendor Opera's newest entry into the tablet browser market represents a significant departure from the company's past efforts in both its interaction model and architecture. Huib Kleinhout, head of the Coast project, said that Opera designed the new browser to target "the devices of the future, not the past."
The browser features a primarily gesture-based user interface with minimal application chrome. There is no title bar, and the address and search fields are normally hidden from view. They can be revealed by a downward swipe.
A small "home" button that returns the user to a desktop Safari-like grid of the user's most visited websites and a "most recent" button that displays the user's recent browsing history are the only persistent interface elements. Navigating backward and forward is done by swiping in the appropriate direction.
Unlike previous efforts by Opera that utilized the company's in-house layout rendering engines, the new browser is built atop Apple's WebKit. Opera previously announced that they would be switching to Google's Blink fork of WebKit for desktop browsers, but Apple requires all browsers distributed through the iOS App Store to use Cupertino's built-in rendering engine.
Coast appears to be the final realization of the company's "Opera Ice" technical demonstration that was revealed in January of this year. At the time, Opera CEO Lars Boilesen was quoted as saying that Opera needs "to focus on getting strong products out on iOS and Android," though there is no word on when - or if - coast will make its way to Google's platform.
Comments
Without the ability to set third-party apps as the default (still don't understand this), I find third-party browsers to be cludgy at best. I used to be a big proponent of Chrome on iOS for my iPhone, but Safari in iOS 7 is so far superior that it doesn't even make sense anymore to use Chrome.
In fact, the only time I even use it is when a website forces me into a mobile view and won't allow me to get the "regular" desktop view. In that case, I switch to Chrome to use the "Open as Desktop site" option.
I'll checkout this new Opera product, but I have the feeling that I'll just go right back to Safari.
Meanwhile I am getting sick of ads disrupting my Safari experience. Just as I click a link the page jumps to accommodate an ad and I accidentally click the wrong thing... I would love ad blocker for Safari. I do have the browser with no ads, I think it is from the same folks, but it is a horrible interface as present.
Anyone got any solutions I am unaware of?
Without the ability to set third-party apps as the default (still don't understand this), I find third-party browsers to be cludgy at best. I used to be a big proponent of Chrome on iOS for my iPhone, but Safari in iOS 7 is so far superior that it doesn't even make sense anymore to use Chrome.
In fact, the only time I even use it is when a website forces me into a mobile view and won't allow me to get the "regular" desktop view. In that case, I switch to Chrome to use the "Open as Desktop site" option.
I'll checkout this new Opera product, but I have the feeling that I'll just go right back to Safari.
Another problem with third-party web browsers on iOS is that they are required due to Apple's policies to use UIWebView which has Nitro disabled. In other words, their JavaScript performance tends to be poor compared to Safari.
Without the ability to set third-party apps as the default (still don't understand this), I find third-party browsers to be cludgy at best. I used to be a big proponent of Chrome on iOS for my iPhone, but Safari in iOS 7 is so far superior that it doesn't even make sense anymore to use Chrome.
In fact, the only time I even use it is when a website forces me into a mobile view and won't allow me to get the "regular" desktop view. In that case, I switch to Chrome to use the "Open as Desktop site" option.
I'll checkout this new Opera product, but I have the feeling that I'll just go right back to Safari.
Setting third party apps as default won't change any of the problems you mention here though.
I agree it would be nice to do so, but it's unlikely to ever happen and the issue here is webkit and app design, not which app launches.
Yeah...
Sadly, the AI forums, like this one, force you into a mobile view -- no pan or zoom and limited info about the poster, no sig, no time of posting, etc...
You would expect an Apple-oriented site to respect the concepts of Apple's iOS and exploit its features.
Coast displays the AI forums in the same crippled mobile format...
Apple: "They're using WebKit. We win. Again."
Web designers: "Yay. One less HTML compatibility hack to code."
Consumers: "Zzzzzz....."
Visually clean but feature lean...
Yeah...
Sadly, the AI forums, like this one, force you into a mobile view -- no pan or zoom and limited info about the poster, no sig, no time of posting, etc...
You would expect an Apple-oriented site to respect the concepts of Apple's iOS and exploit its features.
Coast displays the AI forums in the same crippled mobile format...
You can click "View Desktop version".
Reactions to the new browser:
Apple: "They're using WebKit. We win. Again."
Web designers: "Yay. One less HTML compatibility hack to code."
Consumers: "Zzzzzz....."
Consumers appreciate the advances in web capabilities that are significantly due to HTML5 standards being accepted and advanced.
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't they have to use WebKit?
Atomic web browser is what i use. Ad blocker built in, full screen with/ without tabs visible, many options and gestures.
Set it to 'identify browser' as desktop Safari and never be bothered by a mobile web site on your ipad again... etc.
Perhaps they should be more concerned about getting their PC browser back to being useful after the shift to Chromium. I mean, come on.. it doesn't even have bookmarks anymore! WTF!
My bad… I never noticed that!
Thanks for posting -- it makes my life a lot easier.
Correct me if I'm wrong but don't they have to use WebKit?
Yes. Specifically, they have to use Apple gimped implementation in their APIs. Otherwise, they would have likely used Blink.
My bad… I never noticed that!
Thanks for posting -- it makes my life a lot easier.
No problem.
I wish Safari had a way to disable mobile environments by changing the user agent. They could bury it in Settings so only power users will enable it.
However, with Responsive Layouts now the trend, there won't be a way to disable "mobile" views. Hopefully web designers are foresighted enough to only reformat content, not hide it willy-nilly.
Atomic web browser is what i use. Ad blocker built in, full screen with/ without tabs visible, many options and gestures.
Set it to 'identify browser' as desktop Safari and never be bothered by a mobile web site on your ipad again... etc.
That only works if they're using a mobile template, and not responsive layout. I don't know of a way to disable responsive layouts, as it's based on screen size, not the user agent.