• Sleek design — Opera Mini 5 features a new, intuitive and advanced look and feel.
• Tabbed browsing — This desktop favorite is now available for Opera Mini. Tabs allow users to browser several sites simultaneously. This helps users easily jump from one page to another with the click of a tab.
• Touchscreen or keypad browsing — Opera Mini caters to the needs of your phone, offering optimal browsing for both touchscreen and keypad-based phones.
• Password manager — Opera Mini is a virtual memory bank, securely saving all passwords for e-mail, social-networking sites, online banking and more.
• Speed Dial — This is our take on a table of contents for your Web adventure. Opera’s Speed Dial will greet you with your pre-selected Internet favorites upon loading the browser.

The Opera developers have released a video that demonstrates the functionality of Opera Mini 5.

Mobile users who are interested in testing the new Opera 5 Mini web browser can point their mobile devices to m.opera.com/next to download it directly from the device or to the download page at the Opera website to download it to their PC.

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One option is offered by Dexrex, a company that is providing the means to backup these messages and SMS online. Support are a wide variety of clients and networks including Skype, Windows Live, AOL, Yahoo, Jabber, ICQ, Blackberry and Google Talk. It is possible to sign in with the network accounts at the Dexrex website to initiate the backup of the data. Some users might be concerned about security and privacy.

There is obviously always a risk when entering data in third party websites. Dexrex uses the https protocol to transfer data between the client computer and the server. Backups can either be started using the Conversation Importer, a Java program that can import old conversations, or so called Extensions which run in the background and import messages in realtime.

The conversations are available online after transferring them to the server. It is for example possible to search the conversations, use filters to filter by contact or date or to share conversations with trusted users. It is even possible to edit conversations online. SMS archiving is currently only supported for Blackberry cell phones. Users need to download an application to their Blackberry to backup the SMS.

Dexrex provides an easy way of backing up conversations and SMS from Blackberry devices. It can be a a useful services for users who work with multiple computer systems and messengers.

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Most analysts keep yelling at both companies that their lagging in the innovative space, but based on the numbers RIM and Microsoft are doing just fine. They both have huge market shares and combined still outsell both Apple and Palm. Just in case you’re wondering, there is a reason why both companies are not in a hurry to create the next iPhone, Pre or Android killer. And it lies deep in their strategy.

Ever since Microsoft bought Danger (the makers of the Sidekick), there has been rumors about the company creating its own cellphone. While there might be some truth to it (as the company keeps denying the rumors vehemently), Microsoft isn’t ready to cut HTC, Samsung and Toshiba from their bankrolls yet.

As a corporation, both RIM and Microsoft appeal to a different audience then most attracted to the Pre or iPhone. While the majority of iPhone owners are first time smartphone buyers, those who have Windows Mobile and Blackberry’s are quite aware of what is out there and what fits their needs. Talking to most Blackberry owners you will hear the resounding answer as to why they haven’t adopted an iPhone yet, “it has no proper email support” or “it lacks a keyboard.” While these are “minor” issues to many, to those who have grown to love their Blackberry’s it’s a major deal.

Another reason for the continued success of Windows Mobile and Blackberry is its corporate following. To date the iPhone has a meager corporate base and the Pre is nonexistent. However, both Blackberry and Windows Mobile excel in this arena. To a lot of smartphone owners, buying a smartphone their company approves of is a big deal and with most corporate IT departments still shunning the iPhone Apple has some major hurdles to jump before they cause any real trouble for RIM or Microsoft.

Fancy graphics and cool animations and slick UI’s are not everything in a smartphone. But you already knew that. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that no one is taking notice of Apple and Palm, if they were not there would not be custom UI overlays for Windows Mobile, Blackberry or Android. That said, it still is a fact that not everyone is swayed by them. You’d wonder why people would still use the classic Windows theme even though it’s close to two decades old. Well that is the same reason why people still buy the subject phones here.

Loyalty is the word we’re looking for. According to NDP statistics the average Blackberry user has had two or more devices. Following this same trend, an HTC Touch user is more then likely to grab the Touch Diamond 2 or a similar Windows Mobile device. The loyalty that both companies have built within their customer base is commendable and is one that most cell phone companies seek after.

Last but not least not everyone is a fan of the iPhone or Pre. There are those who categorize the iPhone base as just a subdivision of the Macintosh base who will buy any s_ Apple puts out as long as it’s shiny and expensive. Fortunately this is not the case but Apple has been notorious for its fan boy following and many smartphone users don’t like this.

I won’t say however that RIM and Microsoft need not worry because every update the iPhone gets, it comes closer to gaining a little more acceptance from its enemies. But as is the case with the new players in the game, they are the ones who have to work doubly hard as the seasoned players can relax a bit (however the proverbial rabbit and turtle teaches what happens when seasoned players rest too long).

As the case is right now RIM and Windows Mobile isn’t terribly exciting at the moment. But they both carry functionality, customizability and an avid user base and that’s what counts. However they can learn a lesson or two. As a former owner of both Windows Mobile (MotoQ) and Blackberry (Curve 8330), I can say it didn’t take me much to drop my previous phones for the Palm Pre. Neither can I say it will take a miracle for me to keep my Pre. There are those of us who ride the gadget waves and those are the customers that can make or break a company. Did I mention the new Blackberry Tour and the Toshiba TG01 are looking mighty sexy at the moment?

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I am not a huge fan of mobile computing (as in phones), but Evernote is one app I would use myself. Phones basically suck for surfing. I mean the biggest smartphones still have tiny screens, so, at least for me, mobile surfing is a long way away. However, I do frequently have the urge to jot down a few things, which I currently can’t really do. Evernote is a huge help in this, and now that you can take it with you on your BlackBerry everywhere (or you iPhone), taking notes are as easy as… well, taking notes should be.

The best part of the deal is obviously that you can sync fully with your PC version, and this is the selling point for me. I can write notes on the fly, view some in offline mode, take a pic right into the app, or create a quick voice note. This is an especially big help for me, since I usually drive places, which inhibits my texting capabilities.

Anyway, Evernote is a great note taking app weather you use it on your PC, on you Phone, online or offline, so take a look!

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BBsnap can be used without registration which is the most user friendly approach. A new wallpaper can be created in just a few steps. It begins by entering a tag or keyword in the Flickr search box. The service will then automatically pull images from Flickr. A click on an image will load start the wallpaper creation.

The user has to pick his BlackBerry cell phone from a list of available phones first. The selected image will then be loaded. A rectangle with the same dimensions as the screen of the BlackBerry cell phone will be displayed. It can be moved around in the image to pick the best part of it for the wallpaper.

A click on Done will start the wallpaper creation. The wallpaper can then be downloaded to the computer to transfer it from there to the BlackBerry cell phone. The other possibility is to point the browser of the cell phone to that page and download it from there.

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