widgetBeat…

Opera is THE browser for widget lovers

April 24th, 2008

by Al Merkrebs, April 24, 2008 @ 4:56 p.m. PDT

Right now, Opera is the only browser that has its own built-in widget platform. Not only that, the platform is a breeze to work with.

Widget lovers should seriously consider ditching their current browsers (Firefox, IE, Safari, etc.) and take a look at the Opera browser.

You want to search for a widget? Just click the Widgets menu that is built right into Opera’s main toolbar!

The “Add widgets” menu opens to Opera’s impressive Widgets page (below) of more than 1,200 instantly available widgets.

You are officially in widget heaven.

When you find the widget you want, you only need to click the “Launch” button below the widget’s picture.

The widget opens instantly to your desktop.

Resize your new widget, move it around, configure it, play with it. It’s that simple!

Plus, in addition to this seamless widget platform, the Opera browser is generally considered to be the fastest browser on the market today. That has certainly been my experience.

Also, there are some major Opera widget features in the works. New widgets are currently being developed for: (See here for more details.)

• Mobile devices
• TV and Set-Top Boxes
• Consumer Electronics
• Automotive & Transportation

Now, for some imortant caveats:

• You will not find every widget you want. You may have to search outside of Opera to get something special you are looking for.

• Almost all Opera widgets currently run only on the desktop. Only a select few of their widgets are currently embeddable into Web pages. Mobile widgets are in the works.

• When you close Opera, your widgets close also. (What I’ve been doing is minimizing Opera, and just using my widgets.)

P.S. The Opera widget platform includes development tools for creating custom widgets from scratch, i.e. not having to use widget templates, which is the case for some other “create your own widget” platforms. I’ll be creating some widgets in the coming days, and my next report on Opera widgets will about my widget-creating experiences and how Opera 9.5 beta 2, released just today, stacks up on the widget front. Stay tuned…

Entry Filed under: widget in sight