Introducing the first TV web browser that doesn't suck
A dozen different web browsers for TVs have been released during the last decade. They all have one thing in common. They suck. Either it's impossible to read the content of the page you're viewing because your TV has a horrible resolution and the text is too tiny for anyone to read anyway, or the user interface is clumsy and near unusable. Or both. Usually the latter.
But I think we got it right this time.
I have for quite some time now been working on the custom-built version of the Opera browser for the Wii. A public beta of the browser was released today, and the final version is expected to be available in late March. I am very satisfied with the product so far, and I am proud to announce that I believe we have developed the first TV web browser that doesn't suck.
There are three things that make Opera on the Wii a good browser.
1. The Wiimote
When browsing the web on your TV up util now, you have usually been left with some awkward keypad-based input device allowing you to move a mouse cursor around on the screen as you press buttons or twist joysticks. With Nintendo's beautiful wiimote this is a thing of the past. Now you can simply point the controller to whatever you want to click and click it, almost like with a mouse. This how you shoot people in games, how you navigate Nintendo's own applications, and how you browse the web with Opera. And it works very well.
2. Intelligent Zoom
“Zoom works with some kind of Voodoo! It seems to know how wide the text stretches, and zooms in just enough to fit it all in”, a user comments. He is almost right. It's not quite voodoo he's describing, but our new intelligent zoom feature, developed specifically for Opera on the Wii. It makes it possible, for the first time in the history of TV browsers, to actually read the content of any given web page. Click the + button, and Opera zooms in to where you are pointing.
The zoom is smart enough to figure out what element you are pointing at, and adjusts the zoom level accordingly; so that the relevant element fits perfectly on your screen. Are you trying to read an article on BBC? Then zoom in to the article column, and Opera will zoom in to just this column. Nice and readable. Are you viewing your friend's photo album on Flickr? Zoom in on a picture, and Opera will zoom in perfectly to the picture, dependent on the picture's height and width. Watching movies on Youtube? The same principle applies here too, although you'll probably be better off using Youtube's own fullscreen feature.
3. Flash videos
That leads us to the third killer feature of this browser. Yes, Youtube works in Opera on the Wii. We have Flash 7 on the box, allowing you to spend all night watching silly movie clips on your TV.
See for yourself
A video demonstrating some of the browser's features can be found on Opera's web site, and the browser itself is now freely available for download from the Wii Shop Channel in all regions. Check it out! (c:
Beta
Remember, however, that the browser is still just a beta. There are known issues and bugs that need to be resolved for the final version, and the browser is neither feature complete nor polished. In order to get ~everything right in the final version, feedback from the users of the Wii browser is neccessary. If you have any comments, bug reports or suggestions, please leave them in the Wii forum at my.opera.com.