Extensions on Opera Mobile

April 3, 2012 · by Arnstein Teigene

We're pretty excited to announce a labs release of Opera Mobile with support for extensions. You can read more about it on labs.opera.com.

It's of course quite rough around the edges, being a labs release, so if you're feeling adventurous then take it for a spin and let us know what you think.

Readers' comments 11

Left under the original article, as archived.

Mağruf ÇolakoğluTuesday, April 3, 2012 2:14:41 PM
d4rkn1ghtTuesday, April 3, 2012 3:51:09 PM
Zdenko TimulakTuesday, April 3, 2012 4:24:31 PM
OğuzWednesday, April 4, 2012 4:10:56 PM
Another good step but I am worrying about stability. Extensions could crash on different Opera version.
metudeFriday, April 6, 2012 5:07:02 PM
It's good but extensions API should be diffrent on each platform. And how about stability, too much JS will make it slow browser.

Out of topic; Can we expect new addon catalog update?
ChrisFriday, April 6, 2012 9:44:37 PM
Why would the API be different on each platform? That doesn't even begin to make sense!

And if you are worried about stability and performance, simply don't install extensions! Geez.
metudeSaturday, April 7, 2012 5:52:22 PM
Originally posted by Slamdex:

Why would the API be different on each platform? That doesn't even begin to make sense!

Android and ios has diffrent capabilities.

Originally posted by Slamdex:

And if you are worried about stability and performance, simply don't install extensions! Geez.

Thanks for solution. I didn't think this.
ChrisSaturday, April 7, 2012 9:19:05 PM
Originally posted by metude:

Android and ios has diffrent capabilities.

Um... iOS does not have Opera Mobile!
QuHnoSaturday, April 7, 2012 11:05:33 PM
Originally posted by metude:

Android and ios has diffrent capabilities.

That would change nothing for the extensions. Opera itself is the layer of abstraction between the JS in the extension and the operating system, meaning: It works as long as the browser understands it.

BTW: I had the chance to test it on an android device - it works just fine with the extensions I installed - and they were exactly the same for Windows and Android (which is basically a Linux with another UI and such as incompatible to Windows as iOS is to Android )

The only differences I noticed were, that the popups of the desktop version open in another tab in the mobile version and the extension's icon is bigger than the (tiny) 18*18px of the desktop version.

edit:
I ran into the icon problem with my own extension during beta testing. I partially solved it by adding a browser sniffer that checks for "Mobi" in the UA string and then offers a 48px² icon.
This is no good solution, there should be a standard way to define a bigger icon for the extension's button.
Cutting SpoonMonday, April 9, 2012 6:00:20 AM
Will need time to digest but already it looks nicer to me than the few Firefox Mobile extensions. Mostly because there are so many catalog items that seem to work without modification....and separate approval.
Samiul IslamSaturday, April 21, 2012 8:42:24 AM
Its great. But its not made for symbian. Please make it for symbian