Usage of Opera Mini 5 seems to be increasing. This is understandable, it’s a decent browser, and the compression of web pages to speed up loading time is very useful. However, it has one major flaw which prevents it from being a total browser replacement: it cannot be set as the default browser, or for that matter, receive intent at all. In easier-to-understand terms, this means that you cannot open links from other applications, say from an email, using Opera.
There is now a solution to this problem, in the form of a separate app called OperaBridge. To put it simply, OperaBridge allows Opera to open links from other applications. You might be wondering how it does this. Well, from what I can tell, it’s a bit of a hack. Instead of actually adding functionality to Opera itself, all it does is take the link, put it into memory, open Opera, open a new tab, and then make the web page open in that tab. So in other words, it acts as a clipboard. It also appears in the app drawer, which really isn’t necessary, considering that all it does it open Opera.
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- Strangely, it appears in the app drawer
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- What happens when you click on a link
It’s rudimentary but it does the job. However, it can actually get quite annoying. There are times when Opera simply won’t cut it, and so the default browser becomes necessary to use. What you’ll find when you try and use the default browser is that, whenever you try and open a link, it will ask you whether or not you want to use the Browser, or OperaBridge. This happens every single time, and due to the nature of the application, it’s impossible to avoid, because if you get really annoyed and set the stock browser as default, it sets it as the global default, and the entire point of OperaBridge has been defeated.
Summary
If you like using Opera Mini, and you want to use it all the time, then download OperaBridge. It works, and I can vouch for this. But for those times when you really need to use the default browser, it can be annoying. As a solution to a problem that Opera should eventually solve themselves anyway, I’d call it quick-and-dirty at best. But it’s something.
Pros:
- Allows you to use Opera Mini 5 as your phone’s default browser
- Allows Opera to receive intent from searches, as well as just opening links
Cons:
- Takes up space in the app drawer
- Uses phone memory and doesn’t automatically shut once a link is open in Opera
- Can become annoying when use of the default browser is necessary
