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Ok everybody knows that Pocket Internet Explorer (aka PIE) sucks. CNet reports that Opera Mobile 9.7 will support Flash and Ajax. Opera says Turbo can squeeze down data by 80 percent, clearing through slow and stubborn network connections quicker. Opera Mobile 9.7 boasts that it passes the Acid 3 test of Web standards with 100 percent, and that it supports Google Gears and the Open GL ES standard for graphics acceleration. Oh ya, and it’ll support widgets. NICE!

It’ll originally be targeted at OEM’s (in other words… the handset makers/carriers) but they hinted that end users will get a go at it as well.

Opera mini kicks the living crap out of Pocket Internet Explorer. Hands down faster. It’s still beta but totally usable. Opera Mini 4.1 just dropped today and claims to be 50% faster (which is saying a lot when you compare it to the speed of PIE. Expect to see a lot of competition in the mobile browsing space in the near future (read: FireFox mobile is coming).

New in Opera Mini 4.1 beta

Now even faster

Prior to this release, we upgraded our servers and Opera Mini now receives your requested Web pages up to 50% faster. So you can now access sites like Facebook, BBC, and any of your other favorite Web sites even faster, with Desktop-like speeds.

Find things faster

Even though scrolling to your Web content is already easy with Opera Mini, the new Opera Mini 4.1 beta lets you search for text within a Web page so you can get to the information you need even quicker than before.

Get your to your Web sites faster

Now you can stop wasting time typing in full Web addresses more than once while browsing. When typing Web addresses, Opera Mini 4.1 beta will recognize and suggest completions for you based on your Bookmarks and browsing history, making address input faster, easier and much more intuitive.

Download and upload files

On phones with JSR-75, you can now upload and download files using Opera Mini 4.1 beta, without being re-routed to your phone’s native browser. Update your blog while on the go. Upload photos to your Web site or social network. Add attachments easily to Web-based email, and download other non media-rich content to your phone using Opera Mini 4.1 beta.

Save it for later

On phones with JSR-75, Opera Mini 4.1 beta lets you save pages for offline viewing so you can quickly access and read your desired Web content, even when you’re on a plane, in the subway, or in other places where you can’t get network reception. Depending on your phone, you may need to choose a destination folder for storing pages for offline viewing.

Exisitng features and download after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »