Play Nintendo had the chance to speak with a representative of Opera and asked some questions about the final version of the Opera Browser for the Nintendo Wii. All in all seven questions were asked but only three were answered. I'm posting all the questions below just in case you may wonder which questions they didn't or couldn't answer.
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PN: So here's the big question; when will we be getting the full version of the browser to download on Wii?Opera: Opera and Nintendo are planning the release for the final version of the browser for late March/early April.
PN: The biggest problem (Which is still very small) to do with the Opera browser is that typing can be very slow (Especially for Novices). There was a rumor that keyboard drivers were a possibility. Does that stand?
Opera: You will have to check with Nintendo on their plans to offer a keyboard. Opera would not be involved in this.
PN: A question asked by many is if the "safe zone" (Black bar above screen) will still be there in the final version. Can you tell us anything about that?
PN: The browser has a very unique and natural sense of going online, with the exception of tabs. We noticed tabs were not on the Nintendo DS browser either. Is there a reason for why?
PN: We know Flash 7 is used because it is the most official version, but will Java be used in final version?
PN: Will there be a wider variety of viewing media in the final version, or is Flash the limit?
Opera: Cannot answer any of these questions at this time.
PN: Our last question is will there be any updates to the browser after this version, or is this it?
Opera: The browser for Wii will be regularly updated.
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What did we learn from this interview? Well, we now know to expect the browser's final version in late March or early April. It was said and speculated that it would be available in later March but this date may get pushed back a bit. We also learned that there will be updates to the browser's final version, which will make room for improvements when they arrive. I have a feeling that some stuff will be left out of the final version and will be added later through these updates. Not as much information as I hoped for but it's a start.
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