Opera 10.50 Beta for Mac: A Quick Review of New Features and Improved Specifications

February 26, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

February 26, 2010 – Opera Software, the company that boasts having the “fastest browser on earth”, has released Opera 10.50 Beta for Mac. While they’ve been in the news recently based on their work toward providing a version of the browser for the Apple iPhone, apparently they’ve also been putting a good deal of effort into speeding up browsing for Intel-based Mac users with OSX 10.4 and higher

So what features are there to get excited about? Well, first of all, remember that it is a Beta. If you download it (which we did) there will be hiccups (which there were). As any good technophile knows, the whole purpose of a Beta version is to let the computing masses help you figure out what’s wrong with it. If you find something, report it and be part of the solution. Having said that, here’s a quick rundown of the good stuff you’ll get a taste of during the Beta period and may grow to love by the time the real version is released.

Potentially Great Features at First Glance:

New JavaScript Engine – Opera 10.50 is reported to perform at speeds up to 8x faster than previous versions.

Multi-Search Engine Support – A search field has been added that allows for customization of the search engine(s) to be used. Customized searches are also supported and can be used to search the current page, predefined pages, and more.

Developed with Cocoa – By using Cocoa, the well-known tool used to create native Mac applications, Opera 10.50 contains a unified toolbar, as well as native buttons and scrollbars. Even more impressive is the fact that the multi-touch gestures included on newer MacBook and MacBook Pro models are supported within the browser, as well.

New and Improved Widget Support - In this version, widgets can be integrated into the desktop environment, instead of being confined within the browser. Since the browser was designed to run natively, developers will be able to design their widgets that will do the same.

New and Improved Private Browsing - Private browsing may not be new, but the ability to selectively invoke the privacy function is. Users are able to choose, on a case-by-case basis, which tabs or windows will be used for private browsing.

It’s still too early to really say how improved this version is, when compared to the previous Opera version or other currently available browsers. With a little time to play around with the features and really compare its speed to that of other browsers,  a detailed list of the pros and cons can be developed. Instead of waiting for someone else to test it out, though, visit the Opera 10.50 beta page so you can download and test it for yourself.