Opera 9.5 First Impressions
The newest version of the Opera browser has been around for few days now but somehow I didn’t have any reason to upgrade. I was completely satisfied with my installed version 9.27. It worked like a charm and I didn’t encounter a single problem with it while using it for months. Yesterday, I have finally decided to download the Opera 9.5 and give it a try. I have heard a lot of conflicting opinions on it lately, so I was curious to find out whether it really is so good (or so bad).
Alright - the biggest change is a new skin. It seems pretty similar to the Vista skin but it’s lighter and colors are mild. There are some modern shiny and glassy effects. For a better imagination look at the screenshot bellow.
New tabs are obviously the most visible design change. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw them was Apple. Moreover, a tabs icon resembles an iPhone way too much. Just take a closer look. It might be just a coincidence, who knows. Anyways, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Some people might perceive this change as unfortunate but, personally, I’m kind of an Apple fan (though I have never owned any Apple product) so I like this style.
One thing I don’t like are menu icons. They are grayish and and dull and hard to understand what they are supposed to mean. I always had to read a text next to icons in order to figure out what they mean. They all look the same and confusing.
My suggestion is to make them darker and add a little more contrast, eventually add few more colors. That should solve the issue.
When you click on a glasses icon in a top right part of the browser, a toolbar with additional features (in page search, resize page and more) appears. I found that very useful. The toolbar is hidden when you don’t need it and doesn’t take space from the main viewing area.
There is one more hidden panel. It appears when you click on a wrench/spanner icon in a top left part of the browser. Thus, it doesn’t take any space, too. The panel will apear along the left border. You can easily control bookmarks, widgets, transfers and more through it.
Except menu icons I haven’t noticed any other issue worth mentioning. The fresh new look is clean and professional and we will all eventually get used to it.
Performance
Not much of a change here. Opera 9.5 looks different than its predecessor though it is the same reliable and super fast browser we are used to. Everything seems to work as it’s supposed to and I haven’t encountered any problems yet.
Conclusion
Opera 9.5 has fulfilled my expectations. It is the same high quality browser we all know, just dressed in a new fashionable clothes. I am looking forward to using it as my main browser.
