Opera has launched the latest beta version of its now venerable Java-based mobile web browser in Opera Mini 5.0.

The newest key features include speed dial for accessing bookmarks quickly, improved touchscreen support, an integrated password manager and tabbed browsing along with support for the BlackBerry lineup.

First and foremost, the Instinct HD will expand on Sprint’s Opera Mini-bundling in the Instinct S30. Opera Mobile will become the standard browser, operating inside the Instinct HD’s BREW environment. This is the first time Opera Mobile has been the default browser on a Sprint non-smartphone, and appears to be the rumored widespread integration deal that Opera rumored in July. Instinct HD will be Sprint’s flagship non-smartphone through the end of the year, and Sprint’s hybrid BREW/Java platform is gaining in traction on other devices.

In addition to a powerful BREW-based browser, Instinct HD will get a significant Java upgrade. With a model number of SPH-M850, it will be the first non-smartphone to feature Sprint’s Titan application platform. Titan replaces the aging J2ME CLDC profile with a custom CDC-based platform. CDC is a more powerful version of Java, originally meant for smartphones, but failed to get traction there. Only Symbian UIQ included full support for the CDC profile. Now, Sprint is poised to revive it as an app platform for non-smartphones, which can scale up to both Android and Windows Mobile phones.

Titan, as we first reported, will deliver smartphone-grade application platforms across the entire Sprint phone lineup.

Finally, most interesting, will be the integration between these two advances. Applications using Titan will be able to leverage the Opera Mobile browser as their HTML renderer. This will enable impressive on-device widgets and web-driven applications, similar to how Palm’s webOS offers application interactivity.

The interface will continue to mimic the Instinct (S30) interface, but will have additional media player enhancements to support on-device sync and HD (with HDMI) video output. This is a far cry from the meager Sprint Music Store playback support in the original Instinct, as well as take advantage of Wi-Fi in the device.

This news comes as PhoneNews.com was vindicated by external testers for our previous exclusive report which exposed that iPhone 3GS is capable of up to 1080p HD playback. Many criticized PhoneNews.com for reporting that the iPhone 3GS’s video hardware would support HD playback. Apple is poised to enable such playback upon the launch of forthcoming iPod touch models, which feature the same PowerVR chipset, enabling HD output across both iPhone 3GS and iPod touch. The change will also strike the discontinuation of the 8GB iPhone 3G, as multiple sources have reported will be replaced with a 3GS variant.

The manufacturer has also signed an agreement with the venerable and popular GetJar Java application portal and will begin offering its entire application library through the new service, along with opening a new developer submission site on July 1st with no fees for submission or listing on either PlayNow or Fun & Downloads.

The PlayNow app store will initially support Symbian and Java applications before expanding to more platforms.

And, the folks at DoCoMo had to rub salt in an old wound. See, Sega promised us that we would get an American release of The House of The Dead Mobile. The game was a beautiful port of the Sega Saturn version, but with a twist. You could actually turn around, even leveraging the accelerometer on some phones… it was a huge hit in Japan. Sega literally will not speak as to why they couldn’t keep their promise to release the game… trust us, we’ve tried, yelled, thrown objects… they refuse to say one word about the failure.

And, now DoCoMo is showing off another Saturn-era favorite, Virtual On… running flawlessly on their latest phones. If you’re not familiar with Virtual On, don’t worry. An enhanced version of the game will be released on Xbox Live Arcade later this Spring.

So, here it is. Sega won’t even bother announcing this one for the United States. But, that may be a good thing… getting people’s hopes up with phony announcements, leaves painful scars that don’t fade. If Sega is bringing this one state-side, they’ll at least be doing so quietly until it’s a sure thing.

The latest update on BOLT makes numerous improvements to both Java and BlackBerry-customized versions. New features include Wi-Fi auto-detection, additional magnification modes, and landscape browsing.

BOLT beta2 can be downloaded from the link below.

Bitstream BOLT

The complete featureset consists of quadband GSM/EDGE, 2.2 inch QVGA internal display, 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder, Series 40 with support for Symbian applications, FM radio with RDS support, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, HTML browser, media player, speakerphone, audio messaging, microSDHC expansion slot, Nokia Maps, and support for Ovi services.

T-Mobile has not confirmed the clamshell in its future lineup at this time.

The device features a Wi-Fi radio, OS 4.6, internal antenna, 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder and flash, GPS transceiver with A-GPS support, Direct Connect with Group Connect, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, microSDHC expansion slot, speakerphone, and media player.

The device is now available from Sprint online for $249.99 after new 2 year agreement and $230 instant discount with an additional $100 mail-in rebate when purchased with a PRO Pack, Everything Plan, or Data Premier add-on,  bringing the total to $149.99.

Titian improves upon the older Mobility IDE by enabling developers to use standard Java desktop development workflows and development practices with the inclusion of the CDC/Foundation Java Virtual Machine and OSGi framework for new desktop-class applications.

Titan also supports the Eclipse embedded Rich Client which can run generically written rich GUI applications across devices and computers.

Widget application development is also supported under Titan as well, which provides Web-based developers the ability to develop rich Web applications that take full advantage of the device’s functionality similar to the iPhone. This will allow developers to easily move Eclipse-based or Web applications from the desktop to Sprint devices.

Titan also includes APIs to give developers access to Sprint-specific device features, such as location, messaging, and multimedia, which were previously restricted in the former toolkit. It will launch for Windows Mobile based devices first and then will be extended to the rest of the device lineup at an unspecified timeframe.

In related news, Sprint also reaffirmed its commitment to Android by reiterating its status as a charter member in the OHA, in light of recent comments made by Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, with Google VP of mobile technology Rich Miner giving the keynote speech on the last day of the conference, December 12th.

The slider features the Linux Java (nee MOTOMAGX) operating system, quadband GSM/EDGE, QVGA display, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, speakerphone, 3.1 megapixel camera with video recorder, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSDHC expansion slot.

The main focus of the EM35 is the built-in MOTOMUSIC player which doubles as a connected storefront offering access to over the air music purchases as well as full Windows Media 11 support for media sync. The phone also features an internal FM radio with RDS support for song identification and will operate over Bluetooth, negating the need for a wired headset.

The phone is expected to be available later this quarter with no pricing information available at this time.

Now with the switch to the OneClick standard user interface, does the Highnote improve on the innovative features found on the Upstage, or will it be hampered by the one feature that Sprint touts in OneClick?

Phone Encyclopedia: Samsung Highnote

Buy a Sprint Samsung Highnote from Best Buy

First Impressions, Basic Functionality

The Samsung Highnote is an uncommon form factor for any US carrier, owing to its dual-slide form factor which was pioneered by the Nokia N95.

It does bring up reminders of the aforementioned superphone, however the most remarkable thing about the design of the phone is the speaker.

The speaker portion of the phone is thin and flat and is exposed by pushing down on the body. This makes the phone very suitable for conference calls as the speaker is quite powerful and loud as evidenced by the fact that I loaded a custom ringtone of a synthesized kickdrum loop and heard it from 30 feet away at low volume.

The menu keys are rather awkward and are positioned at 10 and 2. which will be offputting for the first few times you use the phone. Oddly, the talk and end keys are not illuminated in the common red and green lighting and also require getting used to, which can be frustrating at times if one is in a hurry.

For menu navigation, the phone offers an integrated directional pad set inside the menu keys which also doubles as a scrollwheel similar to the Chocolate 3. The scrollwheel works well provided the sensitivity is set as a reasonable level, but it can have the potential to aggravate since the wheel also doubles as the directional pad, making it hard to key in specific selections in a pinch or navigate menus.

Reception was below average for a Sprint Samsung model with an internal antenna, as the phone would struggle to maintain a stable signal even in a saturated coverage area. Phone calls were of good quality with ample volume and callers reported no issues with hearing my voice or dropouts. Calls over Bluetooth using the Sony Ericsson DS970 or DS220 yielded the same result although incoming calls using the DS220 with Shure e5c in ear monitors made incoming call compression more evident than the 970, but outgoing calls were fine and the Bluetooth caller ID function worked as advertised.

The dialpad features dedicated keys for speakerphone, SMS, and text to speech intended for mobile use, but I never used them very often. The phone features a hold button which is rather useless in practice as sliding the phone up or down disables the lock, presumably for emergencies. Had Sprint and Samsung implemented a hardware switch that gets killed when sliding the phone up, the hold functionality would be effective when using the music player functionality.

Advanced Functionality

The Samsung Highnote features the controversial Sprint OneClick user interface which is intended to be the standard user interface across all Sprint non-smartphones. It features, appropriately one-click access to messaging, Google services (GMail, Search, YouTube, Maps, Reader), Sprint Music, and Web access.

While the intention to provide a common interface is sound, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Since the user interface is programmed in BREW, the phone struggles to keep up with user input with a copious amount of lag, which led me to disable the user interface. Once I did that, my blood pressure went down significantly, though I would prefer the Samsung UI.

The browser built into the OneClick UI is crash-prone and routinely times out in an almost reliable fashion. I’ve since pinned it to the switch from AU-MIC to Polaris and the implementation of the Openwave proxy since it has issues with processing SSL connections. Since the proxy and browser do a poor job of formatting HTML pages, I limited web usage considerably, but I found that it can still process WML/WAP/XHTML with no issues.

I expect the phone to receive at least two firmware updates to address the user interface and the browser, especially as developers have been becoming more vocal about the aforementioned issues. One thing that I have not seen mentioned is the inclusion of a microUSB port and cable. Thankfully, the cable charges the phone and the phone also features a mass storage option (that disables the phone radio), which is convenient for quick image and data transfers.

Music Playback

The selling point for this phone is the music playback and the Highnote does that as well as it can within the confines of Sprint’s requirements. OneClick does not feature an independent media player in the vein of the Samsung media player found on the A900/A920/M500/M520.

In its place the Sprint Music Store player now features built-in EQ options and spatializer options for audio running through its speakers, Bluetooth, and 3.5mm headphone jack, which any music oriented phone should have with no exception. The media player plays back MP3, unprotected AAC, and Sprint’s protected AAC format used for purchased Music Store tracks.

The volume output is superior to the iPod/iPhone/Touch over either the 3.5mm jack or Bluetooth and I tested the volume by using a random mix of music ranging from metal (Nile, Morbid Angel, At The Gates, Lamb of God, Slayer), electronic music (Alec Empire, Atari Teenage Riot, Chemical Brothers, Pendulum, Counterstrike) and noise (Merzbow, Masonna). The phone features a one-touch key for the music store and works well.

Camera

The camera is typical midrange Samsung fare, with a tiny CMOS sensor and heaps of noise. Pictures came out below average thanks to the reliance on ambient lighting and no flash. Video recording is passable and features options for video messages and long videos.

Conclusions

The OneClick User Interface alone will polarize customers due to its usability quirks and lag. The lack of the manufacturer user interface isn’t a deal-breaker, but We couldn’t reccomend this phone to everyone without preconditions.

My advice to Sprint and Samsung: Bring back the Samsung UI, and make OneClick into a Sprint theme, which could be disabled by savvy or elderly users who are familiar/enamored with the Samsung UI. Google alone will not mask a litany of usability issues and the idea that forcing a user interface is a good idea.

Final Score: 3/5
Pros: Thin, loud speakers, Bluetooth, microUSB with charging cable, 3.5mm headphone jack
Cons: Buggy, Lack of Samsung UI, lack of standard media player, poor browser.

Phone Encyclopedia: Samsung Highnote

Buy a Sprint Samsung Highnote from Best Buy