More than a year ago, we talked about a fundamental change in how we use the content available on web. We called it the begining of LifeStyle 2.0. What we were looking for, was how the content and technology providers enable us, the end users, to have ready access to the web, via devices that are more suited in the living room (or the kitchen, or vehicles).
Om coined the term Sofa-Web this morning, and this past month and half we have been seeing the war of the consoles taking place at every best-buy, costco and so on. These game consoles all had pretty much some access to the web, but mostly to their own services. XBox had Marketplace, I am not sure what kind of service PS3 has (if it has something).
Last night Wii sent out the update for Trial version of Opera browser running on the console. This doesnt, in any way tie the service to Nintendo, or to Opera, but is an open browser to browse freely over the web.
This morning I had my Wii breathing the blue light, and I knew it has the Opera (Internet Channel) update ready. Once under the Virtual Console, I could see the download for trial version avaialble, which I did, and finished smoothly.
The browser itself is pretty simple to use, with the start page showing a Favourites icon, a icon to enter a URL, and one more for help. The second icon to enter a URL brings up a full screen virtual keyboard, which you can navigate using the Wii-mote. I would LOVE to see a Wireless keyboard launched soon by Nintendo or others, because it does take some time to press the keys using the Wii-mote.
The browser experience is good for a first release, you can zoom into the page using the ‘+’ button on the Wii-mote. One thing I am not sure about is a pop-up window. I did see one popup come in my face, hiding the original window I was looking at, and with no way to close this popup, I was stuck, for a moment. I clicked on the Back button on lower left corner of the scree, and I was back in my original window. Not sure though, what happened to the popup window (was it still loaded in memory?). Maybe someone from Opera team can tell us.
Overall, we are happy to see this update. Now all we need is a wireless keyboard working with Wii. This would be a good living room browser, without wanting to hide a noisy PC in your entertainment rack.
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