It is no secret that RIM is working on a new browser. Although current RIM browser (that is with us since Bold OS v4 release) is way faster compared to older version, but still leaves a lot to be desired, when comparing to competing browsers like Opera Mini…

We just heard from our RIM source, that next browser in blackberry phones (OS 5) will be extremely advanced compared to current one. Among new features the main attraction will be – guess what – full support for Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. This means that (if not delayed) RIM’s browser will be first mobile phone browser to support adobe’s full version of flash (it is not flash light). Importance of Silverlight is still marginal, as user base is not big, but it is growing, and we expect MS will push in with Win7 so it is no harm to have it in our browsers on Blackberrys. Among other improvements will be speed, as RIM promises we should see at least 2x improvement on average page loading time.

The biggest question remains – when will we see this extended browser? From what we’ve been told, this might take a while, as flash/silverlight processing requires a lot of computing power, and higher bandwidth. So it is safe to say that while sufficient computational power will be present in upcoming blackberry models (9700 etc), the data throughput of HSPA and HSDPA might just not be enough. Maybe in Europe where 3G and 3.5G networks are more frequent, but in States… well, we remain skeptical.

Our best guess – next summer…

In related news, Opera Mini 5 beta was released today, and this is a major news, because this is first time, that Opera produced a native version for Blackberry. Opera, which is leading mobile browser (it has over 25,4% of global mobile browser market share), wishes to give Blackberry users even better experience, including better integration with mail and copy-paste functions. Opera 5 Mini also brings concept of tabs to mobiles, and it really looks great, and is fast as lightning! Browser looks and feels less a mobile browser and more desktop computer browser! Speed of loading pages is on the level of Opera 4 Mini – with minor improvements. This still means 3-5 times (!!) faster than RIM browser.