Opera Software has finished a new version of its Coast browser, an attempt to get a better foothold on Apple's iOS, with new features.
Coast, first released last September, is touted by Opera as "the best browser for your iPad." And it may very well be just that if the idea of the best iPad browser primarily concerns a no-frills interface with a predominant reliance on special touch gestures.
Coast received its first major update a couple of weeks after its release. That update mainly brought optimizations for the then just-launched iOS 7. Its second major update, though, is decidedly more significant as it delivers several notable enhancements.
On December 17th, 2013, Opera Coast browser for iPad is launched with fresh home screen customization options, faster navigation, and more music features. When a web page can play music, Coast will indicate that with a graphic-equalizer animation in the page's tab and let users control the music with a lock-screen control.
"Did you get a hot tip about a cool remix on SoundCloud? Just head over to the webpage and start playing, no extra app needed!" Opera said.
In addition, websites that play music or sounds will now "come to life" on the home screen. Their icons will have a visual indication that looks like a graphic waveform, making it easier to see where music is playing.
Coast also now offers options for saving PDFs or opening them with other apps. The version 2.0 features inter-app functionality for PDF documents, enabling people to quickly open PDFs in other apps such as iBooks, Adobe Reader, and Dropbox.
Coast 2.0 features faster back page navigation in many cases. Back page navigation, is accomplished in Coast by simply swiping to the right - as opposed to swiping to the left, which, of course, carries out forward page navigation.
The updated Coast also lets people set a homescreen image. Now, people can just long-press on the homescreen to select a new wallpaper or set a new one right from Opera's gallery or their own photo library.
Opera has moved to Google's Blink browser engine for most of its products, but that software isn't allowed on iOS, so Coast is an attempt to build a new user interface atop the browser engine Apple ships for third-party apps on iOS to use.
The update also brings a number of under-the-hood changes for a better web-surfing experience.
"There are great improvements in speed to navigate between pages; most of the time going back to the main page will happen in an instant," Opera said. The company also updated the Coast security engine to better recognize cyber attacks.
"The reception of Coast by Opera has been so good, and, to be honest, we have been bordering on stage fright for the follow-up," said Coast Team Leader Huib Kleinhout in a statement. "But, we started out by listening to our users and noting what they actually wanted. Then, we put on some tunes and got to work. We're happy with the changes that Coast brings, and we think the best browser for iPad just got better."
Coast 2.0 is available in the App Store for free, compatible with iPad and iPad Mini running iOS 6.0 or later.