Details and pics of Wii Internet Channel final version
by John Bardinelli 
{ Mar 26th 2007 at 7:34PM }
Nintendo's official U.S. Wii website recently featured a translated discussion with the Internet Channel's development team in Japan. Working closely with Opera Software, the group crafted the trial version of the Opera Wii browser and are still fine-tuning it for the official release in April. Based on user feedback, a number of improvements have been made to make Wii surfing easier and faster:
- Auto-hide toolbar
- Display cursors from multiple Wii remotes (though only Player 1 can actually click)
- Favorites page immediately accessible
- Improved website compatibility
- Improved zoom leaves text crisp at all levels
- New and better scroll interface
- Search button on the toolbar
- Start up time decreased by 5 seconds
- URL text (www and com) easily accessible
[Via Digg]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Beni Nkangoh @ Mar 26th 2007 7:39PM
Hopefully they get rid of that dreadful freezing issue. Also, I REALLY hope they updated Flash version to nine with some kind of agreement with Adobe.
Java would be nice, but its sorta useless without a keepboard.
The only thing I can see happening is .MOV support since the Wii already supports that and maybe some .WMV streaming if Microsoft licenses it to Nintendo.
a dirty bastard @ Mar 26th 2007 8:12PM
who cares
Nova Scotian @ Mar 26th 2007 8:59PM
No tabbed browsing? Lame. Anyone who pays for a web browser in 2007 (a gimped one at that) is a goot.
bovined @ Mar 26th 2007 8:00PM
I am a big fan of the Wii but the latest PS3 browser updates are vastly superior to anything the Wii browser is going to end up being...and its free.
Mr Khan @ Mar 26th 2007 8:02PM
i couldn't believe that they didn't do anything similar to tabbed browsing
I hope they at least cleaned up the engine's ability to deal with pop-ups, because any pop-up that would normally appear would appear as a full screen page, but the original page would continue running "underneath" the pop-up, and if the pop-up led to a new stream of pages, occasionally the browser would get confused, and go to one of those pages "underneath" setting you very far back on your surfing. Too many layers of pages would build up, leading to the freezing #1 speaks of
I really hope they fixed that, becuase the browser's still more convenient than waiting for my PC with it's extremely clunky load times to warm up, just to check a page on the internet
a dirty bastard @ Mar 26th 2007 8:14PM
my psp browses the better than the wii
oo7ev @ Mar 26th 2007 8:39PM
please god get rid of the stupid 'hand' cursor. It basically ruins any of the free flash games on wiicade.com or other sites. that has been the only reason I have or probably ever will use the browser.
Colin @ Mar 26th 2007 8:21PM
Browsing the web at 480p?
Really?
Laydros @ Mar 26th 2007 8:34PM
In the linked page one of the guys mentions one of the real reasons people want the wii browser:
"Your able to casually browse through the web with one hand."
Beni Nkangoh @ Mar 26th 2007 8:34PM
Actually browsing at a higher resoultion at distances 5-8ft would be more annoying then browsing at 480p
Alex @ Mar 26th 2007 10:12PM
shoddy browser or no shoddy browser, youtube on your couch as a gratuity is more revolutionary than it might seem at first.
Beni Nkangoh @ Mar 26th 2007 9:08PM
The web browser is free now anyway.
Colin @ Mar 26th 2007 9:29PM
You have to pay for it?
That is whack.
Rubang B @ Mar 26th 2007 9:55PM
THE TRIAL VERSION IS FREE RIGHT NOW.
THE FULL VERSION COMES OUT IN APRIL AND IS FREE.
IF YOU DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE, YOU NEVER PAY.
IF YOU DOWNLOAD IT AFTER JULY, YOU PAY $5 ONCE.
SUCK MY CAPS LOCK BROWSER HATERS.
Colin @ Mar 26th 2007 10:01PM
Rubang...unless you own shares in Nintendo, I don't think the caps are necessary.
It just seems ridiculous to nickel and dime (or $5) your users for a web browser. Hell, build in a little advert bar/button for Nintendo products and give the damn thing away for free.
Evan @ Mar 26th 2007 10:03PM
What I want to know is, can I adjust it so that is fills my entire screen? The trail version leaves a black border along the top and size. I think it's for tube-tvs, but there's no reason for it with HDTVs, and there's quite a few more pixels that could be gained if the page filled my screen.
samfish @ Mar 26th 2007 10:22PM
I actually use the Wii browser enough to warrant paying $5 bucks if I had to.
Better Flash support and video codec support in general is the one thing I want most.
...that and being able to hide the navigation bar, which we get.
Now if somebody would just release a GOOD Wii Media Center program that doesn't severely degrade video quality or make you use Flash video files, my life would be 'roundabouts complete.
Rubang B @ Mar 26th 2007 10:43PM
@Colin, if you can find out how I can buy stock in Nintendo, I'd dump half my savings account in a heartbeat. My post was just countering the several previous posts about the "price."
And $5 is worth it in my house anyway, because I don't have a second computer or an internet-capable phone, so if somebody's on the PC I hop on the Wii.
Colin @ Mar 26th 2007 11:18PM
Rubang...
In the US you purchase Nintendo ADRs
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NTDOY.PK
Rubang B @ Mar 26th 2007 11:34PM
Oh man, thanks. Now it's time to put my money where my mouth is. This stock has more than doubled in the last year. Now I have to buy some, and the next time my girlfriend gives me guff for buying too many video games, I can tell her I'm trying to increase the value of my shares via increasing sales!
riva76 @ Mar 27th 2007 12:44AM
Interested in buying Nintendo stock? Here is the best website to find out about Nintendo as a stock and how to buy it in the US. Beware! You must use limit orders when buying. Anyway, March 27th is the last day to buy and still receive a dividend at 40 cents a share.
http://nintendostock.blogspot.com/
Agent MOO @ Mar 27th 2007 10:59AM
You can find a better browser on the computer you are most likely using now. Wake me up when Super Paper Mario comes out.
Jake @ Apr 11th 2007 8:28PM
i like my wii i'm using it right now