Opera's Coast browser for iPad gets makeover, ditches back/forward buttons<!--CONTENT START--><p><img data-credit="opera" data-mep="58754" src="
http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/23d2fc3df1e4a46cf8db402bfe75751f/Screen Shot 2013-12-17 at 12.18.06 PM.jpg" style="float: right;" alt="" />Opera has released a major new version of its iPad web browser
Coast today. Version 2.0 adds several new features and builds upon the touch-centric design of its predecessor by doing something pretty radical: removing the back and forward buttons that have been a staple of web browsers since the early 1990s.</p>
<p>With Coast 2.0, users will move forward and backward using gestures. It's something that may confuse more novice users (though those users probably wouldn't be using anything but the built-in Safari browser), but the move is a welcome one as it embraces the changing human-computer input method that touchscreens have enabled.</p>
<p>Opera
notes that there's also been a host of other new features added, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Tap and hold on the home screen to customize the visual background and swipe through a gallery of backgrounds provided by Opera or select one of the pictures from your photo stream as background.</li>
<li>Music and audio visualization: Sites with sound (music or video) have a visual indication that looks like a graphic waveform on the Speed Dial on the home screen to make it easier to know where the music is playing.</li>
<li>Users can directly open PDFs from the web in iBooks or other PDF readers, which has been a frequently requested feature enhancement.</li>
<li>It's faster to go back to the previous page; 80 percent of the time, you can go back instantly, making for less waiting time and frustration.</li>
<li>Better "app detection": correctly displays the right graphics for users' favorite sites that are added to the Speed Dial.</li>
<li>Smoother UI performance flows naturally + a lot of small changes based on user feedback.</li>
<li>For the geeks: The security engine has been updated to better recognize attacks.</li>
<li>Default sites can now be dynamically updated (with more relevant ones).</li>
</ul>
<p>
Coast 2.0 for iPad is a free download.</p>
<p><img data-credit="opera" data-mep="58755" src="
http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/e5025fe377f659c95d0ed981082af5cb/screen480x480.jpeg" alt="" /></p><p style="padding:5px;clear:both;">
Opera's Coast browser for iPad gets makeover, ditches back/forward buttons originally appeared on
TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 17 Dec 2013 09:00:00 EST. Please see our
terms for use of feeds.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6>
Source | <a href="
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/12/17/operas-coast-browser-for-ipad-gets-makeover-ditches-back-forwa/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink[/url] | <a href="
http://www.tuaw.com/forward/20790277/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this[/url] | <a href="
http://www.tuaw.com/2013/12/17/operas-coast-browser-for-ipad-gets-makeover-ditches-back-forwa/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments[/url]
Source:
Opera's Coast browser for iPad gets makeover, ditches back/forward buttons
