Opera Mobile 8.5 Beta for Pocket PC released

A 45-day trial beta is now officially available for downloading Opera 8.5. Unlike the version that leaked earlier, this beta includes binaries for Windows Mobile 5.0 as well as 2003. From the press release:

"Ever since we released Opera 8 for Windows Mobile 2003 Smartphone in June 2005, people have been asking for Opera for their Pocket PCs," says Christen Krogh, VP Engineering, Opera Software. "We are very pleased to offer the latest version of Opera Mobile to Pocket PC owners, so they may finally have a proper Web experience on their devices."

"Opera Mobile 8.5 for Pocket PC offers unmatched speed and usability, which is why we included it on our latest Sharp W- ZERO3 flagship device for the advanced Japanese market" says Tadasu Tsuchihashi, Executive director, Willcom INC. "Thanks to Opera Mobile's unique rendering technology the Web surfing experience on Pocket PC devices is now remarkably close to that of a PC."