"Opera Mini"

So in case you haven't heard, a big story in the Mac news lately has been that the Opera company made a version of Opera called "Opera Mini" for the iPhone, but it was rejected by Apple because it was one of the apps that mirrors an Apple-made feature (in this case, Safari) too closely. This really got me mad for a couple reasons. One, if you are allowed to have Opera on a Mac, why can't you have it on your phone? The iPhone, I like to think, is basically just a version of the Mac that you keep in your pocket. How is it any different from an actual Mac which has apps of its own? The other reason this annoyed me is that I've seen a lot of apps that mirror Apple's own apps too closely that actually made it to the App Store. Case in point: "Tea Timer". It's useless. It's terrible. It's just a timer that's exactly like the one you get FOR FREE in the "Clock" app that the iPhone already comes with. And worst of all, you have to PAY FOR IT. Yeah, I know. It's a rip off. So my point is, if an application as useless as that can make it to the App Store, why can't something much better that will put it's own spin on its theme make it to the App Store? It makes no sense.

However, this just in, it seems that none of that was true. The Opera Mini version for the iPhone was not rejected, because in fact, it was never sent to Apple for approval in the first place. It seems that whoever got that impression needed to check his facts. The Opera employees will not reveal their identities since their employers do not approve of them sharing this information. Thanks to Mac Rumors for the very useful heads-up. (original story)