Jan 22, 2011 16:21 GMT  ·  By
Opera releases beta version of WAC 1.0-supporting widget runtime for Android
   Opera releases beta version of WAC 1.0-supporting widget runtime for Android

Norwegian software company Opera has just announced the release of a beta version of their WAC 1.0-supporting runtime for Android, announced in late last year.

The new release comes with a wide range of fixes from the initial flavor, which landed last year in alpha, and should be followed by another update in the near future, one that would bring 100% compliance with WAC 1.0 specs before the MWC show kicks off in Barcelona next month.

“This build has all WAC 1.0 APIs implemented and we started official WAC 1.0 compliance testing on HTC Desire device (Android 2.2) – preliminary results are available here: compliance test results,” a recent post on Opera's blog reads.

“Please note that compliance testing is not finished yet and significant volumes of tests haven’t been executed, for instance, the digital signatures tests, which are currently being adjusted by WAC. We also fixed some serious bugs, particularly in camera, messaging and audio; for more details please refer to the release notes.”

Those interested in learning more on the new release of Opera's software should head to the company's website here. The WAC 1.0-supporting runtime for Android is available for download from here.

The software works on handsets running under Android 2.1 or newer, and needs at least 25Mb of free space. It can also be installed on microSD memory cards on handsets that run under Android 2.2 or later.

In order to install the runtime (Opera widget manager), you should do the following:

- Go to the Android settings and ensure that 'Unknown sources' (Allow install of non-Market application) is allowed. - Download the build (.apk) from the provided location. Alternatively, you can download the build with a desktop browser, save it on a device, and install it using any available file manager. - To launch the widget manager, find the installed Android application called 'Opera Widgets'. Opera also notes that the widget runtime was made available for evaluation and demo purposes only, and that it should not be used commercially. The company also notes that it is in a pre-production stage, and that it might include various issues.