Note: For those querying about how @Web compares with Opera Mini, I'll do a further review soon. If you've got further requests, please don't hesitate to post it in the comments (i.e. reviewing an aspect that I left out); I will try and include it in the further review.

As promised, here's the review of the Digia @Web Browser (Beta) which I started instantly when I got my account:

Installation:
Very straightforward after getting your account. As soon as you enter your confirmation email, just enter your desired password, and you're off.

I downloaded the above file, then dragged and dropped it on to the memory stick, and the installation was completed without any issues.

First Impressions:


The browser loads very quickly, and it gives a general feeling that it's a very lightweight browser. A very simple interface is presented - there's none of those "Option" menus or anything, just a URL bar at the top and buttons at the bottom of the browser - perhaps that's why you'll have to go through the Read Me file, or you won't have any idea how to zoom in or out of webpages, nor how to start using the browser.

So after learning the basics, I did some browsing tests on the @Web browser. All the tests were conducted under a WLAN connection (router connected to a 6M dedicated line), just for your reference.

1. Browsing to this blog (Sony Ericsson P1i Blog):
   
   
   
   The above shows how it's rendered by @Web, while the image below shows how it's rendered by Opera 8.65...
   
   
   
   It's quite evident that there's a huge difference in the way the rendering engine on both browsers operate. Digia @Web renders the page in a way similar to most desktop browsers, while Opera v8.65 doesn't seem quite up to scratch. @Web is definitely the winner for this round.
   
   Both browsers managed to load the blog in roughly 26 seconds, so speedwise there isn't much difference between the 2 browsers.
   
   
2. Browsing to the BBC Homepage:
   I chose to do another test on the BBC homepage because it's notorious for loading slowly on smartphone browsers and it renders poorly on browsers other than the Big 4 (IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera), so this should be able to show whether @Web can really browse the web and provide a "Desktop-like" experience for the user.
   
   
   
   And again, the above is the page rendered under @Web, and below is the page loaded using Opera v8.65...
   
   
   It's quite evident that the built in Opera browser doesn't seem quite up to par compared to the @Web browser. One thing however was the loading time - Opera finished loading the (incomplete) page in just under a minute; but @Web took a whooping 1 minute and 30 seconds to load everything. 30 extra seconds is quite a long time, particularly when you're stuck in traffic and you just want to see something - although I do take in mind that @Web is still in its beta stages, and in the final version there probably would be improvement in loading times.
   

Annoying little things / Problems:

• While conducting the above said tests, one thing was apparent: the damned browser kept crashing on me. Yes, I know @Web is in it's beta stages, and it can't ever be perfect during Beta testing but this is just ridiculous. After 5 minutes browsing in landscape mode, @Web beta would crash on me, citing a system error. None of this ever happens on Portrait mode, so its better to stick with that when surfing the net, or just playing around with the browser.
  
  
• Lag; the lag is really bad for a beta browser. It's apparent whenever you're zooming in or out, or even just trying to scroll up or down the page. Everything takes at least a second or 2 to register - and I'm not exaggerating.
  
  
• Zooming in and out - nice concept, but poorly executed. I'm not sure whether it's the browser or the touch screen that has a problem; when I try to zoom in, I can repeat the same hand gesture 4 or 5 times and nothing happens. The same applies for zooming out; in fact sometimes the browser loads the linked page instead of zooming out. Even after you manage to get the gesture registered, it takes an extra few seconds to execute the actual zooming in/out.
  
  
• Scrolling is a pain; after you scroll up or down with your finger, the browser jumps back to where you were before you did the scrolling gesture - which is extremely frustrating.
  
  
• Knowing whether the page has finished loading or not - maybe it's a personal thing, but I want to know whether the entire page has loaded or not. Sometimes it's just not very apparent when its done yet or not.
  
  
• Tabbed browsing please - Opera has it, so there is no excuse why you don't have it. Or maybe it's just that I'm too demanding.
  
  
• Little things such as changing the homepage (now that I've mastered the main points in the read me file), or opting to turn images off when surfing to save up on data, or even choosing to avoid storing cookies or saving form data aren't present as options in the browser. This has to be changed or I'm not gonna be on the users of the final product.
  

Conclusion:
Impressive browser with plenty of potential, even though it's in its beta stages. However, the poorly programmed features (some of it, lets not be too critical) and lack of fundamental features found in the default browser tips the scale somewhat towards the Opera side. I presume once all these minor (and not so minor) things are sorted out, this should be the browser of choice for most users. For the time being though, I'd like to stick with the default Opera browser and wait for version 2 of the beta before committing myself to the new browser.