For sports fans, “the opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings” is a phrase redolent of hope. For us Nokia 770 fans, I hope it means that we’re not stuck with the Opera browser we have, but that in one of the next iterations of firmware it’ll be more stable and more flexible.

For a device predicated on dazzling the populace with its internet tricks, the 770’s browser and email app leave a lot to be desired.

For instance, OperaShow is a fantastic tool in the full-featured Opera, letting you present an html file as a slide show — “page” at a time display, no scrolling, simple click to advance. Wow, would this fill a gap on the 770!

And how about setting different (more) options via preferences, like minimum font size? Even if our Opera is always going to be a subset, shouldn’t there be more customization possible?

And shouldn’t we be able to uninstall the browser and email app if we prefer some alternative applications?

Maybe Nokia will release an intermediate type of firmware, one that falls between the consumer straight-jacket we all have and the minimalist developer version. One where every feature would be take it or leave it.