News that Opera has come out with a Beta version of its mobile browser Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile and Pocket PC touch screen devices (and not for those that run Symbian software) made me wonder how conducive this mini browser was to mobile blogging. Is it easier to use a browser to blog or would you prefer a client plugged in application that lets you post specifically to a particular blogging site?

Mobile blogging has come a long way – from using SMS gateways from ordinary phones to sending emails to client applications that publish to your blog and mobile browsers that let you do pretty much any kind of activity on the Internet as you would with a computer, there are a variety of options open to the mobile blogger.

The latest edition of the iPhone does come with the option of using Safari, but is the browser from Apple capable of offering the right kind of support when you want to update your blog using your mobile device? With the iPhone keyboard taking up a large area, blogging through Safari is just not convenient. But with both TypePad and WordPress launching apps for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, bloggers with accounts on these sites are in for a treat.

With regard to being first on the scene, the TypePad app scores over its WordPress counterpart; it also offers support in both English and French. WordPress on the other hand allows you to retrieve a blog post when you’re interrupted by a phone call as you type. The final decision though, depends on which site you blog on regularly – users are generally not willing to change blog addresses they’ve had for quite a while, not after they’ve built up a certain amount of ratings and readership.

No disrespect to mobile browsers, but I do think they fall behind client apps when it comes to offering support for mobile blogging. Phones are after all more conducive to telephone calls, text messages and emails. Browsing and exploring are options that are limited severely by screen size and finger mobility. Touch sensitive devices may change the ay things are, but with even iPhone users having trouble blogging through its resident browser, apps seem the way to go.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of high speed Internet deals.