WebProNews

Tag: Opera

  • Take A Journey Through Four Years Of The Browser Wars

    Oh how things have changed since 2008, when most of the world was browsing the web via Internet Explorer. It’s no secret that IE has been leaking market share over the past few years, but now we have a pretty visualization that shows exactly how the globe became a little less reliant on Microsoft’s revolutionary web browser.

    Ok, “a little less reliant” is putting it a bit mildly. In July of 2008, IE held over two-thirds of the browser landscape (66.87%). Nearly four years later, in June of 2012, IE owned just 32.49% of the share – a figure that puts it in a dead heat with Google’s Chrome browser.

    All of these figures come from independent web analytics company StatCounter, who today released their “Evolution of the Worldwide Browser Landscape.” It’s a pretty fascinating look at how the world diversified in terms of how they browse the interwebs.

    Check it out below:

    And for the lazy, here are the two graphs from July 2008 and June 2012 back-to-back:

    statcounter web browser usage 2008

    statcounter web browser usage 2012

    Of course, it’s hard to look at this and see anything other than a story of how Internet Explorer lost its mojo – but StatCounter makes a point to say that IE is not giving up browser supremacy without a fight:

    IE is not taking Chrome’s challenge lying down. From May to June, IE increased its usage share by two-tenths of one percentage point, the first monthly increase since October/November 2011. On a weekly basis, while Chrome overtook IE in week 20 (14 – 20 May 2012), by week 24 (11 – 17 June 2012) IE had staged a fight-back and was exactly equal with Chrome in terms of browser usage for that seven-day period.

    Still, we have to declare that the last four years have been won by Chrome, and it’s not even close. While Firefox, Safari, and Opera barely made any gains (and lost a bit of share in Firefox’s case), Chrome was basically the sole browser stealing all of IE’s pie.

  • Opera 12 Exits Beta With New Features

    Opera 12 went into beta back in April. The newest version of the underdog browser brought along some great new features like improved HTML5 support and better security. Opera 12 is now out of beta and brings along with it all the great stuff from before, plus a few new tricks.

    Outside of the improvements from the beta, Opera 12 has added three features that are great for developers and users alike. One of the features in particular is pretty exciting from a development standpoint.

    First up is the obvious change for every new browser – speed enhancements. Opera 12 promises “faster startup and quick page loading.” It will do this through a new responsive tab loading sequence that allows the browser to start up or shut down relatively fast. The improvements also extend to general browsing with page load speeds being increased.

    Opera 12 now has support for new themes. It has borrowed from what both Firefox and Chrome has done in the field of themes to allow users to create their own or use one that has already been created. What’s even better is that Opera can update themes without having to restart the browser. Check out the community to see the themes that are available.

    The most exciting new feature of all, however, is the browser’s ability to use your webcam. Web sites with support for the feature can take control of your webcam for all kinds of applications. The most obvious of course being on the spot photographs for new profile pictures on social networks. It could be applied in many other ways though. One inventive idea would be to figure out how to make gamified apps using the webcam as the input method. I’m sure somebody will figure it out.

    Features carried over from the beta include the aforementioned security badges and HTML5 support. It doesn’t stop there, however, as the browser is also host to new APIs, right-to-left script support, experimental WebGL support, and the discontinuation of Opera Unite, Opera Widgets and Voice.

    It’s easy to see why Opera has such a fervent fanbase even when its user count is far below that of Firefox, Chrome and others. I’ve always appreciated the browser for its dedication to quality by making sure everything is in perfect working order before shipping the stable version of its latest release.

    You can grab Opera 12 at the official site. If you haven’t used it before, I suggest giving it a try. I’m still a Firefox diehard, but I appreciate Opera and what it does. Besides, it’s still one of the only browsers to ship a stable 64-bit version. That’s worth all the praise in the world.

  • Facebook Boots Chrome, Adds Opera To Supported Browser Page

    This is not as much of a big story as it is fuel to a previous rumor. According to a screencap courtesy FavBrowser, Facebook has ditched Chrome on its recommended browser landing page and opted to suggest users download the latest version of Opera instead.

    You can’t check out that page though, as it no longer exists – you’ll be redirected to the homepage (if you try to access it via Safari on mobile you get an error page). But you can check out this cached version.

    Of course, the significance of this lies in a recent rumor that has Facebook acquiring Opera Software, makers of the Opera browser.

    Now, as far as that rumor goes, it makes sense. Facebook hasn’t been shy about big acquisitions lately, and this would in no way be as earth shattering as a recent sepia-toned purchase. Then again, it’s not like Facebook has a clean plate right now.

    Naturally, an Opera sighting on an official Facebook page will perpetuate the rumors. But it’s not like Facebook has gone nuclear on Chrome. A quick look at Facebook’s help page on supported browsers looks like this:

  • Facebook May Be Looking to Purchase Opera [RUMOR]

    According to a source close with Pocket-lint, Facebook is said to be on the prowl to acquire Opera Software, maker of the Opera web browser.

    There are a few reasons for why this sounds plausible and one or two for why it doesn’t. The most obvious reason that lends any validity to this rumor is the fact that Facebook’s money has been burning a hole in its pocket lately. In a little over a month, Facebook has acquired or absorbed Lightbox, Karma, Bolt Peters, and, perhaps most notable, Instagram. The company just ballooned its coffers after the company’s initial public offering one week ago and, in spite of seemingly everyone except Facebook being very upset with the its shares’ performance so far, Facebook does have some more money to burn.

    More, Facebook has been upfront about the fact that it’s losing revenue traction due to more users accessing the site via mobile app than through the actual webpage. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, heading into the company’s IPO, tried to assuage investors’ concerns about Facebook’s mobile problem by telling them that the mobile frontier is the company’s top priority. If Facebook were to pick up Opera, the acquisition would add a very established mobile browser to the company’s inventory of mobile tools. Also, assuming that time is of the essence in turning Facebook’s mobile platform into a source of revenue growth, purchasing a respected browser like Opera would curtail any time lost spent on building a Facebook browser from scratch.

    Beyond adding a slick, respected browser into its quiver, an acquisition of Opera would give Facebook a really nice browser-based email client, too.

    It’s been all but officially verified by Facebook that it is developing its own search engine, too. Analysts have already speculated that a Facebook search engine would take a huge bite out of Google’s dominance of internet search. Combine a Facebook search engine and a Facebook browser and a Facebook email client and, well, you’ve got yourself some pretty plump Facebook fruit to attract advertisers.

    Plus, if Facebook really wants to take a legitimate run at toppling Google, this would be a pretty firm push in that direction.

    However, Facebook’s passed on big-time purchases before. Microsoft reportedly tried to sell its search engine, Bing, to Facebook last year. Zuckerberg declined the offer, though, saying that Facebook had too much on its plate at the time.

    Facebook’s plate has hardly gotten any less crowded since then; really, the company’s added a second and third helping onto the plate without even clearing off what was there in the first place. Between the IPO mess and the impending class action lawsuits happening as a result of it, an FTC probe into the company’s acquisition of Instagram, and trying to find a way to earn back investors’ trust, Facebook’s got its big, blue hands full.

    In the end, it’s a matter of what Facebook wants to prioritize: cleaning up its act with its nascent yet lackluster existence as a publicly traded company, or trying to keep moving forward with its agenda as a technology company. Then again, the company could take the Double Dare challenge and go after both goals at once. Not impossible, but it could lead to some haphazard decisions.

    For what it’s worth, Thomas Ford, Opera System’s senior communications manager, says Opera Systems is mum on the subject of a Facebook acquisition. He told WebProNews, “We do not respond to market rumors and we have no comment to the rumor addressed in the question.”

  • Opera 12 Beta Gains A Lot, Loses A Little

    Opera is one of those less talked about browsers out there. That’s not to say it’s a bad browser, it just gets ignored somehow when the subject is brought up. It really is one of the best browsers out there in terms of security, but it has been behind in a few key areas – not anymore.

    Opera announced the availability of the Opera 12 beta today that features a lot of great new features that puts the browser on par with recent Firefox and Chrome releases. It just lost a few of its more unique features to get there.

    Let’s cover the good news first though. The first update you’ll see is some enhanced performance from the browser in the form of 64-bit support on Windows and Mac. It has also sped up page loading even on secure pages.

    Even though I can hear the “copycat” calls now, Opera now has themes that users can apply to the browser. Just like all the other theme extensions, you can apply these themes at the click of a button without having to exit the browser.

    Remember when I said that Opera security was awesome? It just got more awesome and helpful with a redesigned security badge system. It has added color coded security badges in the address bar to let you know if the site in question has enough security in place.

    They have also enabled camera and extension API support. This is for face tracking applications, but also for cool future stuff like WebRTC. More on that later.

    There is now right-to-left scripts support in Opera which enables those who speak such languages to enjoy the browser natively. On top of that, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Hebrew are now supported in their native format.

    Opera is now getting into hardcore support for Web standards and HTML5 with this release. The first is support for WebGL which enables the browser to take advantage of your video card to display 3D images in browser. On top of that, there is now support for new Web standards including WebRTC, HTML5 Drag and Drop, CSS3 Animations and Transitions, Do-Not-Track, and CSS Generated Content for Paged Media.

    Now for the bad news: Opera is discontinuing support for Opera Unite, Opera Widgets and Voice. Unite and Widgets are removed by default, but you can move these solutions to the extension platform if you so wish.

    Overall, this is a fantastic release for Opera and it sets up the browser to be even better. Now if only we can work on its notoriety.

  • Opera Payment Exchange Taking Mobile Payments Around The World

    Everybody is getting into the mobile payment business these days. While Google Wallet has been one of the most talked about (and hacked) mobile payment options, Opera now offers their own alternative.

    Opera Software, developer of the Opera browser, announced today the launch of the Opera Payment Exchange program. Their goal is to provide the world’s best experience in mobile payments. OPX allows users of Opera Mini to carry out mobile transactions “securely and simply with payment instruments they know and trust.”

    OPX offers an API that Web sites can use to offer an easy way for Opera Mini users to make mobile payments on their sites. They claim that every Web site that integrates OPX into their mobile site stands to gain these benefits:

    For Opera Mini users, OPX will provide a secure and trustworthy mobile-payment experience that is ubiquitous, convenient and easy to control.

    For publishers, OPX helps maximize the potential of their existing billing connections with carriers, payment instrument providers and payment gateways, by increasing conversions through merchandising intelligence based on transactions performed on the publishers website, and through a trusted user experience.

    For operators, OPX provides a new revenue stream with standardized integration, better support and retailing insights based on carrier billing.

    For payment providers and payment gateways, OPX will overcome inconsistent user experience and fear of fraud with one-click, native support for payment instruments.

    “At Opera, it is all about giving the user the best possible experience,” said Mahi de Silva, EVP for Consumer Mobile, Opera Software. “Mobile payments have so far been a privilege for users of high-end devices in developed markets. With OPX, Opera is expanding this to all devices, no matter the location, carrier or payment instrument by giving the stakeholders in the ecosystem the right technology to carry out the transactions.”

    It’s an ambitious plan that already has secured a few partners including InMobi SmartPay, Yandex.Money and Bango who will use OPX for their mobile payments in parts of the world that aren’t serviced by the big players yet. They expect OPX to be rolled out to more parts of the globe throughout the year.

    Opera will be showcasing OPX at their booth at the Mobile World Congress this week.

  • Opera Software Updates Mini And Mobile

    Opera Software Updates Mini And Mobile

    Opera has announced updated versions of their web browser software and it is ready for download now. Their smartphone browser is now in its 12th version and it is supposed to be faster and easier than ever. Not only that, a new feature called Smart Page has the ability to integrate Facebook and Twitter, so you can get all of your social updates in one feed.

    Also available from Opera is something they call, Opera Mini Next, a preview version of what’s going to be offered in a future complete update of Opera Mini. Both, Opera Mini Next and the version 12 Mobile web browsers feature WebGl support, hardware acceleration, and an updated speed dial with unlimited shortcuts. How exciting!

    Android versions of the mobile software is available through the Android market and Opera Mini Next is available at http://www.opera.com/mobile/. So if any of this sounds good to you, go check it out.

  • Internet Explorer Market Share Continues to Decrease

    While it’s still more popular than the other browsers combined, the fact that Internet Explorer’s market share has fallen under the 50 percent mark is an eye-opening event. This marks the first time IE has ever been reduced to under half. Granted, Microsoft’s browser is under the line by about .42 percentage points, the fact remains, under half of the world’s Internet users are doing so with Internet Explorer.

    Does this mean the end of IE as we know it? Not exactly. As indicated, even with it falling under the halfway point in terms of usage, at 49.58 percent of the market share, Internet Explorer still has more users than the rest of the listed browsers combined. According to the report from NetMarketShare, via FavBrowser.com, Internet Explorer’s two biggest competitors, Firefox and Chrome, have a combined market share of 37.8 percent. It’s only when you add in the reach of Safari, Opera and the ubiquitous “other” browser (8.54%, 1.49%, and 2.59%), does the total number eclipse IE’s share.

    Have a look:

    Browser Market Share

    While some are sounding alarms about Internet Explorer’s reduction in usage, the fact that almost half of the population on the web still uses it helps quantify the following statement from the W3 Schools website, which has a large following of Firefox users — 39.7 percent of the site’s visitors in September 2011 used Mozilla’s browser, compared to just 22.9 percent using Internet Explorer:

    W3Schools is a website for people with an interest for web technologies. These people are more interested in using alternative browsers than the average user. The average user tends to the browser that comes preinstalled with their computer, and do not seek out other browser alternatives.[Emphasis added]

    The bold section of the previous blockquote helps explain Internet Explorer’s still sizable market share quite well. Of course, as more and more people move away from the traditional methods of browsing in favor of mobile devices and tablet computers, expect these numbers to continue their adjustment.

    Besides Internet Explorer’s drop in usage, another thing that stands out is Google Chrome’s increase, which was by more than one percentage point. In September, Chrome’s share was 15.17 percent, and for October, its share increased to 16.59 percent. Google’s browser was the the largest gaining in terms of market share. In fact, it was the only browser to increase by a full point.

    Safari experienced gains as well, but not as much as Chrome. Apple’s browser saw its market share increase by .51 percentage points, making it the second highest browser in terms of gains.

  • Are Internet Explorer Users Dumb?

    Are Internet Explorer Users Dumb?

    We are all well aware that IE has been the butt of many jokes over the years, justly or unjustly depending on who you ask. A new report from consulting firm AptiQuant may have just provided ammunition for a whole new round of jokes.

    Apparently, IE users aren’t quite the smartest citizens of the interwebs – at least when compared to users of Firefox, Chrome and Opera.

    Here’s how the test went: AptiQuant offered online IQ tests to over 100,000 people and charted the results based on which browser they used to take the test. Simple as that.

    The results show that IE users of all versions performed the poorest of all browsers tested. And the older the version of IE you’re using, the lower your IQ. IE 6 users and IE 7 users average a score of barely over 80. IE 9 and IE 8 users averaged around 95 and 90, respectively.

    Next were Firefox users, followed by Chrome and then Safari. The real bright bulbs turned out to be Opera users, who average an IQ score of just under 130.

    They also measured these results against results from 2006 and found that IE users have dropped on the scale over the past 5 years.

    AptiQuant concluded this –

    The study showed a substantial relationship between an individual’s cognitive ability and their choice of web browser. From the test results, it is a clear indication that individuals on the lower side of the IQ scale tend to resist a change/upgrade of their browsers. This hypothesis can be extended to any software in general, however more research is needed for that, which is a potential future work as an extension to this report.

    Of course not all people who use IE lack intelligence. But these findings have to make you wonder; why do those other browsers appeal to a more intelligent crowd?

  • Facebook In Real Life

    Have you ever thought about just how strange your online activity is compared to your actual life? If the two have melded and you are unable to tell the difference anymore, I’m sorry, this won’t make any sense to you. But if you think about what we are comfortable doing on social networks compared to what we feel comfortable doing in public, it’s actually really funny.

    As a promotional campaign for a new opera debuting this month comes a nice little video entitled “Can I Be Your Friend.” One man walks around and interacts with real people in the same manner we react with people on Facebook and Twitter. The results are entertaining.

    The opera in question is called “Two Boys” and it is based around the topic of “internet crimes.” In fact its inspiration comes from a 2004 story about an internet-based crime. A 14-year-old boy apparently posed at a female spy online and convinced an older boy to kill someone for him. The person he was trying to get killed was actually himself, and he was attacked, suffering multiple stab wounds. The older boy feel in love with the younger boy, and more confusion ensued. See how murky the internet can get sometimes?

    The Opera is from the mind of 28-year-old composer Nico Muhly and will premiere at London’s English National Opera on June 24th.

    The promotional video available on YouTube asks if you’ve “ever thought what could go wrong” in your online life? A man walks around asking strangers to be his friend, if he can poke them, and sticking “like” post-its on everything he sees. In the end there is even a gag involving a pretty creepy interpretation of a common Twitter term.

    Check it out:

  • Browser War to Heat up with New Products from Opera

    Browser War to Heat up with New Products from Opera

    With big news from Google Chrome and Firefox, the browser war has been anything but quiet lately. Norwegian browser Opera has also positioned its place in the war with several recent announcements. At SXSW, WebProNews caught up with Charles McCathieNevile, Opera’s Chief Standards Officer, to talk about the company’s recent efforts.

    First of all, Opera released the new version of its browser, Opera 11.10 beta, which is codenamed “Barracuda.” In addition, it introduced into beta a set of debugging tools called Opera Dragonfly. According to McCathieNevile, both of these developments have all the great features that users want out of Opera. He said that Opera 11 users could sync up features such as Opera Unite and links with their mobile browser to allow for bookmarks and other elements to correspond on both platforms.

    The company is also making strides in mobile with the introductions of Opera Mobile 11 and Opera Mini. Opera Mobile 11 is a fully powered browser with a new, fast interface that enables APIs. McCathieNevile pointed out that the focus for Opera Mini was the user experience. Both Opera Mobile and Opera Mini are also optimized for tablets.

    All of Opera’s new releases have improved support for standards as well.

    In terms of what sets Opera apart from the competition, McCathieNevile explained that users could run the browser on anything and that their tools include a lot of functionality.

    “It’s fast, it’s secure, it’s standards compliant, [and] it’s a top-quality, modern browser; and when you dig in it, you find just a whole lot more,” he said.

    He indicated that the company was working on a TV offering too. Incidentally, the Inquirer reports that Opera has just announced Opera Devices 3.0, which is the newest version of its Web browser for TVs.

    Because privacy concerns are always a big issue in regards to browsers, Opera is also working in this area. McCathieNevile said privacy has been a “key concern for a long time” for Opera. The user experience on Opera is encrypted to ensure that the user is not tracked or followed.

    While Opera 11 gives users a clear understanding about what they’re connecting to, the browser is continuing to work on helping them better distinguish between trusted sites and secure sites. McCathieNevile also pointed out that users should have very simple and clear choices when it comes to their browsing experience. In other words, these choices need to be communicated in a way that all users understand.

    He said that Opera would continue to work toward this initiative because it could be used to enhance privacy.

  • Opera Confirms Mobile Web Use Soaring

    Opera Confirms Mobile Web Use Soaring

    Mobile Web use is soaring on a global basis, at least if the newest data from Opera holds with respect to other browsers.  Opera reported today that page views and data consumption – along with sheer user numbers – are all increasing at a rapid pace.

    Let’s waste no time getting into the stats.  Opera said in a statement, "In October 2010, Opera Mini had over 76.3 million users, a 7.1% increase from September 2010 and more than 92% compared to October 2009."  Also, "Since September, page views have gone up 12.6%.  Since October 2009, page views have increased 142%."

    Then here’s one more important cluster of data points: Opera said, "In October 2010, Opera Mini users generated over 616 million MB of data for operators worldwide.  Since September, the data consumed went up by 15.1%.  Data in Opera Mini is compressed up to 90%.  If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 5.7 petabytes of data in October.  Since October 2009, data traffic is up 134%."

    So it looks like quite a rush is underway, with young people leading the charge.  (Opera found most 18-to-27-year-old Opera Mini users use their mobile phones to access the Web more often than a desktop or laptop PC.)

    That info should be of use to content creators and advertisers, not to mention companies like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.  Of course, as mentioned before, Opera Mini users may not fit into the middle of any bell curve, but perhaps they’ll function as early adopters who forecast trends.

    Opera’s more personal conclusions stems from a 300,000-individual survey, by the way, not any sort of user-monitoring program.

  • WordPress Subscriptions, Facebook Ad Impressions & More

    WordPress Subscriptions, Facebook Ad Impressions & More

    There’s been a lot going on in web news over the last few days, and there have been some things worth looking at that I haven’t gotten a chance to cover, but I’d like to point out just in case you missed them. 

    WordPress introduced a new subscriptions feature. "Let’s say you’re reading a blog on WordPress.com that you really enjoy — so much so you want to be notified when new posts are published so you remember to read them," WordPress explains. "You can subscribe to this blog really easily by using the ‘Subscribe’ menu in the admin bar. By going up to your admin bar, and clicking ‘Subscribe to blog’, you’ll be instantly subscribed and all current and future posts will be added to the subscriptions tab on your WordPress.com home screen."

    Facebook added a new ad impressions counter. As PaidContent’s David Kaplan writes, this social metric will show benefits of ads that include social context from people’s friends on Facebook. 

    Seesmic released a new version of Seesmic Desktop. "The inspiration to build SD2 came from the understanding that our users desired support of many different social services, more than just Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin," a representative for Seesmic told us.  "And so, SD2 was born. With the plugin architecture in SD2, you can easily add, remove and customize the platform to include only the services that matter to you." 

    Netflix streaming is now available for Panazonic VIERA Cast HDTVs and Blu-Ray players. CrunchGear has more on this. 

    Opera and Netrange MMH revealed a new way for device manufacturers to give consumers a wide variety of content on their connected TVs – a space that it is obviously getting more competitive by the day.  They will deliver the Opera Devices SDK and a pre-qualified suite of web-based TV content to be deployed on TV platforms supporting HbbTV and other pan-European initiatives. More on this here. 

    Intel released an iGoogle gadget for MESH  power management information.

  • Opera Enters Agreement With Telenor for Co-Branded Browsers

    Opera has announced a non-exclusive agreement with the Telenor Group, aimed at stimulating growth of mobile Internet services across Telenor’s business units.

    As part of the agreement, Opera and any of Telenor’s business units may develop a co-branded version of Opera Mini that is adapted to the local operator.

    "Telenor has a vision to provide mobile Internet with a great user experience to everyone. We are confident that this agreement will help us provide Internet to a larger user group across the world," says Morten Karlsen Sørby, EVP and Head of Corporate Development at the Telenor Group. "We are thrilled to work closely with Opera, a company that spun out of Telenor in the late 1990s, and have grown to become one of Norway’s most successful technology exports.”

    "Our goal is simple: help Telenor grow its user base and revenues by delivering an unparalleled Internet experience to every local operator in the Telenor network. Telenor’s strong global position is a result of their relentless commitment to the customer, in markets as diverse as Sweden, Russia, Bangladesh and Hungary,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO, in Opera. "We are proud of our heritage from Telenor’s research labs. Today, we join efforts to give more people the opportunity to fully enjoy the web on their mobile phones."

    The first deployment of Opera Mini in the Telenor network is coming in September.

    Opera says Opera Mini is the world’s most popular mobile browser, with 60 million monthly users.

     

  • Opera Mini Serves a Billion Page Views in a Day

    Opera has announced that its Opera Mini users viewed over a billion pages on July 25. On that day, every second, Opera Mini servers compressed over 11,500 pages before sending that content to phones around the world.

    "Opera Mini has experienced tremendous page view growth in recent years," the company says. "In June 2008, Opera Mini servers processed 100 million page views per day for the first time. In June 2010, Opera Mini users viewed more than 910 million pages on average every day, an increase of more than 161% since June 2009."

    "Each day is different in the fast-growing mobile Web. Every day more people around the world choose Opera Mini and view more pages through this browser," said Opera co-founder Jon von Tetzchner. "Crossing one billion pages views in a day is further proof that people desire the best Internet experience, no matter where they live or what device they use."

    Opera Mini is available on over 3,000 different phone models. Version 5.1 was just launched for Android a couple weeks ago. This may pad opera’s numbers even more as Android growth continues.

    Yesterday, Opera released its State of the Mobile Web report, looking at the mobile web explosion in Africa.

  • Opera Mini 5.1 Comes to Android

    Opera Mini 5.1 Comes to Android

    Opera announced today that Opera Mini 5.1 is now available for Android devices. The company claims this is the most popular browser for mobile phones, and places an emphasis on its speed.

    "Opera Mini is a favorite not just on feature phones, but also on smartphones, scoring an impressive 1 million downloads on the iPhone during the first 24 hours of availability," Opera says. "Opera Mini is highly optimized for almost any handset, delivering the best Internet experience on more than 3000 mobile phone models."

    "Opera Mini 5.1 for the Android platform is the next step in bringing the world’s most popular mobile web browser to all major platforms, offering improved performance and great web experience to almost any handset," says Opera CEO Lars Boilesen. "Opera Mini is used by over 61 million people on more than 3000 handset models and with today’s release Opera continues its mission to provide the best web experience on any device and on any platform."

    The browser can be set as the default browser on your phone, and the company says on Android phones with bigger screens, it offers improved page layout.

    Opera Mini 5.1 for Android can be downloaded via the Android Market or at m.opera.com.

  • Opera: Most Mobile Data Consumption Comes at Night

    Opera has released its new State of the Mobile Web report. In the report, Opera finds that 8:00pm through 12:00am are the peak hours for mobile data consumption.

    "Regardless of differences in economy, culture or location, those four evening hours account for a disproportionate amount of mobile data consumption," the company says.

    Opera’s report is based on usage of its own Opera Mini browser, which certainly isn’t representative of all mobile usage, but it does have a lot of users, and the stats are worth noting.

    Opera Shares Data Consumed Data

    Opera Highlights the following global trends:

    – In May 2010, Opera Mini had over 61.4 million users, a 4.2% increase from April 2010. Since May 2009, the number of unique users has increased 142.0%.

    – Opera Mini users viewed over 28.3 billion pages in May 2010. Since April, page views have gone up 7.7%. Since May 2009, page views have increased 193.8%.

    – In May 2010, Opera Mini users generated over 433 million MB of data for operators worldwide. Since April, the data consumed went up by 8.8%. Data in Opera Mini is compressed up to 90%. If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 4.0 petabytes of data in May. Since May 2009, data traffic is up 171.8%.

    – Indonesia passed Russia to claim the top spot for Opera Mini usage, Nigeria jumped ahead of Ukraine, and South Africa leaped ahead of the United States. After the changes, the top 10 countries for Opera Mini usage in May 2010 were: Indonesia, Russia, India, China, Nigeria, Ukraine, South Africa, the United States, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.

    "Our servers compress more than four petabytes of data each month, and that number shows no signs of slowing," said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software. "As more consumers use increasingly vast amounts of mobile data, it looks like we will need more people looking after our servers in the evening hours. The heaviest mobile browsing worldwide occurs between 8 p.m. and midnight, regardless of where people live, their current economic situation, or the availability of broadband."

    Some more stats from the report are highlighted here, and the entire report itself can be found here. A significant amount of the report focuses on trends in Latin America.

  • Opera Adds Geolocation, WebM Support

    Opera Adds Geolocation, WebM Support

    Flock made headlines by releasing a new version of its social web browser on the Chromium platform today, placing a great deal of emphasis on speed. However, Opera has also released a new version of its browser with a similar emphasis.

    New Opera Beta with Geolocation feature and WebM Support"Opera 10.60 beta is so fast, it will blow you away," says Opera Chief Development Officer, Christen Krogh. "Beyond the speed boost, the latest version of Opera improves on our robust HTML5 support and provides more options for quick and efficient Web search through your preferred search engines. By combining raw speed with intuitive and easy-to-use features, Opera places you among the fastest Internet users on the planet."

    Opera says this version is over 50% faster than its predecessor on selected JavaScript tests. It also incorporates geolocation and WebM suppport for HTML5 video.

    The geolocation feature detects your location and "maps you in the middle of the action" as the company puts it. They say this can give you more accurate search results in your area.

    This version of Opera also introduces search suggestions for selected partners in the Speed Dial and search box. It works with Wikipedia search, for example.

    The previous thumbnails for tabs have been replaced with icons, which Opera says speed up navigation. The Speed Dial, tab previews, and Opera menu button features all have new graphics.

  • Opera Acquires Email Service Provider FastMail

    Opera announced today it has acquired web-based email provider FastMail.fm. Opera’s offered its own email client since 2000, and now it will use FastMail to expand its own messaging product across various devices from mobile to TVs and gaming consoles.

    "The newest generation of Web users will discover the Web through a mobile device," says Rolf Assev, Chief Strategy Officer, Opera Software. "Having world-class messaging capability alongside a rich and compelling Web experience is essential. By combining forces, Opera and FastMail.fm can offer messaging on any device. This will enhance the value Opera provides to consumers, while assisting our operator partners in reducing customer churn."

    Fastmail now a part of Opera

    "Following this acquisition, Opera will be able to offer a consistent e-mail experience across all products," the company says. "Opera currently has more than 50 million users of its desktop browser and more than 55 million users of Opera Mini, a mobile Web browser that works on almost all handsets available today."

    FastMail has been providing email services for a decade, and as its team "combines forces" with Opera’s technical teams, FastMail itself will continue to operate and grow, and they will also work on new products.

    For users of FastMail, the company has put together an FAQ to help make sense of the transition.

  • Opera Claims it Has the Fastest Browser for Mac

    Opera has released its new browser for Mac, and the company claims it is ten times faster, based on speed comparisons between Opera 10.52 and Opera 10.10.

    "To all Mac users who value fast browsing, please meet Opera," CEO Lars Boilesen says. "Opera is a consistent performer on even the most congested networks, giving people the fastest browsing experience, coupled with a powerful feature set that is finely attuned to the needs of Mac users."

    Opera for Mac - Is it as fast as they say it is?

    Opera lists the following reasons for Mac users to try Opera now:

    1. Faster speed

    2. "Mac-ified" UI – Opera has a new user interface for Mac, which it says is more responsive, and has a unified toolbar and design overhaul.

    3. Finger navigation – Multi-touch trackpad gestures make browsing much more efficient. Pinch to zoom or use two fingers to scroll and three fingers to navigate back and forth in your browser history, all from your trackpad.

    4. "Turbo-charged browsing – When surfing with your Mac on slow, congested networks, for example at an airport or on a train, Opera Turbo comes to the rescue, ensuring the fastest page loading no matter the crowd. Tests show that Opera Turbo provides about 65% faster browsing on Edge and around 50% faster browsing speed on 3G networks.

    I can’t vouch for the speed personally. I don’t use a Mac, but let us know if you think it’s a legitimate claim.  The browser is available for download here.

  • Opera: Mini Will Save iPhone Users Money and Time

    Opera is set to unveil its Opera Mini browser at a press event during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. We contacted Opera to get some details.

    Opera Mini on the iPhoneWhen asked what Opera Mini will be able to offer iPhone users that they haven’t been able to get elsewhere, Opera’s Katrin Jackson tells WebProNews that Opera Mini will provide speed, cost-savings, and usability features like tabs, speed dial, and password manager.

    "Opera Mini on iPhone is several times faster than the native Safari browser," Jackson says. "Our internal tests conclude up to 6 times faster."

    "For many users on pay per MB or while roaming, Opera Mini will reduce browsing cost up to 90%," Jackson adds.

    Currently, Opera is only providing a sneak peek of Opera Mini on iPhone only (not iPod Touch). "We are thrilled to offer journalists and partners an exclusive preview of Opera Mini for iPhone during the year’s biggest mobile event," says Opera Co-founder Jon von Tetzchner. "This is a unique opportunity to introduce the fast, feature-rich Opera Mini experience for the iPhone, and to showcase our latest beta releases of Opera Mobile and Opera Mini on other platforms and devices. Opera’s mission is to bring the Web to the world, and by making Opera Mini available on yet another platform, we are one step closer."

    Opera has not provided a date for a public release of Opera Mini for the iPhone. The company tells us that it has not yet submitted it to the Apple App store.
     

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