opera mini

Fast and small Web browser for mobile devices

Opera Mini is a Web browser designed for the mobile device, which means it's intended to be small and fast. Opera Mini installs quickly, and anyone who's ever used a Web browser will have zero trouble using it. The Opera Mini interface is simple, with search and URL fields, and drop-down menus for things like bookmarking and history.

Opera Mini works by redirecting through an Opera server, which compresses content before it is sent. Due to this compression, Opera Mini works fast. We compared it with a couple of other more popular Web browsers on both iPhone and … Read more

IE hangs on to more than half of browser market

Internet Explorer has been facing growing competition from rival browsers, but it's still the leader with more than 50 percent of the market, according to Net Applications.

IE grabbed a 54 percent market share last month, down from 56.7 percent a year ago. Traveling further back in time reveals an ongoing decline from November 2007 when Microsoft held almost 80 percent of the desktop browser market.

In second place with a 20 percent share in June, Firefox has also seen its share gradually drop. Mozilla's browser scored a 23 percent share a year ago after hitting a … Read more

Social goes big on Opera Mini

BARCELONA, Spain--The maker of the second-most popular mobile browser in the world has given its feature-phone fans something to tweet about, as Opera Mini Next debuted and brought several smartphone features to "dumb" phones.

The big new feature that's kicking off the inaugural build of Opera Mini Next, the developer's preview of the browser, is "smart" page called Home. Home will live next to Opera's Speed Dial, its customizable collection of regularly visited Web sites that occupies top billing across all Opera browsers, and it serves a similar function. It will let you … Read more

Browser maker Opera acquires two mobile ad networks

Taking another step to diversify its revenue sources and extend into the mobile market, browser maker Opera Software said it's acquired two mobile ad companies, Mobile Theory and 4th Screen Advertising.

The Norwegian company announced the deals today in conjunction with reporting fourth-quarter financial results. In that quarter, revenue rose from $33.4 million the year earlier to $43.6 million in 2011, while net income of $0.9 million rose to $7.4 million.

The two companies Opera acquired offer demand-side ad networks, Mobile Theory focused on U.S. advertising and 4th Screen focused on Europe. Demand-side ad … Read more

Hybrid browser to lead Opera's Android charge (exclusive)

OSLO, Norway--The rise of Android and its built-in browser could be seen as very bad news for Opera Software, a company that's built a business with a mobile browser popular on the very low-end devices that Android smartphones often replace.

But Opera sees things differently: Android is a major part of its plan for future growth. And a product due in 2012 that marries the Norwegian company's two mobile browsers, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile, will lead the company's defense of its mobile-browsing stronghold, CNET can report exclusively.

Opera Mobile is a traditional browser, with an engine … Read more

Opera Mobile 11.5, Mini 6.5 spotlight data savings

OSLO, Norway--Opera Software today released new versions of its mobile browsers, Opera Mini 6.5 and Opera Mobile 11.5, which show users exactly how much of a data-plan diet the software is enabling.

One of the top selling points of Opera Mobile and Mini is that when a person loads a Web page, Opera's servers fetch the data, boil it down, and send a smaller version to the mobile phones or tablets on which the browsers are running. That can save a lot of data, which is a big deal both for mobile operators whose networks are afflicted … Read more

Hands on Opera Mobile 11, Opera Mini 6

Opera announced last week that it would launch two new mobile browsers at CTIA--Opera Mobile 11 and Opera Mini 6--but when it came to new and enhanced features, it mostly kept quiet.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on a preview build before the show, and can share a lot more about what's in store for Opera on mobile phones and tablets.

Starting with the interface, the Opera browser gets a little bump in sophistication on an already graphically rich display. Opera loyalists will note some subtle changes--Opera has shaved off the title bar … Read more

Opera Mobile 11 and Opera Mini 6 coming at CTIA

If you can't get enough of the Opera browser on mobile, there's good news on the horizon. Opera Mini 6 and Opera Mobile 11, both updates to the current fare of alternative browsers, will debut next week at CTIA in Orlando.

Of course, we'll be there to give you the hands-on review.

Opera isn't saying much about what the new features will hold, except that there will also be a version optimized for tablets. In fact, they'll be showing a build of the new Opera Mini running on the iPhone and iPad. The new versions … Read more

Opera, Inq ink mobile browser deal

Opera Software and London-based phone maker Inq Mobile have penned a deal to preload Opera Mini 5 browser on several Android smartphones, as well as feature phones.

The U.K. will be the first to receive the models this month, followed by Australia and other European, Asian, and North American markets (Canada) in which Inq Mobile operates.

Opera Mini is known for speedily compressing and rendering Web pages through its proxy servers, an asset for feature phones in particular. In addition, the browser features tabs, bookmark sync, and a password manager.