This web browser works with a Discover page at the outset for users that don’t always want to launch to the same initial webpage from the start. This is an odd addition, we’re finding, as Google’s initiatives with Google Now and push for search from any Android homepage make entering the web straight forward a thing of the past.

When you use the internet on your smartphone, do you click a web browser first, or do you start with a search?

Opera also offers a Speed Dial to collect your favorite unique web portals and pages in one place – this is similar to the browser’s Discover page, but allows you to customize your experience to a greater extent.

This out-of-beta edition of Opera also offers up “Off-Road mode”. This mode allows you to work with an internet in a sort of limited data way. According to Opera: “it keeps you connected and loads webpages faster when conditions get rough.”

Off-Road Mode is what Opera used to call “Opera Turbo”, here allowing you – hopefully – browse faster with some server-side compression technology. This means Opera makes things smaller for you, essentially – best for when you’re only looking to get some reading done, not necessarily best for when you’re browsing for an everyone-sees-this sort of situation. You may be seeing some pixel blocks appearing here or there if your connection is extra slow – we’ve only seen them appear for a moment before final rendering over 4G LTE on a Verizon device.

This web browser works for all Android devices – every one we’ve tested so far, that is – both smartphone and tablet-sized displays included. This new Opera app is a free download from the Google Play app store and you’ll be able to get this final edition today for any Android device. If you’re all about having a smaller experience for your ancient Android smartphone, you can also choose Opera Mini – it doesn’t have all the same features, but it certainly gets the job done!

Opera is claiming a large $3.4 million in damages in the lawsuit, and they point to a video with Hansen talking about some of the innovations behind a prototype web browser for the iPad, called Junior. Hansen talks about some the features used in the browser that Opera claims that they were, or are, working on.

Hansen refused to comment about his work history with Opera, but he said that he is working with lawyers to prove that he did nothing wrong. As for Opera’s side of the story, they believed that Hansen “acted contrary to his contractual and other legal obligations towards Opera, among other things, the duty of loyalty and his contractual and statutory confidentiality obligations.”

The court hearing is set to take place sometime in late August, and the dispute is currently pending, so there’s not a lot of details to go around just yet, but we’re sure that come August when the hearing takes place, we’ll find out which party gets the win, but in the meantime, it seems Hansen will receive a lot of grief over the summer.

[via The Next Web]

While there are some visual components you’ll recognize, such as the Speed Dial landing page, the user interface has been reconstructed from the ground up. To make things ideal for mobile users, the browser’s new design focuses heavily on gestures, reducing tapping and speeding up the rate at which users can flip through tasks. Opera states that the redesign offers a “superior user experience.”

There’s Off-Road Mode that users of Mini will recognize, utilizing server caching in order to provide fast browsing outside of high-speed mobile data zones. Users can toggle Off-Road Mode on and off via the Settings > Content menu. A personal news feed of sorts is offered via Discover, which makes it easy to stay updated on one’s personal news preferences.

There’s the features every user prefers in a web browser – pop-up blocking and an integrated download manager among them. The download manager can be used to save, rename, start, stop, and resume downloads. The browser’s compatibility is currently listed as “varies with device.” Have you downloaded it yet? Tell us what you think in the comments!

[via Android Police]

Opera has stated that the restructuring of the company due to the switch actually cost around $7.8 million. Due to Opera switching from it’s old proprietary, rendering engine, Presto, to WebKit, many of the jobs at the company became obsolete. Opera stated that the workers left voluntarily after they had received their severance packages. Opera was kind enough to help many of the workers find new jobs within the industry.

Opera also stated that because of the switch to WebKit, it didn’t need to dedicate a majority of its resources to improving Presto. All it needed to do was contribute to the open-source WebKit community. With that, some of Opera’s key engineers were transferred to more product-specific roles within the company.

Opera believes that with the company switching to WebKit, and with its recent acquisition of Skyfire, the company is about to start its new, exciting chapter. It had recently announced that over 300 million users are using its product on a daily basis, and it’s ready to do something big to one-up itself. It will show off a glimpse of what it’s been working on at the Mobile World Congress next week.

[via The Next Web]

The Rocket Optimizer software provides mobile operators with a way to optimize video delivered over mobile data networks when traffic is high, increasing capacity by 60-percent (on average). This is achieved by shrinking the content’s size, and can be utilized near instantaneously when users are having issues with connecting to the content or with quality.

By using this, common problems experienced with streaming videos and audio are minimized, such as rebuffering, stalled buffering, and delayed start times. On top of this, Skyfire also offers another product called Skyfire Horizon, an extension for mobile browsers that allows for personalization.

Opera’s CFO/CSO Erik Harrell offered this statement. “The market opportunity for video/media optimization solutions geared towards operators and consumers is significant. After a thorough evaluation of this market, we strongly believe Skyfire is the clear leader for the future in this space.” After everything is finalized, Skyfire’s CEO will also be Opera’s Operator Business EVP. The acquisition involved an upfront $50 million cash consideration and $26 million in escrow including earn-out payments based on performance; the total acquisition figures could reach $155 million.

[via Opera]

For Opera, the change in underlying platform is because “it makes more sense” to work in collaboration with existing open source projects, CTO Håkon Wium Lie said today. “Opera will contribute to the WebKit and Chromium projects, and we have already submitted our first set of patches: to improve multi-column layout.”

The first stage of the process has already, in fact, been teased. Opera ICE, shown last month, is a minimalist app that pares back browsing to the bare minimum, with advantages in speed and simpler navigation. Described as an R&D project by Opera, ICE will be further detailed “in the future” the company says, though its immediate attention is on more market-ready products, such as the Android app.

As well as WebKit for the mobile portfolio, Opera will adopt Chromium – the open-source engine which powers Google’s Chrome browser – for its desktop software. There’s no word on when, exactly, the first fruits of the software switch-over will be released publicly.

Those ad impressions are spread across about 12,000 mobile sites and apps according to the company. The report shows that Q4 was a record quarter with over two times increase in the amount of ad impressions and revenue the publishers compared to other quarters of 2012. The increase in advertising is associated with the seasonal impact of holiday shopping using mobile devices.

The report shows that the Android operating system is on the rise thanks in part to the incredible popularity of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Despite Android growing rapidly, iOS is still the top operating system for monetization. However, Android did pass iOS by two percentage points in market share for global ad impression volume.

The top ad impression generating categories of the mobile market were music, video, and media. The report shows that 21.4% of all ad impressions came from those three categories. The report also shows that international mobile traffic is growing significantly with ad impressions from North America declining to 64% from 74% of the global market as international traffic increases. One country that’s growing particularly quickly is the Russian Federation with ad impressions increasing 60%.

[via Opera]

Facebook for Android took the jump up to version 2.1 today, and we were right there to go hands-on with it, while the first picture of the unannounced Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 surfaced. The chairman of the FCC wants gigabit Internet in all 50 states by 2015, and we got our first look at BlackBerry 10 voice commands today in a new leaked video. Opera has announced Opera Ice, a new browser for mobile devices, and today Amazon introduced the world to Kindle Rentals, which is obviously a new feature allowing users to rent eBooks for a pre-set period of time.

It seems that the Exynos security hole has been fixed in the Verizon Galaxy Note II, with a new update being sent out to users today. Bethesda revealed that all Skyrim DLC will be heading to the PlayStation 3 in February after months and months of waiting, and it seems that Google is working with Yubico for password USB rings. XBMC has come to Android and we tell you how to get it on your device of choice, and with the NHL lockout finally (finally!) over, NHL GameCenter has arrived on Xbox 360.

Dynamism today showed off its new KUPA Ultranote X15 Windows 8 Pro tablet today, while a new bill in the House wants stronger laws for video game ratings. AVADirect announced the world’s first quad NVIDIA Tesla system today, and Forbes named Google the best company to work for. Finally tonight, Chris Burns walks you through why Facebook not offering a “hide from search results” option isn’t anything to worry about. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of your night folks!

What you’re going to be seeing here is a demonstration filmed by Opera in their own den of developers and passed on to the folks at Pocket Lint. The demonstration of this Webkit-based browsser is done on an iPad, but the Opera team promises it’ll be revealed for iOS, Android, and desktop machines in the near future. It is at Mobile World Congress 2013 that we’ll get our chance to work with the mobile version first – tablets and smartphones all at once.

The first major difference between this web browser and the whole rest of the universe is the ability to swipe back and forth instead of tapping or clicking back and forward buttons. While we’ve got similar functionality with gestures in some environments, no browser until now takes out the buttons from the onset – Opera is confident that you’ll get used to swiping right out of the box.

This environment uses a collection of apps (or shortcuts to webpages) right at the start not unlike Chrome and Chrome OS. One big difference is the tiny bar at the bottom of your page wherever you roam inside an app, this button bringing you back out to the main collection of apps. At the moment we’re not sure if this button is meant to remain in every app or if it’s just being used as a demonstration.

You’ll be working with a set of apps right from the outset, searching then for additional apps with the front and center search bar at the top of your display when you want more. Searching brings up a “visual experience” not unlike instantly appearing app icons, but here you’re seeing sized-down previews of webpages the same aspect ratio as the iPad (or perhaps whatever device you happen to be using.) Each of these icons leads to a webpage or, eventually, an app associated with a webpage.

Once you’ve visited a webpage this way and you want to back out, you hit the bar at the bottom of the page and it’ll minimize, turning then into an icon which you can then add to your collection. Simple and smooth! Can’t wait to see the real deal up close and personal at Barcelona’s own MWC 2013!

The new TV Store offers a selection of HTML5-based web apps optimized for TV screens, and it now offers a new Side-by-Side feature that lets viewers use apps alongside TV shows that they’re watching. Plus, there’s an increased selection of apps that are available for users to download, making the platform that much more intriguing.

As for the Opera Devices SDK, it now supports YouTube’s Leanback personalized web video channel feature. It’s mostly meant for OEMs, but it has a number of tools for protecting copyrighted material through the Encrypted Media Extension, and it has better streaming performance through the Media Source Extension.

Opera first announced their push towards TV back in September, and while it introduced a number of software partners at the time, including Vimeo, there’s no word on how many OEMs are currently planning to release TVs with support for Opera’s software. This means that it could take a little bit of time before viewers will get to use the new software.

Opera has more than 275 million users using the company’s variety of web browsers, but their TV business is continually developing, so it’s no surprised that they’re wanting to bring their SDK to Boxee devices. The Boxee TV just launched in October for $99, and it’s set-top box mixed in with a cloud storage service that costs $14.99 per month.

The Boxee TV allows users to watch and record unlimited amounts of Internet TV which, in addition to broadcast channels, can be played across a range of devices, including televisions, computers, smartphones, and tablets. Opera’s SDK on the Boxee TV will give Boxee users even more things to do from the set-top box.

Opera launched its TV App Store back in January, and it features more than 100 apps. Back in September, they announced that they would begin offering HTML5 apps on different television sets. Many set-top boxes developed on the Opera SDK already began shipping earlier in the year, so it looks like the company is getting serious about its focus, which is increasingly shifting toward the TV.

This feature will potentially bring Internet access to those who, for whatever reason, don’t have a data plan with their carrier. One of the touted features is the convenience of choosing a web access duration rather than a data limit, such as 100MB. There’s no set price for the service, since it would depend on the carrier, which needs to have a deal with Opera in order for subscribers to take advantage of this service.

Opera Software’s CEO Lars Boilesen offered this statement. “We see this as a great way of lowering the bar for millions of users who are taking their first steps out to the mobile web. We are excited about working with our operator partners and making the web even more accessible and tailored to the needs of a growing mobile internet community.”

For now, DiGi Telecommunications in Malaysia has signed up as the first operator to offer subscribers Web Pass. Subscribers can access the Internet on either an hourly or daily basis, with 1 hour of service costing 1RM and a day of service costing 2RM. Facebook-only service is also provided at half the cost of full web access. Operators can set up their own pricing and access structure, including duration, websites that can be visited, and the cost for each pass.

[via Opera]

We heard new rumors of an Xbox Surface again today, and AT&T announced that it will begin offering the Nokia Lumia 920 on November 9 for a mere $99. Apple OS X 10.9 has been popping up around the web today, and Opera has been updated to version 12.10, which brings support for high definition displays. Amazon has introduced a new monthly billing option for Prime, and even though you’ll be paying more than subscribing annually, it might be a better idea for some than plopping down one big lump sum.

A sequel to the classic game Elite is looking for funding on Kickstarter, while Instagram says that Hurricane Sandy was probably its biggest event ever. Vizio unveiled a new line up of HDTVs and sound bars for the holidays, while Valve officially kicked off its limited-access Steam for Linux beta today. Ford and Microsoft had reason to gloat today with the 5 millionth Sync-equipped vehicle, and EA & DICE are celebrating 10 years of Battlefield with free copies of Battlefield 1942 on Origin.

Did you photograph your ballot and put it on the Internet today? Did you know that’s an illegal thing to do? Google was awarded a new patent that means something interesting for Google Glass, and Fisker was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Sandy. Microsoft has confirmed it will be focusing on Skype instead of Windows Live Messenger, and we heard that PlayStation: The Official Magazine will be going dark later this year. Finally tonight, Chris Davies explains why Apple will kick Intel to the curb if it can, and we tell you why you should probably wait on the all of the Miracast accessories for now. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

Opera 12.10′s release comes right after the Microsoft Surface hits the market – the RT version, that is – expect more integration soon. For now we’ve got the high definition integration for the HD beasts of the now with updates that also show photographs as much more vibrant and colorful – and true to their original form. With support for more high-definition web browsing as well as better integration of such profiles as the example they give – Adobe RGB (1998) – shown in the caterpillar image below, your Surface RT will be rocking until the morning light. That’s International Color Consortium (ICC) profile v4 integration, mind you.

Of course this version of the browser also updates for Mac OS X Mountain Lion and makes with the Notification Center integration. You get a notification now when a download has finished and you’ve got built-in sharing of pages to Facebook, Twitter, and more. This update also brings Windows 8 integration for full-on PCs as well as inertia scrolling and pinch-to-zoom on Windows 7 as well as 8.

This version of Opera has SPDY support, making web pages load faster on SPDY-enabled sites like Twitter, Gmail, and WordPress. Facebook will also soon be working with this protocol, and Opera even has a SPDY indicator extension for you to use if you wish to see which sites have it and which dont. You can download the new version of Opera then at Opera’s download site. Make it yours now!

The wiki-like website, while still in its alpha stages, provides detailed documentation on the many types of languages and formats that are used in web development, like CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and SVG. The companies behind the new project argue that developers are struggling to find authoritative information on modern web technologies, and usually end up trying to figure out the right solutions on their own through trial and error.

Companies involved in this new initiative include Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Mozilla, Opera, HP, Nokia, Apple, and Adobe, with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) acting as the website’s curator. The companies want to stress that gathering information and creating a standard will be a community effort, so web developers and junkies of all kinds are encouraged to help out.

The new website will provide developers a single and definitive resource to go to, and they’ll find all sorts of useful information on the site, like API documentation, information on browser compatibility, and the status of various specifications. The website will eventually expand to include things like coding tools and various resources for web-related course educators.

This 12.10 beta release of Opera works with web standard support for items such as Fullscreen operation, Page Visibility, and the latest Web Sockets implementation. This Web Sockets implementation is enabled by default, just so you’re aware. With Resource Loader API support you can load the CSS or JavaScript included in an Opera extension file on command for both design and functionality inside webpages.

With your Screenshot API you’ve got the ability to integrate said functionality into your extension, this allowing users to share their experiences easily with one another and with developers when they run into trouble. With Context Menu APIs you’ll have the ability to work with Opera’s own context menu – that one you might know as the right-click menu – this allowing extensions to make use of highlighted text in many different ways.

This update also includes the SPDY network standard – this acts as a supplement for the HTTP protocol for faster downloading of webpages on the whole. The SPDY standard is used by Twitter, Gmail, and a collection of other big-name webpages in addition to HTTP to keep the web running quick. Krystian Kolondra, SVP Desktop, Opera Software, spoke about the release:

“During the planning of Opera 12.10 we listened to the web developers. The web developer community is thriving like never before and we want to support that in every way we can. With the new APIs, developers are better suited than ever to create extensions that give users of Opera for desktop a unique browsing experience.” – Kolondra

You can check out the download of Opera’s next big beta at Opera Next. This beta is not the final version of the software – hence the “beta” marker, and should be treated as such.

“I can’t comment on our future plans specifically,” Opera PR manager Thomas Ford told us, “but I can say that we intend to make the best browser on any device. We will utilize every option available to us in order to make that happen.”

Apple revealed the Retina Display version of the MacBook Pro on Monday this week, after several months of speculation that a high-resolution panel would be included in the flagship notebook. Running at 2880 x 1800 resolution, while Apple’s own apps are already updated to suit the extra pixels, those of third-party developers are for the most part unprepared and look blotchy on the new screen.

Google’s Chrome browser team promptly announced it was working on a Retina-compatible release, releasing an early version through its developer beta channel. Although Opera has declined to say the same, we’ve a feeling the company will be feeling the pressure to follow Chrome and Safari’s example if it wants to keep market-share on Mac.

Opera currently has more than 270 million users every month on its Opera browser and more than 168 million users on its Opera Mini mobile web browser. According to sources of TheNextWeb, Opera Software, the company behind the browser has reportedly been talking to potential buyers and is currently in a hiring freeze, suggesting some major changes to come.

It makes sense for Facebook to snatch up Opera instead of building a browser from scratch. All the major players now seem to have their own browsers. Google has Chrome, Apple has Safari, Microsoft has Internet Explorer, Mozilla has Firefox, Amazon has Silk, and even Yahoo recently launched its own browser.

However, Facebook has declined to comment on the rumor, while Opera responded with the following non-comment: “As a standard policy Opera does not respond to market rumours and we have no comment to the rumour addressed in the question.”

Of course, it isn’t just a TV; it’s an integrated piece of furniture so there is still no doubt some assembly required (we’ll add a footnote here about how annoying it can be to put together European modular furniture). But what’s even more interesting is that the TV will be completely state-of-the-art with its own internal hard drive for storing video apps. It will also even include an optimized version of the Opera Web browser, making it only the second TV platform next to Google TV to have complete Web browser access.

Among the apps that have been confirmed are YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion. The TV will feature around 20 apps in total, with some variation depending on which country you buy it in. In addition to video streaming and Web browsing, there will also apparently be music apps and casual games. There will be models ranging from 24 to 46 inches, with pricing starting at around $960. It’s due to hit Ikea stores in the US in 2013.

[via GigaOM]

Obviously, in the US, we’re quite a long way from the notion that the only place we’ll ever connect to the Internet is on a mobile device. In other territories, though, smartphones are seen as computers. Just look at this stat from Opera – of those who use the company’s mobile Web browser, 56% said the only place they access their Web is from their mobile device. Among all survey participants, including those who don’t use Opera, 43% said mobile browsers are their sole browser experience.

So in other words, among those who don’t have a fancy desktop or laptop, they are finding Opera’s Web browsing solution to be more ideal. A lot of Web developers probably dismiss Opera as not being worth the extra time and effort to optimize for, but those with an international reach and a wide base of mobile viewers may want to rethink that strategy. This study looked at 34,000 users across 22 different countries spanning four continents. The study spans from November 2010 to November 2011.

[via Web Monkey]

First, the team have added the ability to add themes to the browser. Opera will be offering a whole host of themes via its website, and the company says that they’re easy to create as well. Plug-ins are now hosted separately, so if they crash they won’t take the browser with it. It’s the same functionality that Chrome and Firefox have had for a while now, but it’s nice to see it make an appearance in Opera too.

Opera also say that thanks to SSL and tab optimizations that the browser is faster than ever, and the team has added an API that can tap into your computer’s webcam. That gives developers something to play around with, and Opera has created some demos for them to test out the API, such as a Photo Booth.

There are a few other minor additions too, like 64-bit browsers for Mac and Windows, plus support for the Do Not Track header, and HTML5 Drag and Drop support. The Opera 12 beta is available to go test right now from the Opera website.

The preview version has some interesting features, including Smart Page that gives feature phones smarter and easier access to social networks, news, and other content. Facebook and twitter are integrated in the first screen of Mini Next for fast and easy access to the popular social networks. The Speed Dial screen is updated with an unlimited number of shortcuts.

Opera has also announced at MWC that the final version of Opera Mobile 12 is launching today. The final version brings WebGL to support 3-D graphics and web content. It also brings HTML 5 parser support for better web apps and increased compatibility with websites running HTML 5. The new version supports the use of the camera inside the browser and brings more customization for Speed Dial.

The major new feature of the latest version of the browser is a revamped address field. It now has search suggestions to access sites faster and it has a star in the address field for bookmarking pages easily. The browser also has a new engine that offers significant improvements and makes the browser faster and more stable.

Along with the new browser also comes a new mail design with the built-in mail client. The mail client will allow you to manage your mail automatically. It also has a cleaner layout, message grouping, and a more intuitive inbox view and navigation. You can download the new browser version right now.

The new beta version also adds CSS3 radial gradients to the mix allowing the web page designer to design ellipses and even double rainbows that the 11.60 version can render. The browser is also supporting ECMAScript 5.1, which is the latest version of JavaScript standards. The browser also has some other interesting HTML5 support.

11.60 is the first browser to support HTML5 microdata. That microdata is used by search engines to help enhance the search results returned for phrases. You can grab the beta 11.60 browser right now at Opera.com.

The benefit of the new platform for OEMs is that it can leverage more developers to design apps for the TV. Since the Opera TV Store will be cross-device, an app designed for a smartphone would be able to run on the TV and vice versa. That means that the TV platform alone doesn’t have to try and draw developers as a stand-alone TV app would.

Opera also says that porting an app to the Opera TV Store is very easy for those with HTML5 knowledge. TVs that are based on the Opera SDK 3.1 can access the Opera TV Store. The store supports HTML5, SVG, Canvas, CE-HTML, and OIPF based apps. Vimeo has already pledged to support the store, as have some of the developers behind other popular apps already on the market. Opera TV Store trial software is available as of today for OEMs and content providers to try out.

Opera has also added in new direct share functionality, making it easier to share webpages with Facebook, Twitter and its own My Opera service. The browser was first released back in March with a tablet version for Android-based slates; if you’ve always been confused between Mini and the Opera Mobile browser, this one uses the company’s compression servers to slim down data usage.

Safari on the iPhone and iPad has always been a patchy user experience, rendering well but with a stripped down UI that could make for sluggish operation, so we’re always glad to see alternatives. Opera Mini 6 for iOS is a free download [iTunes link] from the App Store.

Press Release:

Oslo, Norway – May 24, 2011 – Today, the Opera Mini 6 browser for iOS joined the Opera band and is available to download for free from the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad.

The Opera Mini mobile browser provides a different kind of browsing experience to complement the default iPad and iPhone browser. It features up to 90% compression of data traffic for speed and cost savings, making both your patience and wallet happy on slower connections or when roaming.

So Opera Mini is ready to chime in and sing harmony when you are on a slow connection, crowded network, paying per megabyte for browsing, or simply want to save time and money.

Have an iPhone 4? Our browser adapts to the high resolution and changes the user interface to accommodate the screen size. How about iPad? Yep, the Opera Mini 6 browser will switch to a more convenient view for tablet handling.

The chorus of Opera Mini users gave feedback and we listened. Like the rest of the Opera Mini 6 lineup, the iOS version features:

- Much faster and smoother panning and zooming that lets the user get all the way into the details of every page, in one smooth motion
- Share buttons to share the love for a site to your friends on My Opera, Facebook, Twitter or vKontakte right from the Opera Mini 6 browser
- New jazzed-up skin and redesigned Opera menus

Backstage, Opera’s engineers have tuned the browser and created a faster and more fluid user experience. Scrolling and panning are ultra fast, even on the largest webpages, for instant access. On iOS, the Opera Mini 6 browser is submitted as a single download for all iOS devices.

What we are saying:
“I would compare it to walking onto the stage and hearing the roar of the crowd,” said Opera’s, CEO Lars Boilesen, when describing the feeling of letting the Opera Mini 6 browser out on stage in the App Store. “We have put in a lot of rehearsal and clever thought behind the new experience. The Opera Mini browser has always kicked up the tempo when downloading pages; now the browsing flows along to a smooth, easy beat.”

Rockin’ the app store

The Opera Mini 5 browser for iOS launched in April 2010, to the delight of screaming fans who threw their underwear at the stage, racking up more than a million downloads at the Apple app store in the first 24 hours. Super fast browsing, cost savings on data traffic and unmatched user experience leads to a Woodstock-like download rush.

During that time, the Opera Mini browser topped the charts in every Apple App Store globally.

Now, it is Opera Mini 6′s turn to get its name up in lights.

There’s also a new sharing button, with options for Twitter, Facebook, vKontakte or My Opera. If you’ve always been confused about the difference between the two, Opera Mini uses the company’s compression servers to slim down data usage, while Opera Mobile gets the full-fat web with HTML5 support and the Opera Presto engine carried over from the desktop version.

Opera Mini 6 is available on J2ME, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian/S60 phones, while Opera Mobile 11 will run on Android, Symbian, Windows 7 desktop (labs release), MeeGo (labs release) and Maemo (labs release). Interestingly, there’s no Windows Mobile version, so it looks like Microsoft’s old smartphone platform has sung its last, at least according to Opera. You can download at m.opera.com.

Press Release:

Whole lotta love for the mobile Web

Debuting all new Opera Mini 6 and Opera Mobile 11
Oslo, Norway — March 22, 2011

Can’t get no satisfaction from the mobile Web? Then you will fall head over heels for the new Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers launched today, now also available to cherish on tablets. Opera’s mobile browsers are the world’s most popular, the weapon of choice for 100 million people worldwide, used on more than 3000 devices. If you still haven’t found what you are looking for, there is an Opera out there available for you. Download to your phone from: m.opera.com and don’t stop til you get enough.

What’s new, pussycat?

Smooth operator
Improved scrolling, panning and zooming make the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers the sweetest thing to hit mobile devices since the Opera Mini 5 browser.

Pinch-to-zoom
Feel free to twist and shout now that Opera’s features include true pinch-to-zoom on devices that support pinch.

Sharing
When you find something, let it be … shared. The new versions feature a share button, so you can easily post, Tweet (twiddly-diddly-deet), or just shout it out loud on Facebook, vKontakte or My Opera.

Now also optimized for tablets
Is it any wonder? Opera for tablets brings smooth browsing to your tablet PC with a brand new interface that is sure to rock you like a hurricane.

What we say

“If you’ve lost that loving feeling for the Web on your phone or tablet, don’t let it bring you down. Just try one of our browsers,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “The sun always shines on TV, but the Opera browser shines on more than 3000 devices.”

Who are you? The difference between the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers

The Opera Mini browser uses Opera’s servers to shake, rattle and roll webpages down to a tenth of their original size before sending them to your phone. Because the data transferred is smaller, pages arrive faster than the speed of sound. On a pay-as-you-go plan, the Opera Mini browser dramatically cuts the price you pay, because the data you use is greatly reduced. The Opera Mini browser makes any device Internet savvy.
The Opera Mobile browser gives you the whole of the moon on smartphones and tablets. The strange magic of HTML5? Check. Full, high fidelity web browsing? Check. Sharing the same Opera Presto browser engine found in Opera’s desktop browser, the Opera Mobile browser is the premier option for fast, powerful browsing when on unlimited Internet data plans or Wi-Fi.
Availability

The Opera Mini 6 browser brings the fireworks to J2ME, Android, BlackBerry and Symbian/S60 phones.
The Opera Mobile 11 browser sings hallelujah on the Android, Symbian, Windows 7 desktop (labs release), MeeGo (labs release) and Maemo (labs release) platforms.
What you waiting for? Walk this way with your mobile device: m.opera.com.

A subsequent tweet pinned the blame on Opera’s new Mobile Store service, which is a competitor to GetJar’s own business. “[Opera] placed an app store in their browser. one thing we can’t do is promote competing app stores ;)” the message read, with a full explanation promised sometime today.

Opera is yet to comment officially itself on the matter, though we’re guessing the company won’t be too impressed by GetJar’s decision. Still, as we saw when Apple gave Opera a 17+ rating in the Mac App Store, the company does have a sense of humor about its competitors.

[via mocoNews]

Although it’s Opera’s name on the app store, it’s Appia’s tech behind it. In beta testing last month, the companies reckon over 15m users accessed the store, for a total of more than 700,000 downloads per day.

You can browse the catalog by visiting mobilestore.opera.com (even if you don’t have Opera installed) and while the UI isn’t exactly the most inspiring we’ve seen, there’s a decent range of apps on offer. More details for developers here.

Press Release:

Opera launches the Opera Mobile Store, available in over 200 Countries

Oslo, Norway – March 8, 2011

Opera Software, the leading provider of mobile browsers around the world, today announced that the Opera Mobile Store is now open and available at mobilestore.opera.com. This storefront is a featured Speed Dial link in the Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers, which makes the storefront immediately accessible by more than 100 million people who use an Opera browser on their mobile phones. The Opera Mobile Store has been built and delivered through a strategic partnership with Appia, the leading provider of open application marketplace technology. The Opera Mobile Store offers both free and paid applications for virtually any mobile platform and device. The Opera Mobile Store is available to Opera users and users of other mobile browsers, on all popular mobile phone platforms in more than 200 countries. The Opera Mobile Store uses Appia’s storefront commerce technology and leverages a wide catalog of applications for phones with Java, Symbian, BlackBerry and Android operating systems. The storefront experience is customized to each user’s phone, providing a tailored catalog based on the phone’s operating system, local language and currency.

“The launch of the Opera Mobile Store supports Opera’s core belief in an open, cross-platform mobile Internet experience by providing Opera users with an integrated storefront of mobile applications,” said Mahi de Silva, EVP, Consumer Mobile, Opera Software. “Our partnership with Appia delivers to all Opera Mobile and Opera Mini users easy access to a wide variety of great content, on any device, all over the world.”

To support the Opera Mobile Store, Opera Software has also launched the Opera Publisher Portal, providing developers with an easy way to get their applications onto the Opera Mobile Store and in front of millions of Opera users every month. In its pre-launch state, the Opera Mobile Store attracted more than 15 million users in February, from 200 countries, achieving more than 700,000 downloads per day. These metrics establish the Opera Mobile Store as a top 10 mobile application store around the world.

“The Opera Mobile Store presents a remarkable opportunity for mobile application developers to distribute localized content through a single, far-reaching marketplace,” said Jud Bowman, CEO of Appia. “Appia is thrilled to partner with Opera to deliver an incredible storefront of applications to Opera users and beyond.”

“It’s very fast, you know, and it has a lot of features” he continues, concluding “I think the download requirement should be at least 18.” Opera Software suggest that those without Mac App Store access should head over to their site and download the browser the old fashioned way. Just be careful not to stumble over anything unsavory on your travels.

Press Release:

Opera first browser available in Apple’s Mac App Store

Oslo, Norway – March 3, 2011

This week, the Opera web browser became the first non-native browser made available in Apple’s Mac App Store, but only for those over seventeen years of age. Jan Standal, VP of Desktop Products for Opera Software, is surprised.

“I’m very concerned,” says Standal. “Seventeen is very young, and I am not sure if, at that age, people are ready to use such an application. It’s very fast, you know, and it has a lot of features. I think the download requirement should be at least 18.”

For those under 17, there is a workaround. Just visit www.opera.com and download it. We do not ask for your age or your credit card number. Please, get your parents’ permission before using this browser.

Video demo after the cut

Connectivity is via an integrated GSM/EDGE modem (no 3G), though thanks to Opera’s compression technology – which can shrink pages by up to 90-percent – Vodafone still reckons that speeds should be palatable. The carrier will preload bookmarks suited to its entry-level audience, including online news, dictionary, social networks, some games and a rudimentary application service.

While we can see many users being keen on the idea, Vodafone is targeting emerging markets with the Webbox, at least initially. South Africa will get the internet keyboard first, from next week, with broader availability in 2011. It will be priced at around €75, with a free 2GB SD card and data purchased on pre-paid SIM.

Press Release:

Vodafone launches Webbox – an innovative plug and play keyboard, bringing internet to your television

Vodafone today announces the launch of the Vodafone Webbox, the first device of its kind, bringing affordable internet access to a customer’s existing television set, just by plugging in a keyboard.

The Webbox is a Vodafone innovation developed specifically for customers in emerging markets, where technology and cost barriers often exclude many from enjoying affordable, ready internet access at home or in the workplace. A sleek, black, 14 x 25cm QWERTY keyboard, the Webbox uses standard RCA connectors to plug into the television. With no set-up required, the plug and play keyboard converts any standard domestic television into an internet portal.

Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s Group Director of Terminals said: “The Webbox is a simple yet very innovative product. It has the potential to make a powerful difference in the lives of people in emerging markets who have limited access to the internet, but where TV penetration is typically very high. The simplicity of the product is striking – it brings the internet to the TV, be that at home for the family, in schools for education or in small businesses to assist local economic growth.”

The Webbox home screen allows the customer to navigate easily between the core services: Opera Mini 5.1 internet access; SMS and email messaging; internet search and media services including FM radio and a photo gallery tool, as well as a music player.

The Webbox Opera Mini browser runs over the 2.5G and EDGE mobile networks, compressing data by around 90% and so serving fast-loading internet pages. The browser homepage comes with bookmarks such as news, sport and social networking sites as well as locally relevant apps such as a job search and application service. In addition, the portal comes with some games, a dictionary and a basic text editor.

In South Africa, Vodacom has today announced that they will start selling the Webbox from next week. Other markets across Vodafone’s emerging market footprint will launch in 2011.

Notes to Editors

Opera Mini is available across 20 markets, preloaded onto 32 handsets and downloadable to a total of 278 devices. There have been 9 million downloads of the Vodafone Opera Mini browser to date.
Watch a Webbox quick demo and hear Patrick Chomet talking about it here: www.youtube.com/vodafonemedia
Cost example: Vodacom will retail the Webbox at a one-off unit cost of R749 (c €75) with a free 2GB SD card, and prepaid SIM with R12 data credit.
Vodafone’s Webbox won a prestigious Universal Design Award Consumer Favourite 2011, so being credited for its usability, learning curve, flexibility, security as well as affordability.
The Webbox will be exhibited at the Vodafone stand at Mobile World Congress 2011.

“Our developers have been hard at work building the mobile browser of the future for both consumers and mobile operators,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software. The Opera Mini has been a popular alternative to Apple’s Safari and many of company’s browsers are popular for other smartphones as well as Nintendo’s Wii and DSi.

Opera is also planning on introducing new versions of Opera Mini on the iPhone as well as on the Android, Blackberry, J2ME, and Symbian platforms. The browser has been immensely popular since it gained Apple’s approval early last year with 1 million downloads in the first 24 hours. Opera says that more than 100 million people use its browsers every month, mostly the Opera Mini.

[Via MacWorld]

Sony has not confirmed which HDTVs and Blu-ray decks will get the Opera browser, but it seems the company isn’t content to settle on Google TV for its smart TV line-up.

Press Release:

Opera chosen by Sony for LCD television and Blu-ray Disc players

Oslo, Norway, and Tokyo, Japan, January 19, 2011

Opera Software today announced to deliver its world-class browser on Sony BRAVIA televisions and Blu-ray Disc (TM) players. Opera aims to deliver more “lean-forward”, interactive components to connected home users by offering Opera’s solution to Sony’s state-of-the-art devices.

The Opera Devices Software Developer Kit (SDK) is the cross-platform, standards-based backbone of Opera for connected TVs and Blu-ray Disc players. As a robust, open platform for creating web-standards-based solutions, Opera Devices SDK forms the ideal foundation for developing full web browsers and user interfaces. Opera brings customization and ease of content distribution to global markets by enabling the delivery of web applications, widgets, full web browsing and emerging standards such as HTML5, HbbTV and OIPF.

Previously, consumers were required to have multiple devices to surf the Internet while watching television. As more connected home electronics devices arrive in living rooms, Internet use is changing. The Internet is becoming more closely connected with people’s everyday life, such as the ability to enjoy video on-demand services on television, exchange opinions with friends through social networks about the program they are watching, and buy online directly from their televisions the items seen on TV dramas.

“The Web as we know it is evolving, and we are committed to making it more accessible across diverse devices,” said Christen Krogh, Chief Development Officer, Opera Software. “Our ability to address key hybrid broadcast-broadband initiatives in numerous markets makes us a natural fit with Sony. By delivering both a global viewpoint and the necessary technology, we are able to stay on the cutting edge of the industry.”
About Opera Software ASA

Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web-browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.

Video demo after the cut

Full functionality is yet to be revealed, but in the video below you can see pinch-zooming in action together with some pretty slick scrolling. There’s also Opera’s usual multi-shortcut paned homescreen, for easier access to your favorites.

Press Release:

Opera unveils touch browser for tablet and netbook PCs

Las Vegas, Nevada – January 3, 2011

If you were nice in 2010 then there is a good chance Santa left you one of the hottest gifts of the year – a tablet. Now that it is January you are probably looking for ways to get the most of out of your tablet. Luckily, Santa has some special Norwegian helpers who worked all through the holidays to kick off the New Year with a browser designed especially for tablets.
At the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2011, Opera Software will unveil the first public preview of Opera for tablets. Whether it’s checking email, managing social networks or surfing the net, Opera’s specialized browser for tablets provides you with the smoothest tablet and netbook experience on the market.

“In 2011, tablets are a new must-have. Opera is creating waves with the first public preview of Opera for tablets,” said Christen Krogh, Chief Development Officer, Opera Software. “Opera for tablets brings the same trusted Internet experience to tablets and netbook PCs as users have come to love on their mobile phones and desktops.”

The original patent was filed in 2002 by Actify, it seems that Hopwell Culture and Design are chiming in now because previously, double-clicking had not been used to any effect for the user input while in a Web browser, corresponding to the unique double-click input. Adobe’s been marked due to their PDF Reader software. Apple, on the other hand (and not surprisingly) is being targeted in a more sweeping motion, with mention of the iPhone and iPad. But, it’s HTC that’s certainly seeing a lot of attention, too, with device names like the Droid Incredible, Droid Eris, Hero, and EVO 4G being specifically pointed out.

Nokia is also being blamed, with devices like the N900 and N97. Other companies include LG, Motorola, Quickoffice, Palm, and Opera. Hopewell Culture and Design is hoping that they can receive “adequate” payment from damages, from each of the companies. The lawsuit was filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. If that district sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a pretty well known place for plaintiffs to get what they want, especially in patent disputes.

[via Electronista]

The nearest alternative was Internet Explorer 8, which blocked 90-percent. NSS Labs credit SmartScreen URL filtering, included in IE8 and IE9, for the strong showing; only IE9 has SmartScreen application reputation protection, however, hence the difference in results.

Meanwhile, Apple’s Safari 5 languished with 11-percent of threats blocked, Chrome 6 did even worse with 3-percent, and Opera 10 failed to block any of the downloads. Around 636 URLs were included in the testing, and interestingly – as shown in the following chart – despite both Safari 5 and Firefox 3.6 each using Google’s Safe Browser feed, the two apps seemingly implemented it in different ways.

SlashTRACKED
In Irvine California there is a man named David Norris, a man who owns a company that aims to “fingerprint” every computer, mobile phone, and TV set-top box in the world. With the “credit bureau for devices” Norris is building, each device will have a “reputation” based on that device’s online activities including, specifically, shopping habits and demographics. Fingerprinting has been used up until now as a replacement for “cookies” as a method of preventing illegal copying of computer software and to stop credit card fraud. At the moment, Norris’s company has id’ed over 200 million devices – by the end of the year, they expect to have cataloged one billion (one tenth of the world’s total.)

[Via Wall Street Journal Tech]

R3 Media Network

SlashPhone
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Dell’s Website Show Off Venue Pro For A Moment

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Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry in Dead Heat for Most Desirable Smartphone of the Month
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To see more Daily Slash posts, click here: [The Daily Slash] or here: [SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up]

SlashINTERNATIONAL
“U.S. aircraft carrier heads for Korean waters” is not the first thing I wanted to read today when I went looking on an update for the situation unfolding between North and South Korea. If you’re the sort of person who keeps up with these sorts of events, or are at least a person who reads The Daily Slash on a daily basis, you’re aware that yesterday North Korea shelled a South Korean island, leveling a number of buildings and killing two civilians. Today, a U.S. aircraft carrier is on its way over there to… maybe sit around and have a glass of tea. Today the U.S. government expressed its belief that the North Korean aggression was an isolated incident that had to do with leadership change in Pyongyang (N.Korea’s capital), and that it hoped China would use its influence to stop additional “provocative behavior.” Further, Rueters reports:

North Korea said the shelling was in self-defense after Seoul fired shells into its waters near the disputed maritime border. The North’s KCNA news agency said the South was driving the peninsula to the “brink of war” with “reckless military provocation” and by postponing humanitarian aid.

So now the USS George Washington, capable of carrying 75 warplanes and a crew of over 6,000 has left a naval base south of Tokyo Japan and will be joining exercises with South Korea from Sunday to the following Wednesday, so says U.S. officials in Seoul. Read the full story over at [Reuters] and remember when you’re chewing on your roasted bird tomorrow that you should be thankful we’re not in more war than we’re already in and hope, wish, or pray for a peaceful solution to this terrible situation.

R3 Media Network

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Microsoft drop Drive Extender from Windows Home Server refresh
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad released [UPDATE: ONLY works with Slingbox SOLO and Pro-HD]

To see more Daily Slash posts, click here: [The Daily Slash] or here: [SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up]

Video demo after the cut

Opera claims to be seeing 10-20 new extensions added each day; you can browse the catalog here. As you’d expect, it’s billed as faster and more efficient than Opera 10, too, being a 30-percent smaller install and 15- to 20-percent faster on the regular benchmarks than its predecessor. Plug-ins can now be set to load on demand, rather than being constantly active, which is also good for up to a 30-percent performance boost.

Automatic extensions updates, new security indicator badges and a streamlined address bar round out the main changes, along with a new bookmarks bar. It’s a free download from here, and is available in Windows, Mac and Linux versions.

Press Release:

Tabs go to 11
First beta of Opera 11 showcases tab stacking

Oslo, Norway – November 23, 2010 – Tabbed browsing, one of the essential features in all browsers, has evolved yet again thanks to its long-time pioneer. Opera 11 beta introduces tab stacking, a better way to organize your open tabs. Traditionally, tabs were opened side-by-side, but now people using Opera can stack their tabs, grouping them by site or by theme. Tab stacking reduces clutter and makes it easier to identify and work with sets of open tabs.

It is easy to stack tabs. Simply drag one tab on top of another. Hovering the mouse over a tab will cause the stack to expand in a visual preview. Clicking the arrow icon expands the current stack across the tab bar. This brief video showcases tab stacking in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hqSGGk1YTI.

“Tabs are the most popular feature in browsers today,” said Jan Standal, VP of Desktop Products, Opera. “Because so many of us wrestle with tens or even hundreds of tabs, we wanted to find a better way to manage them. So, whether you are tracking positive reviews of your new album or researching the proper dimensions of Stonehenge, stacking your tabs is an intuitive way to organize and group your open webpages.”

Extensions go to 11
Opera 11 also introduces extensions, browser add-ons that enhance the capabilities of Opera. In the three weeks since extensions debuted in the alpha release of Opera 11, more than 500,000 extensions have been downloaded. Fueling the growth in available extensions, developers submit between 10 and 20 new extensions each day. The full extension catalog is available here: https://addons.labs.opera.com/.

Thanks to a new developer mode in Opera 11 beta, extensions are even easier to make. Developers can use the developer mode to launch, test and package extensions quickly.

Mouse gestures go to 11
Mouse gestures provide a simple and effective way to control Opera with a few simple mouse movements. Since their introduction in Opera 5, mouse gestures have proven to be one of the most loved Opera features. In Opera 11, a new visual interface highlights mouse paths and helps guide the discovery, use and mastery of these powerful shortcuts. The full list of mouse gestures is available here: http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/gestures/.

But wait! There is more:
- The address field now hides unnecessary information and puts the security status of each page front and center. Now, badges explain the security state of the site, giving consumers clear information about the sites they visit.
- Plug-ins can be set to load on-demand. This can give as much as 30 percent performance improvement.
- Extensions and Opera Unite applications are updated automatically through Opera’s update mechanism.
- Even more work has been done to boost browsing speed, particularly for Linux. Opera 11 for Linux is 15 to 20 percent faster on common benchmarks than Opera 10.63.
- Bookmarks are just a click away thanks to a new bookmarks bar that replaces Opera’s personal bar.
- Opera 11 is 30 percent smaller than Opera 10.63, despite including new features.

Availability
Download Opera 11 beta (English only) from http://www.opera.com/browser/next. Opera runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers.

Resources
Opera 11 beta press kit: http://www.opera.com/media/presskit/Opera11beta.zip
Timeline of tabbed browsing in Opera: http://www.opera.com/bitmaps/press/resources/campaign/opera11beta/tabs_timeline.gif

No drummers were harmed in the making of this browser.

About Opera Software ASA

Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web-browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.

Meanwhile there’s also wireless bookmark synchronization and a password manager. You can download the new browser by visiting http://www.opera.com/mobile/ on your Android phone.

[via Android Community]

Press Release:

Turbo charge your Android

Opera Mobile 10.1 beta for Android available
Oslo, Norway — 9 November 2010

Android users now have a new choice when it comes to browsers. Today, Opera Software announced that Opera Mobile 10.1 beta is available in the Android Market for free, providing the many millions of Android users better browser performance and an improved user experience.

Android users are known to appreciate speed and functionality. They are also known for their demands for new and improved software for their handsets, as well as an almost emotional relationship to their phones. Now, they have the opportunity to run Opera Mobile, made by a company that shares their passion for a better browser.

“Android users now have a better choice when it comes to using a browser on their mobile devices,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “With Opera’s new browser for Android, we give users the opportunity to access the Web, using the best tools available.”

Opera Mobile boasts faster page loading than other browsers and a highly fluid panning, scrolling and smooth zooming experience. Speed Dial, another Opera innovation, gives quick and easy access to the user’s favorite websites while the password manager saves the user from cumbersome mobile-phone typing. Additionally, users will experience better browsing on slow or congested networks with Opera Turbo, which provides up to 80 percent data compression.

Opera Mobile 10.1 Beta for Android also features:

Easy tab management with visual tabs
Opera Presto rendering engine
Sync your bookmarks across devices with Opera Link
Ability to be set as the default browser
Geolocation support
SVG support
Download

Download Opera Mobile directly to the Android phone for free from the Android Market or at m.opera.com/next. For more information, visit http://www.opera.com/mobile/.

Opera Mobile is available for Android users in the following 18 versions: Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.