Opera Releases Java Based Web Browser for All Phones

The web browser developer, Opera Software has announced the worldwide release of Opera Mini, the full Web browser that runs on almost every mobile phone, including low- and mid-end handsets. The launch follows the trials of Opera Mini in the Nordics and in Germany during the fall of 2005, which resulted in a user base of over one million people. Opera Mini is available free of charge via WAP download, or for a small fee via SMS.

"With Opera Mini most people can start surfing the Web with the mobile phone they have today," says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "We are proud to be the first to offer full, mobile Web browsing to the majority of the world's mobile phone users."

Opera Mini compresses Web pages by up to 80% and reformats them using Small-Screen Rendering for browsing on small, mobile screens. For the end-user, this means faster browsing and dramatically reduced phone bills for those who pay per KB in data traffic.

Opera Mini's start page features a Google search box for quick access to Web search. And the customizable bookmark list makes it easy to save and surf your favorite sites.

The first trial of Opera Mini was launched in Norway in August 2005, and Michael Gartenberg, VP & Research Director of Jupiter Research, called the little, but powerful, browser "a really big breakthrough for the mobile space." Opera now also offers customized versions of Opera Mini to mobile phone operators, handset manufacturers and other companies interested in offering a branded, full mobile Web browser to their customers."

Posted to the site on 25th January 2006