Our friends from Norway have dropped a little present in the Android Market — especially for all you Opera fans — as Opera Mini 5 beta 2 is available for download starting… now. Opera’s next generation mobile web browser packs tabbed browsing, speed dial, Opera Link, a download manager, and a password manager, amongst other things. Those of you who are sick of the default Android browser and can’t quite cozy up to Dolphin can go ahead and take Opera Mini 5 for a spin… and do let us know what you think about it.

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Opera Software today releases a beta version of Opera Mini 5 for Android smartphones, delivering web browsing through server side data compression by up to 90 percent before sending content to the phone. Similar to Opera Mini 5 for other mobile platforms, the Opera Mini 5 gives you tabbed browsing, Speed Dial, password manager and bookmarks. To download, simply visit m.opera.com/next with the Android browser or search for Opera Mini 5 in the Android Market.

“Android users should not have to compromise when it comes to surfing the Web on their phones. Opera Mini will give Android users a fast and cost-efficient access to their favorite Web sites and services,” said Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products, Opera Software.

Opera Software has recently launched a native version of its Opera Mini 5 beta browser for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices. This version doesn’t require Java to work, so it’ll be compatible with any Windows Mobile handset, packing all the rich features of the Java-based browser.

Among the features of the popular software there’s stuff like tabbed browsing, a password manager, bookmarks, Speed Dial and much more. As you might already know, Opera Mini’s main appeal is that it’s able to compress data traffic by up to 90%, in order to offer speedy page loading.

This lowers browsing costs, a particularly useful feat for users relying on expensive data plans and roaming services. Right now, Opera has 50 million Opera Mini users and if you’re a WM 5 or 6 user, you can go ahead and download Opera Mini directly  on your phone from wmpoweruser]

Today, Opera announced the release of its Mini 5 browser for Windows Mobile. Mini 5, which is appended with the “beta 2″ tag, supports: tabbed browsing, password management, bookmarks, Speed Dial, and does not require Java to run. The fully native WinMo browser is billed as having much faster page loading times and greater rendering accuracy. Opera brags, “[one of] major benefits is that it compresses data traffic by up to 90 percent, resulting in significantly improved page-loading and speed.” Those of you with Windows Mobile 5 and 6 can head over to m.opera.com/next/ on your device to try out the new bits. Hit the break for the press release.

Opera Mini goes native on Windows Mobile phones

Oslo, Norway – March 4, 2010

Opera Software today launched a native version of Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile 5- and 6-based handsets.

By integrating Opera Mini with the Windows Mobile platform, Opera is able to deliver an optimized version of the popular Opera Mini browser that dramatically improves performance and the overall user experience. While Opera Mini traditionally requires Java, the new Windows Mobile version does not, which means that Opera Mini will work on any Windows Mobile phone.

The Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile includes the same rich feature set as the Java-based version. Renowned features, including tabbed browsing, the password manager, bookmarks and Speed Dial, are built-in to deliver convenience while on-the-go.

One of Opera Mini’s major benefits is that it compresses data traffic by up to 90 percent, resulting in significantly improved page-loading and speed. This results in a dramatically reduced data load, which can translate to lower browsing costs when on a pay-per-MB data plan or when on expensive roaming.

“Windows Mobile deserves a mobile browser that looks better, handles better and delivers better than the default browser,” said Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products, Opera Software. “Even though Opera has 50 million satisfied Opera Mini users, we always seek ways to improve our browser for each and every mobile phone user out there. Now, we are pleased to offer the world’s most popular mobile Web browser as a native Windows Mobile application.”

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Opera Software has been busy lately, releasing fresh finalized and beta products on a near-daily basis. This morning, the company announced that it has released a native version of Opera Mini 5 beta for handsets running Windows Mobile 5 and 6.

Interestingly, the new WinMo version of Opera Mini does not require Java. That basically means any Windows Mobile phone can accommodate the app. Despite not requiring Java, Opera Mini 5 beta for Windows Mobile includes the same feature set as the Java-based version.

We had a brief chat with Opera Software product analyst Phillip Grønvold here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday. We had a conversation about the company’s plans to submit an Opera Mini iPhone app up for App Store approval, of which we posted the video interview yesterday.

Another thing we touched upon was the recently announced plans to provide handset manufacturers with a toolkit to get the company’s Opera Mobile product preloaded on Android devices. Grønvold demoed the app running on Google’s Nexus One phone, and we recorded the video of the app in action, embedded above.

Note: again, this isn’t a consumer product, but an OEM offering. Opera Software says it works closely with many manufacturers around the world and hopes to get Android handsets with Opera Mobile pre-installed into the hands of consumers by the end of this year.

The company also points out you can download its lightweight mobile browser, Opera Mini, from Android Market today (we also know Opera is working on getting Opera Mini 5 in the store ’soon’).

We had a brief chat with Opera Software product analyst Phillip Grønvold here at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona yesterday. We inquired about the company’s plans to submit an Opera Mini application for the iPhone / iPod touch in the near future, and also got a hands-on demo of the app in action. Unfortunately, Grønvold was unwilling to demo the app on video, but take our word for it: the browser really is very, very fast.

Grønvold also declined to provide an ETA for the submission of the app to the App Store, but said it is very close to completion so it shouldn’t take too long.

A lot of people are – justifiably – skeptical about the chances of Opera Mini for iPhone actually making it to the App Store, but we can tell from our conversations with the people from Opera that this isn’t a publicity stunt, and that the company went to great lengths to ensure that they fully comply with Apple’s strict policies.

It’ll be interesting to see when Opera sees the app fit enough to be shown off publicly, and when it will be submitting the app. Once it does, the ball will be in Apple’s court, and a lot of people will be watching over its shoulders.

Do you think you’ll ever be able to download Opera Mini for iPhone from the App Store, or is there no chance in hell?

Grabbing a  10 million increase for the past 3 months, Opera Mini has crossed the 50 million unique monthly users mark in January 2010. Opera Mini is the lightweight mobile browser from Opera Software, offering server-side compression, which shrinks Web pages by up to 90 percent before loading them on the device.

According to Gartner, Inc., by 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide. With the speedy rise in the number of people browsing the Web from their mobile phone, users are picking the best software to surf the real Web on their devices — and that’s where Opera Mini comes in.

Opera Software just announced the latest improvements in the Opera Mobile 10 Beta 3 browser for Symbian/S60 and Windows Mobile. Beta 3 is a more stable version, with a lot of fixed bugs, new features and more. You can download it from m.opera.com address from your mobile phone.

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Tags: bug fixes, features, Opera Mobile 10 Beta 3, Opera Mobile 10 beta 3 for Symbian, Opera Mobile 10 beta 3 for Windows Mobile

Listen: It took six months of the App Store’s existence for Apple to approve the first batch of third-party browsers for the iPhone and iPod touch. It was a pretty damn exciting event because it was the sort of app everyone was used to being rejected because it replicates native features of the iPhone OS. Well, since then Apple rejected some pretty prolific apps for the same asinine reason to the point that even the flippin’ government took notice and started asking questions. And now, today, we have a new potential app disaster on our hands because Opera, the third-party mobile browser powerhouse, announced it will be previewing Opera Mini for iPhone next week at Mobile World Congress. Opera seems to think its app will be able to slide through the approval processes without issue, but we’re not going to get our hopes up just yet.

Totally random thought we’re just going to throw out there: Anyone think AT&T might be keen on seeing Opera Mini approved? Just think of the Draino of a job Opera’s data compression technology might do to unclog the long, hippie hair stuck in AT&T’s data pipes.

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While it is not sure how the company will release its Opera Mini for iPhone, Opera Software plans to reveal its Opera Mini web browser in an exclusive press and partner preview during the 2010 Mobile World Congress (MWC).

“We are thrilled to offer journalists and partners an exclusive preview of Opera Mini for iPhone during the year’s biggest mobile event,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software. “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 is set to unveil Opera Mini for iPhone in a press and partner preview during the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, the Norwegian browser software company said in a statement released earlier today. In addition, the company will be introducing a slew of other Opera-powered devices at its exhibit at MWC.

Small caveat: Opera has yet to submit the iPhone app for approval in the App Store.

Browser market share data for January 2010 has hit the streets, and it looks like Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari have gained a little — and we do mean a little — ground. Chrome posted a 5.2% hold of market share in January, up from 4.6% in December of 2009. Apple’s Safari came in with a 4.51% share, up from 4.46% the previous month. Firefox and Internet Explorer both lost a tiny bit of ground in January; IE 62.2% which is down from 62.69%, Firefox 24.41% down from 24.62%. Opera was lumped into “other” on our chart, but registered 2.38% of the browser pie. Per usual, IE and FF still dominate the browser landscape with over 86% of market share. Anyone out there switch browsers recently? If so, which browser did you move to?

[Via ZDNet]

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Opera Mobile 10 beta2 has got an upgrade this week for Windows Mobile and Symbian/S60 phones, including several updates aimed at improving the user experience. Localization for Hebrew and Arabic-speaking regions was prioritized in the Windows Mobile version, and native keyboard integration is a key feature of the S60 version.

“With each of our beta releases, we put users first. Their needs are our first priority, which is why it was important for us to add bi-directional language support and the ability to input native characters, such as Chinese, into the browser,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “There are millions of Hebrew, Arabic and Chinese speakers out there, and we want to make sure that Opera works seamlessly for them, allowing them to surf the Web within the comforts of their native language.”

Check out a list of the improved features for respective Mobile OS below

Opera Mobile 10 beta 2 for Windows Mobile touchscreen phones

• Support for Hebrew and Arabic Web sites. Right-to-left rendering now works on Opera Mobile 10.
• Faster loading. When the Opera icon is pressed, watch out for even faster loading of the browser.
• Increased auto-rotation support. More phones now support auto-rotation.

Opera Mobile 10 beta 2 for Symbian/S60

• Native keyboard input integration. Users are now able to use their default keyboards to input characters, allowing users to write in their native languages when searching on Google or writing an e-mail, for example.

If you’re fans of Opera Mobile, you’ll think again before choosing this mobile browser over Skyfire, a pretty good rival in this segment. In the video below you can see Skyfire 1.5 going head to head against Opera Mobile 10:

Opera Mobile 10 uses the Speed Dial system, showing a series of thumbnails with quickly accessible links, right from the start page, while Skyfire 1.5 will only show a list of quick links from its main screen. You’ll access the Settings menu both on Opera and Skyfire, as the last option of the bottom row, with the first browser providing the “Advanced” option.

Skyfire has a simple one page Settings menu and if we’re talking about similarities, know that the virtual keyboards on both browsers have some resemblances. Moving on to the real duel, the video above shows a comparison between the speed of Skyfire 1.5 and Opera Mobile 10, both loading the careace.net site.

As you can see, Skyfire loads the site 5 seconds faster than its rival and, as a difference between the two, we can notice that Skyfire doesn’t come with a “forward” option for its web pages, sticking with “back”, but also adding a zoom in/out function at the bottom of the screen.

[via wmpoweruser]