Opera Software, creators of one of the most popular desktop and mobile browsers has today released it’s newest beta of it’s mobile browsing software; Opera Mini 5 on the Android operating system.
The company already boasts more than 50 million browser users worldwide on the Blackberry, Windows Mobile and most Java-enabled phones.
Opera Mini enables a faster mobile browsing experience by passing data through proxy servers, compressing data by up to 90% before it is rendered by the phone.
The beta shares many similarities with it’s desktop counterpart, including features such as Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, an integrated password manager and the ability to sync bookmarks and other settings.
Some mobile users had been eagerly anticipating the release of Opera Mobile 10 on Android. Opera are thought to be partnering with OEMs to include Opera Mobile 10 with their phones instead of making it available for download on the Android Market.
Opera Mobile shares the same core technology as Opera Mini 5, the main difference being how the browser engine renders pages directly on the phone instead of remotely via a server.
Today the company also offered Opera Mobile for Symbian and Windows Mobile devices but are still in the process of developing a port for Opera Mini for the Apple iPhone.
Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products at Opera Software notes:
“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,”
The application can be downloaded by searching on the Android Market or by pointing an Android browser to m.opera.com/next.
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