Opera Mini hits Android

By Nick Mansell on Tue 25 November 2008

As promised back in April , Opera has just released a Android version of its pocket Opera Mini browser for the T-Mobile G1 - proudly touting it as "the first Web browser alternative on Android." And not before time we might add.

It's based on the rather excellent Opera Mini 4.2 which went out for beta earlier this month . Incidentally, that's just been released as a final version, but this Android release is only a beta for now.

Opera boasts that it's faster and cheaper because it compresses data before it's passed on to your phone. Given that T-Mobile's G1 comes with unlimited data, the 'cheaper' aspect won't really be much of a draw but faster is always a bonus. Opera reckons that in the US, speeds have been improved by 30% on this new version thanks to the installation of a new server park over there, though it doesn't give any figures for the UK.

If you fancy taking it for a spin, you can grab a copy at http://www.opera.com/mini/.

Press release:

Opera Mini speeds up: Opera Mini 4.2 is released today

Oslo, Norway – November 25, 2008 – Today, Opera Software released the final version of its much-anticipated Opera Mini 4.2 for mobile phones. Since the launch of the beta version of Opera Mini 4.2, speed trials have shown that this version gives more than 30% speed improvements for users in the US, due to the addition of a new Opera Mini server park in the United States.

This release also marks Opera Mini’s official availability on the latest version of the Android mobile platform. Opera Mini is now the first Web browser alternative on Android. A technical preview of Opera Mini was previously released for an earlier version of Android in April 2008. Users of Android-powered mobile phones, such as the T-Mobile G1, can now download a beta version of Opera Mini 4.2 and experience a faster and less costly way to browse the full Internet.

"With Opera Mini 4.2, we are showing the world that Opera never gets complacent. We will always be improving our product, adding speed, new functionality and features, and ensuring that it is accessible by all," says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "Our support of the Android platform helps fulfill our mission to be available on more platforms, for more devices and reach more users, anywhere in the world."

Opera Mini 4.2 adds more language versions and offers added skin selections to personalize the look and feel of the browser. Opera Mini is renowned for its speed, as data is compressed before it is sent to the phone. This helps to keep end-user costs low, since the data delivered is kept to a minimum.

Upon downloading Opera Mini 4.2, mobile phone users will experience:

- More than 90 language versions, including the recently added Amharic, Armenian, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kirghiz, Lingala, Marathi, Malayalam, Mongolian, Oriya, Punjabi, Pashto, Sinhala, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Uzbek, Khmer, Kashmiri, Lao and Turkmen

- Funky new skins for personalizing the look of Opera Mini

- Opera Link support for notes, allowing users to sync their notes between the PC and Opera Mini

- Improved real time streaming protocol (RTSP) handoff. This increases the number of phones with support for mobile video.

The far-reaching popularity of Opera Mini continues to grow month after month. Opera reports that 21 million unique users browsed five billion pages in October 2008 alone, totaling a remarkable 490 percent increase since October 2007. Millions of people have already discovered the power of Opera Mini; it’s time for the rest of the world to enjoy the Web on the small screen.

Opera Mini 4.2 is ready and waiting for download at http://www.opera.com/mini/.