New Opera Mini drives social networking from=20
mobile phones Upgrade released today with new=20
level of interactivity
- Today, Opera Software introduces Opera Mini=20
3.0, the latest version of the award-winning=20
mobile browser already used by eight million=20
people worldwide.
- The upgrade available today introduces new=20
features that enhance mobile social networking=20
abilities on all community sites: photo sharing,=20
RSS feed reader and secure connections.
- Opera Mini is not tied to any single service,=20
so it offers a personal Web experience that can=20
be used to easily browse and upload pictures to=20
all online community sites, including MySpace,=20
Blogger, Flickr, Facebook and My Opera, as well=20
as securely using popular webmail such as=20
Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail.
- Featuring secure connections, Opera Mini makes=20
all Web transactions safe, including banking or=20
shopping on eBay or Amazon.
- Opera Mini is globally available free of charge=20
and enables Web browsing on almost any mobile=20
phone. Only an Internet data plan through your=20
carrier/operator is needed to access the Internet.
New features in Opera Mini:
-Easy photo sharing
-RSS Feed Reader
-Secure banking/shopping
-Content folding
-Faster surfing
Screenshots:
http://www.operamini.com/img/mini/screen/myspace.png
http://www.operamini.com/img/mini/screen/hotmail.png
http://www.operamini.com/img/mini/screen/facebook.png
Link to download:
http://www.operamini.com
How Opera Mini is user-friendly
Opera Mini is available for almost any mobile=20
phone. A start page provides users options to=20
type in a Web address, search with Google or=20
access their bookmarks. Opera Mini is optimized=20
to reduce the size of data transferred to the=20
phone, which makes browsing fast and cheaper for=20
users that pay per kilobyte transferred. Content=20
folding improves the user experience by reducing=20
the amount of scrolling before users reach the=20
main content of a site. Secure connections make=20
all online transactions safe, allowing users to=20
bank or shop from their phones.
Mobile Social Networking
Users are able to access and interact with all of=20
their community sites. Opera Mini can now allow=20
users to launch their phone cameras through their=20
browser to instantly publish photos to their=20
e-mail, forum or blog. The integrated RSS feed=20
reader keeps preferred news and content one click=20
away in the browser. Users get the information=20
they want sent directly to their phones.
Market adoption
In 10 months, Opera Mini has inspired more than=20
eight million users to surf more than two billion=20
pages and embrace the benefits of mobile=20
browsing. Industry leading operators, such as=20
T-Mobile International and Telef=F3nica M=F3viles,=20
have installed Opera Mini on select handsets in=20
order to offer their subscribers everything the=20
Web can instantly provide, including mobile=20
social networking and personal Web-based=20
services. Content providers such as 4INFO and=20
Mobileplay, are also seizing the opportunity to=20
instantly mobilize online access by distributing=20
Opera Mini.
What the Opera CEO thinks
"We are excited to improve on the mobile Web=20
experience that has already been so well received=20
by both end users and distributors," says Jon von=20
Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "I think the main=20
reason for Mini's success is that it, for the=20
first time, allows millions of people to use=20
their mobile phones to access the same Web sites=20
they do from their desktop."
Main features of Opera Mini:
Real Web: User-friendly access to all Web pages=20
from a mobile phone Data compression: Server-side=20
data compression creates faster browsing and=20
lower bills for services charged per kilobyte=20
Content download: Download images, MP3s, etc.=20
directly to the phone Skins: Style Opera Mini to=20
your own taste by selecting from several new and=20
bold skins to suit your mood Multi-search: Use=20
Opera Mini's advanced search functionality by=20
selecting additional search engines for your=20
start page
New features in Opera Mini 3.0:
Photo Sharing: Point, snap and instantly publish=20
photos in your e-mail, forum or blog RSS Feed=20
Reader: Add favorite news feeds directly in the=20
browser Secure connections: Safely bank or make=20
purchases online Content Folding: Collapse long=20
menu lists into one expandable button for=20
user-friendly navigation
How does Opera Mini work?
When a Web page is accessed using Opera Mini, it=20
is first sent to a remote server where it's=20
compressed to reduce the size of the data=20
transferred before sending it to the phone. This=20
compression enables the processing of Web pages=20
on even basic phones and also reduces the costs=20
associated with browsing and data transferring=20
for subscribers of limited data plans.
Can Web developers test for Opera Mini=20
compatibility? There are a few things developers=20
can do to ensure sites display properly in Opera=20
Mini.
- Develop sites according to open Web standards.=20
To validate your webpage, right-click with your=20
mouse on the page using the Opera desktop=20
browser, then select 'Validate' or visit:=20
http://validator.w3.org/
- Test sites in the free Opera desktop browser.=20
All Opera browsers (Desktop, Mobile, Nintendo=20
Wii, etc) use the same rendering engine.
- Use the built-in small-screen emulator in the=20
Opera desktop browser. Select Shift + F11 to=20
engage Opera's Small-Screen RenderingT and render=20
the viewed site as it would on a small screen,=20
like that of a mobile phone.
What Opera Mini usage reveals:
- 8 million users
- More than 2 billion Web pages viewed
- Frequently visited sites include: Google=20
Search, MySpace, Yahoo!, Hotmail and Gmail
- Countries with leading usage: USA, UK, China, Russia and India
- 9 operators/carriers, such as T-Mobile and=20
Telefonica have pre-installed Opera Mini in=20
select handsets
- Content providers such as 4INFO and Mobileplay=20
have branded versions of Opera Mini to deliver=20
their Web-based content and services
Opera Mini advantages:
- Content providers can instantly mobilize=20
Web-based services directly to end users in the=20
mass market.
- End users can easily browse and interact with=20
the Web at high speeds and low costs on their=20
current handsets.
- Handset manufacturers can make their phones=20
more attractive by including a mass-market and=20
user-friendly Web browser on their handsets.
- Operators can offer the same branded Web=20
experience to all of their customers regardless=20
of the handset being used, thereby significantly=20
increasingly ARPU throughout the entire customer=20
base.
About Opera MiniT
Opera Mini is a free mobile Web browser designed=20
to bring the real Web to the world's mobile=20
phones. The free Opera MiniT mobile Web browser=20
launched worldwide in January of 2006, and is=20
available both as a free download from=20
www.operamini.com as well as through=20
pre-installments on selected handsets from=20
leading operators and handset manufacturers such=20
as T-Mobile and Telefonica. Read more at=20
http://www.operamini.com
Video demos:
Opera Mini - What is it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D8YtpJaEHrlY
Opera Mini - RSS Yahoo News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DU4orP_6btOU
Opera Mini - Content folding on BBC Sports
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DlzTlmedXAlo
Opera Mini - Secure shopping on eBay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D-RJcGhxb8N4
Opera Mini - Photo blogging on MySpace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DAA5FBIsCdAg
Opera Mini - Photo blogging on My Opera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D9PzS0teip5I
Availability
Opera Mini is globally available free of charge=20
at www.operamini.com. A mobile Internet Data Plan=20
and is required by carriers/operators to access=20
the Internet. Java support is required to run=20
Opera Mini.
About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for=20
PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices.=20
Opera's cross- platform Web browser technology is=20
renowned for its small size, performance and=20
standards-compliance, while giving users a=20
faster, safer and more dynamic online experience.=20
Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway=20
with offices around the world. The company is=20
listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the=20
ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at=20
http://www.opera.com.
