Looks like a big day for browser news. Flock, Netscape, and now my personal favorite, Opera. 
Oslo, Norway – October 20, 2005 – Opera Software, world leader in cross-platform browser technologies, today released the beta version of the Opera Mini™ Web browser, free of charge, in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Opera Mini™ is a Java-based (J2ME) Web browser that enables full Web access on the majority of today’s low- and mid-range phones that are normally incapable of running a full Web browser. With Opera Mini(TM), you can start surfing the Web on the handset you have today.Opera Mini™ allows users to access the full Web on the 700+ million Java-enabled mobile phones around the world. That includes the vast majority of today’s WAP-enabled phones. Instead of requiring the phone to process Web pages, it uses a remote server to pre-process the page before sending it to the phone.
“Opera Mini™ is simple to use, free, and easily installed on nearly all mobile phones,” says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “With Opera Mini™ we are really bringing mobile Internet browsing into the mainstream by opening up for mobile Internet access for everyone.”
The Opera Mini™ browser was introduced as a pilot project in Norway on August 10, 2005, to spearhead Norwegian TV station TV2’s mobile services. Following the success in Norway, Opera Software is now extending the availibility of Opera Mini™ to include all the Scandinavian countries as a first step towards full global launch.
Opera offers full customization of Opera Mini™ to companies, for example operators, broadcasters, mobile content providers, handset manufacturers and the Internet industry. With Opera Mini™ operators can dramatically increase the average revenue per user (ARPU) across their entire customer base by stimulating the usage of compelling mobile Web services; Mobile content providers can reach the mass market quickly and affordably without having to worry about operator requirements; and handset manufacturers can differentiate their low- and midrange phones to make them more attractive to operators and end-users.
AvailabilityOpera Mini™ is currently available for download at [link] for users in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. A full global launch is planned soon. Opera Software also offers Opera Mini™ to operators and companies that want a fully customizable and branded Web browser included in their offerings to customers.
For more information about Opera Mini™, visit [link]
About Opera Software ASAOpera Software ASA is an industry leader in the development of Web browser technology, targeting the desktop, mobile, PDA, home media and vertical markets. Partners include companies such as IBM, Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Adobe, Macromedia, Symbian, Sony Ericsson, Kyocera, Sharp, Motorola Metroworks, MontaVista Software, BenQ, Sendo and AMD. The Opera browser has received international recognition from users, industry experts and media for being faster, smaller and more standards-compliant than other browsers.
Opera’s browser technology is cross-platform and modular, and currently available on the following operating systems: Windows, Windows Mobile, Linux, Mac OS, Symbian OS, BREW, QNX, TRON, FreeBSD, Solaris and Mediahighway. The Opera browser is also available as a Java-based (J2ME) browser solution called Opera Mini™ for the world’s 700 million Java-enabled mobile phones.
Opera Software ASA is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with development centers in Linkoping and Gothenburg, Sweden. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.
I cannot wait for the global launch. 