The Opera Mobile 10.1 browser is available to download for Android handsets, following an announcement by the Oslo-based company.
The browser brings desktop Opera features such as Speed Dial shortcuts, Visual Tabs for easier navigation, Password Manager and Turbo mode to the mobile platform, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Turbo mode compresses images and other graphical elements by up to 80 percent using Opera's servers in order to speed up page loading times on sub-par connections.
Opera Mobile 10.1 beta brings desktop Opera functionality such as Visual Tabs to the mobile browser. Screenshot: Jessica Dolcourt/CNET News
Opera Mobile 10.1 uses the same Presto rendering engine behind the scenes as its desktop counterpart, which the company says will speed up browsing and the overall user experience.
"With Opera's new browser for Android, we give users the opportunity to access the web, using the best tools available," said Lars Boilesen, chief executive, Opera Software. "Opera Mobile boasts faster page loading than other browsers and a highly fluid panning, scrolling and smooth zooming experience."
The browser also supports geolocation features and, with the help of Link, allows users to synchronise favourites, Speed Dial settings and custom searches between the desktop and mobile version of the browser.
The company says that with this release it has concentrated on improving core functionality and that it will introduce new features in future.
"Over the next months we will add support for HTML 5 Video and Flash, as well as upgrading to the latest Opera Presto core and thereby enabling standards like Application Cache and Web Storage," it added.
Opera also says that it will improve usability and performance by focusing on optimising hardware acceleration and just-in-time (JIT) compilation for the platform.
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Opera Mobile 10.1 for Android supports all versions of the operating system from version 1.6 upwards.
In September 2009, Opera released Opera Mini 5 for Android devices. Opera Mobile 10.1 features some of the same functionality as Opera Mini 5.
The main difference between the two browsers is that the mini version's Presto rendering engine is located on Opera servers, whereas in 10.1 Mobile it is located on the handset.
For users of the Mini browser this means that all web content is compressed before it reaches the device, resulting in a more lightweight client. On the down side, it means that web pages may not render in the same way as the desktop browser, and that complex sites might not work as intended.
In July, Opera released an Opera Mobile 10.1 beta for Symbian smartphones, which was updated to beta 2 on 29 September after improvements were made to the JavaScript engine.
Earlier this year Opera managed to get around Apple's strict App Store restrictions by submitting Opera Mini 5 for approval. This was granted on the basis that it does not perform any web-page rendering on the handset itself.
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