15 April 2010 | Author: J. Morton Search Copywriter

Opera browser released for iPhone, dominates app downloads

Users of Apple's revolutionary smart phone, the iPhone, now have a greater choice when browsing the web from their mobiles - and the numbers on Opera Mini's release date indicate it has been a very welcome choice indeed.

"Today iPhone users have a choice, and, as the numbers show, they are eager to explore new and faster ways to surf the Web on the iPhone - especially during heavy Web traffic," said Lars Boilesen, Opera Software CEO, in a statement.

According to reports, the Opera Mini browser has already exceeded 1 million downloads in iPhone app stores around the globe, and tops the download charts in over twenty different countries.

The release of Opera - a European start-up produced browser - signals the first major challenge to Apple's own Safari browser for the device.

Opera Mini has previously been available on other mobile phones, including Blackberries, and the Norwegian software company said over 50 million people used its mobile web browser before the release of the iPhone edition.

Reviews of the application have been largely positive, with users and critics alike commenting that the browser seems to offer faster loading times than the default Safari engine. Also noted has been the addition of features unique to the browser, including searching for keywords on a page, and image quality adjustment.

Opera, a company that has enjoyed continued success in European markets, sees the interest in their software as a potential boon to US popularity.

"This is certainly good news for us, and this will help us expand tremendously in the United States," spokesman Tor Odland told the New York Times. "We are basically on every other type of device in the world and this covers a big hole for us."

Whilst other browsers have been made available for iPhone in the past, they have been required to be built around the basic Safari engine. Opera bucks this trend, but also loses some iPhone functionality in the process - reviews have noted in particular that the browser lacks more refined zoom controls, and that users cannot add links to the home screen with Opera.