Opera Unveils iPhone Browser, But Will Apple Tune It Out?

Opera Software said Wednesday that it will be unveiling Opera Mini, a mobile version of its browser software, for the iPhone during 2010 Mobile World Congress next week. But the question is: Will Apple approve Opera Mini for the App Store? Or will the browser fall on deaf ears?

Opera Software seems confident that its new browser will be accepted by Apple. But the Opera Mini browser will compete with the iPhone's default browser, Apple's own Safari. And Apple has frustrated many in the developer community with its complicated and cumbersome approval process to sell applications via the popular App Store.

"This is a unique opportunity to introduce the fast, feature-rich Opera Mini experience for the iPhone, and to showcase our latest beta releases of Opera Mobile and Opera Mini on other platforms and devices," Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera Software, said in a statement. "Opera's mission is to bring the Web to the world, and by making Opera Mini available on yet another platform, we are one step closer."

Currently, the Norwegian software company offers a free version of browser, Opera Mini 5, for other smartphones that can be downloaded via its Web site. Opera Mini 5 comes with tabbed browsing and speed dialing for bookmarked pages, but most importantly the browser can compress full-size Web pages for small mobile platform displays while still providing speedy performance.

Opera Software first released its mobile browser in 2005, which initially featured revenue-generating banner ads to end users. Shortly after the launch, Opera shifted its strategy by permanently dumping the banner ads and optional licensing fee, which would give customers an ad-free version of the browser.

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