Opera To Launch Mobile Browser For iPhone

Opera, the nimble browser maker from Norway, has said that it has a mobile version of its mobile browser, Opera Mini, ready to be launched and is only waiting on Apple to approve the app, something that might never happen actually.

The browser will be showcased at the 2010 Mobile World Congress next week and will bring features such as compression technology, tab browsing, Speed Dial and password management, all of which are missing from Apple's iPhone Safari browser.

Opera Mini uses Java technology which is not, em, supported on the iPhone yet which means that Opera has had to adapt to Apple's smartphone. Opera has not submitted the app for approval on the App store and hasn't said when it would do it.

Some are already claiming that it might just be a publicity stunt by the company tog get some more press exposure (which is obviously working). Initial benchmarks show that the browser is 600 percent faster than Apple's browsing solution.

Central to this claim is Opera's built in proprietary compression capabilities which means that content (text mainly) can be reduced in size by as much as 90 percent which will alleviate the pressure on mobile phone data networks.