Behold Opera Mobile For Android: Speedy, Pinch-To-Zoom, Geolocation And More
Opera Software has released its (second) free mobile browser product for the Android platform. Grab the app, dubbed Opera Mobile 10.1 beta, now in Android Market or here. — Yes, Opera was already available for Android, in a fairly limited way.
Context & Ripple Effects
Opera has been circling Android with two products: the 2008 Opera Mobile 9.5 release staked out its flagship browser line, and last year's Opera Mini 5 beta brought tabs and Speed Dial to handsets through server-side compression. Until now, Android users only had access to the limited Mini route; Opera Mobile 10.1 beta is the first full, locally rendered Opera client on the platform, adding pinch-to-zoom and geolocation.
The timing tracks Android's rise: Gartner put Android at the top of the US smartphone OS rankings in August 2010, and Quantcast credited it with roughly a quarter of US mobile web browsing by then. A month ago Opera also launched its Open Mobile Ad Exchange, so a bigger browser footprint on the fastest-growing platform feeds directly into its new advertising business.
First-order effects
- Android users gain a second free Opera option in Android Market — a full rendering engine with pinch-to-zoom and geolocation instead of the compressed, fairly limited Mini experience they had before.
- Opera gets a native client on the OS that Gartner ranked first in US smartphones, expanding reach for both its browser brand and the ad inventory sold through the Open Mobile Ad Exchange launched in October 2010.
Second-order effects
- Android Market becomes the venue where third-party browsers contest the default browser slot, since users can now swap engines by download rather than wait on carrier or handset bundles.
- Rival browser developers face pressure to match Opera's feature set on Android — pinch-to-zoom and location support become table stakes just as an Android 2.3 Gingerbread SDK debut is rumored for November 11, though that date remains unconfirmed.
Third-order effects
- If mobile browsers consolidate into downloadable apps distributed through storefronts, control over the mobile web experience shifts away from bundled defaults toward whoever owns the distribution channel — a contestable-gatekeeping dynamic between browser vendors and platform owners.
- Opera's two-track strategy — server-rendered Mini alongside fully rendered Mobile — positions it to serve both high-end smartphones and constrained-network devices as mobile browsing volume keeps climbing.
The trend: Mobile browsing is shifting from bundled default browsers toward downloadable, feature-competing apps, with vendors like Opera racing to plant flags on Android as it takes the lead in US smartphone share.