The Opera Mini application is now considered not only the world’s most popular mobile browser, but also the world’s most downloaded app. According to independent applications marketplace GetJar, the browser has been downloaded more than 25 million times from its store. “The fact that Opera Mini is the most downloaded app on an open app store like GetJar makes us proud,” said Opera’s Chief Strategy Officer Rolf Assev. “It proves that our vision of providing a browser that works on almost all phones will give millions a better way to access the Web.”
According to StatCounter, Opera currently holds a 25% share of the mobile browser market, with the iPhone’s Safari browser hot on its heels. GetJar credits much of Opera’s success to the fact that the app is being downloaded across Java, Android, Blackberry and Windows Mobile platforms. Given the limited capabilities of many of the current mobile browsers, a good portion of these downloads can be attributed to the quest for a better experience. And while Opera is clearly winning, we’re not sure it’ll be in the lead for long.
Recently, Mozilla released Fennec 3, the third beta version of the company’s open-source touch mobile browser. In January 2008, ReadWriteWeb compared Opera Mini to the promises of the much anticipated Firefox mobile browser. A year later, Mozilla fans are still waiting and Opera Mini users continue to enjoy synced bookmarks and notes, skinning features, relatively fast downloads and increased video capabilities. From more than 1500 votes within the GetJar community, Opera Mini 4.2 has earned an 8.1 out of 10 user rating. But it will be interesting to see if die-hard Mozilla fans will sing the praises of Fennec.
To read GetJar’s Opera Mini reviews or to download the app, visit the community’s browser page. Or if you’ve got a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet and would like to test Fennec, download it here.
