Opera Mobile 10 released to OEMs

Opera Mobile 10 has been two years in development

Opera Software has released Opera Mobile 10 to operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The software is available direct to distributors on Android, Brew, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 smartphones.

The company said that the cross-platform user interface (UI) framework will allow operators and OEMs to implement a consistent user experience across entire ranges of handsets. The framework is built on top of the Opera browser engine to allow it to work across all platforms running either Opera Mobile or Opera Mini.

Opera's chief development officer, Christen Krogh, explained that the platform had taken two years to develop and will help manufacturers and operators provide a better mobile browser experience.

"The Mobile 10 UI framework allows functions of desktop browsers like search bars or tabs to be used on mobile browsing, something which users are becoming increasingly keen on," he said.

Krogh added that the new UI framework enables the use of dynamic browsing features such as the ability to slide pages, use menu overlays and transparent screens to offer a smooth user experience.

The use of mobile data has risen significantly in the two years since the development started, and Krogh claimed that the timing of the new launch had coincided well with this growth.

"We developed our first mobile browser in 2002 and it's been growing since then, but the growth we've seen this year is the highest we have ever recorded, " he said.