Opera Mini 5.1 arrives for Windows Mobile devices

Opera has launched Mini 5.1 for Windows Mobile devices, bringing the latest version of the popular mobile browser to Microsoft's smartphone operating system.

Mini 5.1 has already been released for Java, Android and BlackBerry phones, and will now run on Windows Mobile 2003 SE, 5.x and 6.x handsets.

Opera claims that this will allow users of mobile phones running these operating systems to load web pages far faster than regular mobile browsers, helping cut down on data costs.

The firm also touted some of the browser's performance specifications, including support for high-resolution displays, auto-rotation, and improved page layouts and font rendering.

Opera Mini product manager Philip Grønvold believes that the availability of the browser on so many existing Windows platforms will make it one of the most widely compatible browsers on the market.

"A lot of Windows Mobile phones do basic things very well, but web browsing not so much. We are hoping to breathe new life into phones by improving and enhancing their internet capabilities," he said.

"The main areas that people focus on for phones is Apple and Android, but there are millions of Windows Mobile phones in markets like China and India, so the release of 5.1 will help them get online and reduce data use."

Grønvold added that the update for Windows Mobile had taken slightly longer than other versions owing to the sheer breadth of devices on the Windows platform that the firm's 700-odd engineers had to test.

Users wishing to download the new browser should visit m.opera.com with the phone's default browser, from which Opera will automatically select the optimised version to download.