Opera adds data usage monitoring to Mini and Mobile browsers

Opera Software has updated two of its mobile browsers, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile, with data counting mechanisms that will allow users to see how much web data they are using.

The company made the announcement at its Up North event in Norway, where it also previewed the next version of its desktop browser, Opera 12.

Opera Mini 6.5 and Mobile 11.5 are freely available to download today for Android phones.

Customers will be able to access a page from the help menu in the browsers that will show them how much data they are using.

This information will allow them to analyse how much data they have used during specific time frames, and could be particularly useful to calculate roaming charges on trips abroad.

As well as showing how much data customers have spent, the new tool will show users how much data they have saved using Opera Turbo, the firm's compression technology, which reduces the size of web pages by up to 90 per cent, according to the firm.

"A lot of people don't realise how much money they can save on data traffic, people naturally want an easy way to measure how much data they use," said Lars Boilesen, Opera Software chief executive.

"Now, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile will show exactly how much data you save by using our cloud-assisted technology."

Opera Mini is a fully-fledged browser for high-end smartphones and tablets that have powerful processors that can deal with a high level of demand.

Meanwhile, Opera Mini is a cloud-based browser that uses Opera's servers to deliver web pages to both smartphones and basic mobile phones.

Opera Turbo is always switched on in Mini but users of the Mobile browser can switch off Turbo.

"If Opera Mobile customers are using a capable Wi-Fi network, they may want to switch off the Turbo as the data savings technology can slow down connections slightly, as it routes all traffic through Opera's servers," an Opera spokesperson told V3.

Additionally, the latest releases of the Mini and Opera browsers both have tighter integration with the Android operating system. A bookmark import function allows mobile users to transfer existing bookmarks on their device to the Opera browsers.