Opera Mobile

This is a great day here at Opera. This morning we released Opera Mini - free of charge - to the entire world. Now most people can surf the full Web on the phone they have today. That's pretty neat, if you ask me.

Here are some resources:

The official Opera Mini Web site
Press release
Images for editorial use

Brian and Thomas put it well in the my.opera.com announcement...

Ok, so the news will reach you very soon: We've silently removed the restrictions on downloading Opera Mini. The official launch with bells and whistles and fireworks will be in late January, and lifting the restrictions was done to increase the server traffic as we are scaling up for the big, global launch. We may or may not restrict access again before the official launch, but for now Opera Mini is available, free of charge, to everyone. All you have to do is direct your phone's WAP browser to http://mini.opera.com.

I feel I am balancing on the edge here, because we could use a good pre-launch buzz on Opera Mini, but at the same time it is important that we don't get too much publicity now instead of in January. Opera Mini has been hailed by the industry and we at Opera are not the only ones who are very excited about its launch. With Opera Mini, almost everyone can get full Web access on the phone they already have, which is pretty cool, but just as important is looking at it from an industry level. With Opera Mini we are really bringing Mobile Web into the mainstream, with all the obvious implications and benefits that has for operators, content providers and end-users. January will be very exciting.

You should also check the Opera Mini forums on my.opera.com, where users share experiences, tips and tricks.

We announced the Opera Platform SDK in connection with the W3C's MWI event in London on November 15. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should!

Opera Platform SDK is free to download and enables you to quickly create AJAX type applications for mobile phones. These "widgets" are small applications that are directly accessible from your phone, and can get you info on anything from the local weather forecast to your e-bay bidding status or when the next bus leaves - with one click. Opera Platform uses open standards Web technologies to develop advanced applications for mobile phones quickly and cheaply. Read more about it here.

We also have an Opera Platform competition going where you can a Nokia N70.

As Christmas is almost upon us, we want to spread some joy. We're pleased that the Nokia 770 has received great reviews, and extra pleased because it is the Opera browser that is giving people this great surfing experience on this device!

We are giving away two Nokia 770 Internet Tablets through our competition - all you have to do is show us how you would use it if you had one! Sign up here: I WANT TO WIN A 770!

Today we launched Opera Mini in Germany, and the pick-up seems to be very good. Jakob and I have been on a mini press tour in the major cities this week, and if you want to help - visit popular German forums, blogs, newsgroups, article comments on Opera Mini and spread the word!