Microsoft's non-WP Nokia phones to come with Opera Mini as default browser

Opera Software has announced that it has signed a contract with Microsoft to provide its own Opera Mini as the default pre-installed Internet browser on Nokia feature phones. It will replace in-house developed Xpress from the Nokia Series 30+, 40, and Asha models. Current users will be encouraged to update, whereas new devices will come with Opera pre-installed.

The browser's developers have stated to be very happy with the deal. They say they've been dreaming of such a licensing deal for more than 10 years. The agreement is expected to be profitable for Opera from the get-go, as it marked a 6.5% rise in Opera's shares on the day of signing. The company's Q2 report also looks good, with a growth of up to $27 million in earnings, $2.3 million more than analysts expected.

Opera Mini is arguably one of the best browsers for feature phones. It's a cloud-assisted browser, which compresses the data up to 90%, before streaming it to the user. The result is a fast browsing experience with less used data. Even though Nokia's Xpress browser does much of the same, we guess Microsoft decided that Opera does it better.

source: Opera via Reuters