Opera Mini browser coming to Verizon's feature phones

The Opera Mini Web browser, on which many Java-based phones count for a rich Web experience, will finally be preloaded with feature phones on Verizon Wireless, confirmed the company. Now the carrier's feature phones use predominantly the Polaris browser, which is a far cry from Opera's technology.

Sprint's, and, recently, AT&T's feature phones, are including Opera Mini as their mobile browser of choice, and now Verizon follows suit. Opera Mini compresses the websites on its own servers, and is optimized for low-bandwidth, low-signal situations, as it serves highly optimized content, which loads quickly. Of course, that means streaming Flash videos and complex Java are a no-go, but the generally weaker feature phones wouldn't be capable to display them properly anyway. Opera Mini offers bookmarks, tabbed browsing, auto-completion, and other modern browser goodies.

Yesterday Opera also announced that its browsing technology will be a platform for reaching millions of users via an Open Mobile Ad Exchange service. The ad campaigns can be tailored for maximum efficiency, appearing not in the browser itself, but rather as normal website advertising. The deal with Verizon will definitely expand Opera's presence, visibility and ways to monetize the work behind Opera Mini, and the other mobile versions of one of the most popular browsers for mobile devices.

source: Opera & PCMag