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Opera vice president speaks to The Daily Star
Tor Odland
Opera, one of the most versatile web browsers in the world, has recently released a customised version for Bangladeshi users which enables faster access to the content they care about and are locally relevant. For this Opera software and GrameenPhone signed an agreement so that subscribers of the mobile phone operator can use this version of the browser on their phones. The Daily Star (TDS) got hold of Tor Odland(TO), vice president, corporate communications of Opera during his visit to Bangladesh for a quick interview. TDS: Why should people use Opera? TO: We believe that Opera has similar experience with no matter what kind of phone or device they might have. What do we mean by experience? It should be giving you features that you find nowhere else. It is secure and it should be stable and should not crush. So we believe Opera has unique ability with all these. TDS: How do you compare Opera browser with the other browsers like Firefox or Safari? TO: In recent years quite a few good browsers have come up. We believe both Firefox and Safari are great. But we believe that Opera has something, particularly in innovation. Many of the new things you see in browsers, for example, the speed dial idea first came to Opera. So innovation is perhaps what we are distinguishing today. The speed dial is when you open the browser you will see there nine windows where you can put your favorite contents. You can go to the sites by a single click. And this speed dial option is available for all devices. TDS: Tell us about the market share of Opera? TO: We are the world leader in mobile browsing with about 20 per cent market share whereas on PCs we have about 3 per cent. In some countries we have about 30 per cent market shares, somewhere 4 or 1; it depends. But Opera is the leader of mobile phone and probably number 3 or 4 in PC's. TDS: How are you doing in Bangladesh? TO: I do not know the actual number. I think we are number 3 on PC's and leading browser on mobile phones. We have a significant number of market share in Bangladesh. TDS: Bangladesh government is going to introduce 3G technology soon. How can Opera benefit us? TO: Even if you have 3G you still need software in your phone that can handle pictures and texts and quick interaction. 3G will make it more popular for more people in Bangladesh. It will make the experience even smoother. Opera works well both in 3G and other networks. Still it gives you the faster experience. TDS: Opera is now providing 11.01 versions for PC's. What about mobile phone version? TO: The question about software versions and what that means is a long story. On PC we have reached 11 versions, you are right. Opera Mini is available in versions 4, 5 and 6. It depends on what handset you are using and what is optimal is given in the market. But generally speaking in Opera Mini the versions number does not matter. It gives the same faster internet experience. The number of version is more to do with the interface how you see it on your screen. TDS: What about the agreement between Opera and Grameenphone? TO: We made an arrangement with Grameenphone so that they can make our customised version available for their users. Customised version means users will get faster access to the content they care about that are locally relevant. Opera Mini will be preloaded on their phones. That means when you buy their phone it is already installed. Opera Mini is also available to download. The agreement is a number of things that makes easier for users to use the internet on their phones. I think by this both the Grameenphone and its subscribers would be benefited. TDS: What about the Opera community's status? How many people are engaged with this? TO: Opera community has six million members worldwide. It is mixed with Opera Mini's fan club as well as people just want to have a blog or social networking on their phones of PCs. So it is a mix community that is quite vibrant and growing very fast. Opera started in 1994 as a research project inside Norway's largest telecom company, Telenor. Within a year, it branched out into an independent development company named Opera Software ASA. Today, Opera Software develops the Opera Web browser, a high-quality, multi-platform product for a wide range of platforms, operating systems and embedded internet products including Mac, PC and Linux computers, mobile phones and PDAs, game consoles, and other devices like the Nintendo Wii, DS, Sony Mylo, and more. Opera's vision is to deliver the best internet experience on any device. Opera's key business objective is to earn global leadership in the market for PC/desktops and embedded products. Opera's main business strategy is to provide a browser that operates across devices, platforms and operating systems, and can deliver a faster, more stable and flexible Internet experience than its competitors. The Opera Mini web browser for mobile phones works on more than 3000 different handsets ranging from basic feature phones to high-end smartphones. It is the most popular browser in the world, with more than 90 million users every month. The Opera Mini browser uses Opera's servers to compress web pages up to 90 per cent of their original size before sending them to the phone. So pages arrive faster as the transferred data are smaller. On a pay-as-you-go plan, the Opera Mini browser dramatically cuts the price because the size of data are greatly reduced.
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