Opera claims 100 million mobile users

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Mobile web users set to dominate web traffic as a whole, says browser firm

Opera has more than 100 million mobile users, according to its own figures, and has predicted that it will not be long before mobile use overtakes its PC equivalent.

Opera's State of the Mobile Web report found that the firm has 90.4 million Opera Mini users and 15 million Opera Mobile users.

"Experts all have some date when they claim the mobile web will overtake the PC web. We're watching that transition now," said Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera Software.

"But rather than think of numbers, we think of people. One hundred million is the beginning of a new era for the web. In the next few years, hundreds of millions of people will take their first steps online. They will make their voices heard across their country and around the world."

Hoping to keep this momentum growing, Opera will release new versions of its mobile Mini browser at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona next week for Android, iPhone, J2ME, BlackBerry, Symbian and iPad devices.

Lars Boilesen, chief executive at Opera Software explained that the firm is also working to reduce power consumption.

"We want our browser to impact lives in a meaningful way. It's one reason we use mostly renewable resources to power Opera Mini's servers," he added.

"It's why we make it light, so you don't have to recharge your battery every few hours. It's why Opera Mini and Opera Mobile can help operators reduce the bandwidth that clogs their networks. A browser may never change the world, but we'll never stop trying."

Developers working with the Opera software can now use the company's OperaWatir and OperaDriver tools, which let developers build automated tests for sites and applications that mirror the behaviour of a typical web user.

Opera expects that the tools, which test at the front and back end, and simulate a user interacting with pages, clicking links, entering text and submitting forms, will improve browser compatibility.

"The web works best when it works everywhere, and OperaWatir and OperaDriver represent another step in making that a reality," said Christen Krogh, chief development officer for Opera Software.

"We can help developers spend less time testing and more time doing what they love. Everyone wins, and the web takes a step forward in cross-browser compatibility."

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