Opera debuts new version of smartphone browser

The browser company launched Tuesday its newest version of its mobile browser, redesigning the interface and improving overall speed.

Opera Mobile shouldn't be confused with its Mini product. The mobile version is aimed at the feature and smartphone market, while Opera Mini is a BREW-based browser that can be used by most traditional phones that support Java.

Available on several different platforms including Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Linux, the browser is currently included on more than 100 million phones through companies such as Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and others.

Both offer a desktop-like experience through the use of zooming and panning which allows the browser to display Web pages like they would on the desktop. Additionally, a rendering engine known as Presto helps speed page loading.

That combined with support for Web 2.0, Opera widgets, and Adobe's Flash technology should allow for most pages to be displayed as they were intended. Opera said that this technology -- Flash Lite 3 -- will even allow users to view YouTube videos on the phone.

Opera Mobile 9.5 also includes technologies that allow providers to serve web content on the "idle screen," which has become another way to reach consumers by placing content where they don't need to click through to view it.

"Opera Mobile is the result of Opera's unwavering commitment to a vision that puts a true Web experience in the hands of mobile users," CEO Jon von Tetzchner said in a statement.