Oslo, Norway and Beijing, PRC – April 25, 2006
Opera Software today opened the doors to its new offices in Beijing to strengthen its position in the fast-growing Chinese telecommunications industry. Opera has a history of success in China, where the Opera browser is already deployed on millions of PCs and mobile phones, including the prestigious ZTE e3, China’s first domestically developed smartphone. The Opera browser is also being used by Datang Mobile to demonstrate the capacity of China’s new 3G network. With the new Beijing office, Opera is securing a strategic foothold in the emerging Chinese market and reinforcing its partnerships with local companies.
“With some of the world’s best engineers hungry to prove their expertise,China is on the fast track of becoming the world-leader in mobile phoneand other telecommunications development,” said Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO,Opera Software. “We see ample opportunities to expand our operationsthrough mutually beneficial business relationships with Chinese partners,and we are pleased to reach more consumers who want a new option for safeand fast Web browsing. China is key to our long-term strategy.”
Opera already has business relationships with Chinese and China-basedcompanies such as ZTE, Datang Mobile, RedFlag Linux, Sony Ericsson, Nokia,Motorola, MontaVista, Trolltech and more.
China has more than 100 million Internet users, and the number isincreasing rapidly. Over 400 million people own a mobile phone, providinga massive market potential for Opera’s browsers and a myriad businessopportunities for operators and content providers using Opera’s technology.
A global market leader, Opera Software has pioneered Web browsertechnology since 1995. Opera is used on more than 40 million mobile phones from the leading vendors worldwide, and the Opera desktop browser has beendownloaded over 100 million times. Opera’s flagship desktop browser isavailable as a free download in Simplified or Traditional Chinese fromwww.opera.com, and the Opera Mobile browser is available fromwww.opera.com/mobile. With its unique browser technology, Opera alsooffers compelling solutions for integrating advanced Web-basedapplications and services with mobile phones, media players, set-top boxesand other multimedia devices.