– Opera Mini pre-installed with TCL and Haier- Opera Mini growth of over 700%
Oslo, Norway and Beijing, China – June 9, 2008
Since its arrival in Beijing, China, Opera Software, the world’s leading developer of Web browsing solutions, has maintained strong growth momentum in the vibrant market. Opera today announced that Haier, a leading handset manufacturer and popular consumer brand in China, has chosen to pre-install Opera Mini on three new handsets. Starting immediately, Haier’s N81, N82 and N86 handsets will come loaded with Opera Mini via its partnership with KongZhong, allowing Haier customers to access all their favorite Web sites.
Similarly, TCL, another well-known brand in China, has opted to pre-install Opera Mini, Opera’s lightweight and fast mobile browser, on its upcoming A800 handset.
Opera continues to expand its customer base as more companies realize the need to offer full Web browsing solutions to their customers. TCL and Haier join leading service providers and manufacturers such as KongZhong, Sony Ericsson, ZTE and others who have harnessed the power of Opera’s mobile Web browsing solutions to deliver a fast, robust Web experience that makes the most of everyday mobile handset technology.
Rising demand for full Web browsing
Today, 54% of people surfing the mobile Web come from outside the US and Europe. According to analytics firm Bango, China has fast risen up the mobile Web surfing charts, securing the position of one of the top six countries in the world to access the mobile Web. Such statistics clearly highlight the rising demand for full Web browsing.
“Opera is addressing a critical need in the marketplace,” said James Wei, Senior Vice President of Opera in Asia. “Service providers in China not only need to provide access to the full Web, they also need to ensure that the consumer experience is as simple and productive as possible. Additionally, costs must be kept under control, while increasing average revenue per user (ARPU). With its heritage of innovation and dedication to quality service, Opera is poised to be an ideal partner in providing the highest level of quality service and capabilities to our customers.”
Opera Mini growth in China
Opera Mini today boasts a cumulative user base of over 44 million* worldwide. According to Opera’s “State of the Mobile Web” report issued in May 2008, more than 11.9 million Opera Mini users browsed 2.4 billion pages and generated more than 33 million MB of data traffic for operators worldwide.
In China, Opera Mini has seen its user base grow by over 700% since January 2007.
Based on research from China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC), for many of China’s tech-savvy citizens, the mobile phone is becoming the preferred means of using the Internet. The number of people who access the Internet through their mobile phone surged to 44 million in the first half from 17 million at the end of last year.
Top 3 reasons why consumers and businesses prefer Opera Mini:
- Speed – Opera Mini utilizes compression technology to pre-process Web pages and reduce data size by up to 90% before sending them to your phone, enabling fast browsing.
- Costs – As pages are reduced in size, Opera Mini users can now surf more and ensure cost for data transfer are kept under control, driving higher data traffic revenues.
- Usability – Opera Mini is simple to use, lightweight and works on almost any handset.
“With Opera Mini, I can easily get all the information that I need wherever I am. Opera Mini is beautiful, user-friendly, convenient, and brings the full Web to me – I simply love it!” said Zhang Chi, an Opera Mini user in China.
*44 million users do not include distribution deals with business customers.