Vestel selects Opera for its interactive hotel TVs
Oslo, Norway, – September 11, 2008
Opera Software today announced that Vestel, the largest TV manufacturer in Europe, has selected Opera Devices 9.5 to bring Web technology to the Vestel Interactive Hotel TV offering. Vestel Hotel TV viewers will now be able to easily navigate the full Web, including favorite sites such as Google, YouTube and Facebook, with Opera’s tailored-for-TV features such as Opera Zoom. Opera 9.5 will also serve as a presentation engine for Vestel devices, allowing Vestel to create menus and applications with easy-to-use HTML, JavaScript and CSS technologies.
Vestel has made a name for itself in the hospitality sector, providing in-room entertainment and communications systems through its Vestel Interactive Hotel TV program. This program provides in-room entertainment and serves as a communications system for hotel guests. Opera will now be in the hands of hotel guests around the world, helping them to stay connected while away from home and the office.
“For Vestel, Opera serves as a one-stop shop by providing them with the tools needed to present on-screen information, as well as to deliver Web-based services. This will reduce costs and save time, as their developers can quickly and easily produce results using Web technology,” says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “Vestel has chosen to license Opera’s SDK for use on multiple devices, meaning our one SDK can easily be integrated on the different devices that Vestel offers.”
Opera for Devices continues to be the browser of choice for connected TV and set-top box deployments, including the Sony Bravia TV. By choosing Opera, TV manufacturers are able to take advantage of a device-tailored browser and presentation engine that are simple and cost-effective to implement. End-users will discover an intuitive browser that keeps up with their rapid surfing rates and allows them to zoom in on specific content while easily navigating from page-to-page.
“As the European leader in TV manufacturing, we have set high standards for ourselves in terms of our partners. Opera is well-known in the consumer electronics market as the browser to use if you want a best-in-breed product,” says Metin Salt, VP of Engineering, Vestel Group. “Today hotel guests expect a top-of-the-line solution in their hotel rooms. They want to turn on their TVs, check their email, order dinner and find out the weather. With Opera, we are able to meet these needs and more.”
About Vestel
Vestel Group is comprised of 24 companies operating in manufacturing, technology development, marketing, and distribution fields in the consumer electronics, IT, digital technologies, and household appliances, with a 3.7 billion turnover. Vestel is the largest TV manufacturer in Europe, accounting for 21% of the total TV, and 11% of the LCD TV, as well as 25% of the digital set-top boxes markets in Europe.