Virgin Mobile USA gets lightning fast Opera Mini Web browser

Oslo, Norway – April 1, 2009

Opera Software announced today its agreement with Virgin Mobile USA to distribute Opera Mini on several Virgin Mobile USA handsets. Virgin Mobile USA subsidiary Helio LLC was the first U.S. carrier to sign a deal with Opera Mini in the United States. Partnering with a major carrier such as Virgin Mobile USA gives Opera an opportunity to spread its footprint in the United States. Opera Mini will be available as a free application download on select devices for Virgin Mobile USA prepaid customers via the VirginXL download storefront. In the future, Opera Mini will come pre- installed on selected Virgin Mobile USA handsets.

Starting April 14, 2009, this service will be available on eight Virgin Mobile USA handsets including the Slash from Samsung, and the Arc, Shuttle and Super Slice.

“This partnership is a great way for Opera to reach Virgin Mobile USA’s large customer base in the United States,” said Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner. “It demonstrates that Virgin Mobile USA recognizes Opera as a valuable service for its customers, who will now be able to enjoy Opera Mini’s speed and amazing feature set while browsing on the go.”

Opera Mini is a lightweight, client-server-based mobile browser that delivers Web pages with lightning speed and has more than 20.5 million users worldwide every month. In the United States, Opera Mini is growing fast with 73 percent year-over-year growth and each user having 222 page views per month on an average, according to Opera’s latest State of the Mobile Web report.

“We are excited to continue growing our relationship with Opera and to give our prepaid customers the choice of using Opera Mini for their browsing needs,” said Doug Britt, Vice President, Mobile Data Services at Virgin Mobile USA. “Increasingly, our customers expect complete Internet browsing from their phone, and Opera Mini delivers the mobile browsing experience our customers demand.”

The Opera Mini build for Virgin Mobile USA will support both English and Spanish language support, the first such offering from a U.S. carrier and Opera. The Opera Mini application will be available to Virgin Mobile USA prepaid customers at standard data prices.

Media Contacts

Opera Software
Falguni Bhuta
408-712-3286

Virgin Mobile USA
Corinne Nosal
908-607-4235

About Virgin Mobile USA

Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., through its operating company Virgin Mobile USA, L.P., offers millions of customers control, flexibility and choice through Virgin Mobile’s Plans Without Annual Contracts and postpaid offerings through Helio By Virgin Mobile, with national coverage for both powered by the Sprint PCS network.

Virgin Mobile USA is known for its award-winning customer service, with 90% of its own customers reporting satisfaction. Virgin Mobile USA allows customers to earn free minutes in exchange for viewing advertising content online through the innovative Sugar Mama program. Virgin Mobile USA’s full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets are available at approximately 40,000 top retailers nationwide and online at http://www.virginmobileusa.com/, with Top-Up cards available at more than 140,000 locations. Advanced postpaid devices like the Ocean 2 and unlimited All-in voice plans are now also part of Virgin Mobile USA’s diverse offerings.