CHT and Opera bring Hami services to more phones
Oslo, Norway and Taipei, Taiwan – February 22, 2011
Smartphones are not the only phones that give people access to Internet services. Any phone can, as long as it has a smart browser. Opera Software and Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd today launched a special version of the Opera Mini browser that will bring a faster, better and more affordable mobile Internet experience to mobile users in Taiwan. People can also access CHT’s Hami services, the value-added services developed by CHT, and get the best Internet experience possible on more than 3000 mobile phone models, including non-smartphones. CHT subscribers can simply dial 88866 on their phones to receive the instructions for download. It is totally free.
The Opera Mini browser is the world’s most popular browser for mobile phones, with more than 90.4 million monthly users as of January 2011. The browser is renowned for its compression technology, which leads to considerable monetary savings and page-load acceleration, even when surfing with basic mobile handsets. To bring more people access to the Web and online applications on their phones, Chunghwa Telecom and Opera Software have released a customized version of the Opera Mini browser, catering to the needs of mobile users in Taiwan. With this version, people can access popular websites such as Facebook, Plurk and local news portals with just a quick tap. Also, users can easily access the Hami portal directly from Speed Dial, to enjoy the wealth of the value-added information services brought by CHT.
“Everyone can browse easily with the Opera Mini browser because it is smart and user friendly,” said Vincent Li, Country Manager, Opera Software, Taiwan. “The secret is that the Opera browser offers text-wrapping technology, making it easy to read on mobile phones. This ensures that users can read most content without having to scroll sideways, facilitating an enjoyable browsing experience on a small-screen mobile device. Now my father is able to use Opera Mini on his mobile phone to check on his grandson’s status on Facebook.”
Shi Mu-piao, Vice President, Chunghwa Telecom said, “One of the obstacles to widespread adoption of the mobile Internet in Taiwan was the lack of a decent Internet browsing experience on non-smartphones. People have mobile phones that are Internet capable but they find it difficult to browse the Web like they do on PC. With the CHT-Opera Mini mobile browser, more people are able to browse the Web and Hami services with ease.”
Thanks to Opera’s compression technology, mobile phones with the CHT-Opera Mini browser can browse more webpages than other browsers do. For example, if a customer subscribes to the 3G plan with a monthly rate of NT 383 and uses it only for Internet browsing, he/she is able to browse up to 191.5MB with the CHT-Opera Mini browser while other browsers can only provide up to 19.15 MB.
All CHT subscribers can download the special version of the Opera Mini browser by directing their regular default mobile browser to m.opera.com/cht/. They can also dial 88866 on their mobile phones to receive instructions for download. The CHT-Opera Mini browser is completely free.
About Chunghwa Telecom
Chunghwa Telecom (TAIEX 2412, NYSE: CHT) is the leading telecom service provider in Taiwan. Chunghwa Telecom provides fixed line, mobile and Internet services to residential and business customers. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom was established as a company on July 1, 1996 as a result of the separation of the business and regulatory functions of the Directorate General of Telecommunications. The company is the largest telecommunications service provider in Taiwan with more than 9.68 million mobile subscriptions in 2010 and a workforce of approximately 24,474 employees. For more information, please visit www.cht.com.tw.