Opera Mini receives official App Store approval

by Stevie Smith - Apr 13 2010, 06:04

If you’re an iPhone user not openly enamoured by Apple’s default Web browsing platform, a downloadable alternative is available from today following news that Norway-based Opera Software has received official App Store approval for its Opera Mini browser.

Interestingly, Opera’s submission to the App Store remained in the review process for just shy of three weeks, an unusually long period of time given that most software apps are issued with admission or refusal within a week.

The delay perhaps suggests something of a difficult and drawn-out decision for Apple insofar as its own browser has been the only Web surfing option available through the App Store up until this point.

In terms of what iPhone users can expect from the Opera browser, its creators claim the platform will deliver download performance that’s up to six times faster than Apple’s browser, while also taking the strain off network operators by cutting back on data traffic by as much as 90 percent.

Free to download, the Opera Mini browser for iPhone is also compatible with the iPod Touch handset and Apple’s new iPad tablet computer (iPhone OS v2.2.1 or higher on all devices).

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