Opera Mini 4 Released in Beta

Opera Software has released a beta of version 4 of its popular Opera Mini browser for mobile phones, which integrates features the company designed for its Nintendo Wii browser. Now, users can see an entire Web page in "overview mode" and zoom in to specific parts.

When zooming, Opera Mini snaps to content so scrolling is smooth. A virtual mouse cursor aids users in moving down a page and selecting links, although the software resizes text and images to reduce the amount of scrolling required.

Opera says the new Mini is twice as fast as any other mobile browser, and compares its offering with the capabilities of Apple's new iPhone in a spoof video. Because it is based on Java, Opera Mini can work on any handset, anywhere in the world, and is free to use, the company points out.

"We are excited to share the beta with the fast-growing community of Opera Mini users," said Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. "The feedback from the beta users will go to make Opera Mini even better and we thank the community for their efforts. Opera Mini has succeeded only due to the support of the people who have made it the most popular mobile browser available today."

Opera says more than 15 million people have used Opera Mini since its worldwide debut in 2006. For more information on Opera Mini 4 Beta, and to download the software directly to a phone, visit the browser's homepage. Palm and Blackberry versions are available for manual download and installation.