Android Market gets Opera Mini 4.2 beta

Two weeks ago, Opera released the beta of Opera Mini 4.2. This morning it's been made available to Android users directly from the Android Market.

Android Market, the open mobile OS's app store, has been graced with only a handful of blockbuster applications, most of which were released when the T-Mobile G1 was released.

Now, however, the first alternative to the G1's built-in browser is available. The major updates in this version from version 4.1 is a purported page rendering speed boost, and the ability to play back video supported by the device without the need for a browser plug-in.

Opera has opened a new server park in the United States, which handles page rendering for North America and Asia-Pacific users, promising an overall increase in speed for all Opera Mini users. The company now claims over 20 million users of Opera Mini, an increase of 3 million in just a single quarter, so the additional server facility will help alleviate this increased traffic.

As the only other browser choice for Android users, Opera may well see yet another sharp increase in the size of its user base.