14 DAY TRIAL // As the mobile Internet market is in continuous expansion, Opera is carrying the day on the German segment. The company has just signed an agreement with Debitel, the largest mobile phone operator in Germany. Debitel will pre-install the Opera Mini web browser on seven of its phones that will be released this summer. Moreover, the users' access to the Internet will be facilitated by Dashboard, an application that allows them connection from the very homescreen.
As a study performed by Opera shows, when it comes to mobile Internet use, Germans are mostly interested in entertainment. 28% of the total users prefer sports, lifestyle and other leisure contents. However, the most surprising part comes from the online mobile shopping stats: 7% of the Germans employ their mobile phones to buy things from the Internet, which makes them the most fanatic users of e-commerce from all the countries that were included in the survey - the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K., South Africa and India.
Debitel has previously brought into play the mobile Internet browser from Opera, but this is the first time that the company has decided to move further with the collaboration, by sparing the users the trouble of having to install the net application after buying the phone. "We have successfully partnered with Opera Software for the past two years, and Opera Mini has proven itself to be an asset to our business, not only delivering an incomparable Web experience but also a solid revenue source," said Martin Witt, head of products and innovations at Debitel, explaining the reasons for the in-depth partnership with the provider.
The representatives at Opera also see the agreement as an opportunity, not only for them, but also for the German consumers, who will have something to entertain themselves with this summer. Jon von Tetzchner, CEO at Opera Software, talks about the "8.3 million German subscribers who now have access to a better, faster Web while on the go or in the sand," underscoring that "Opera Mini has taken Germany by storm." Indeed, other significant mobile phones operators, like O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone, have previously implemented Opera's browser to provide their users with Internet.