The iPhone version of Opera has been submitted to the App Store

Mar 23, 2010 15:16 GMT  ·  By

Opera Software has made good on its promise to submit the iPhone version of its web browser to Apple, in what is “part of Opera’s mission to bring the Web to all platforms and all devices,” according to an official report posted today. The company has recently disclosed its plans to submit Opera Mini to Apple for approval in the App Store, and has expressed confidence that the Mac maker will allow it to run on iPhones alongside Safari, Apple’s own web browser.

“Opera Mini for iPhone was officially submitted to the Apple iPhone App store today,” Opera Software has announced in a press release dated March 23rd. “A select few first saw it at Mobile World Congress 2010 in February. Now, the ‘fast like a rocket’ browser is taking its first big step towards giving users a new way to browse on the iPhone,” the company says.

It goes to mention that Opera Mini for iPhone is much faster than mobile Safari, thanks to server-side rendering. Opera’s browser compresses data before sending it to the device, which results in rapid page loading, Opera explains. “Those familiar with iPhone roaming charges will relish Opera Mini’s ability to deliver more for less, giving users the Web they want quickly, without, the high costs,” the company proudly states.

“The Opera Mini for iPhone sneak peek during MWC told us that we have something special,” Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder, Opera Software, states. “Opera has put every effort into creating a customized, stylized, feature-rich and highly responsive browser that masterfully combines iPhone capabilities with Opera’s renowned Web experience, and the result is a high performing browser for the iPhone.”

Softpedia note

Although Opera Software is enthusiastic about submitting Opera Mini to the App Store – even posting a page to track the time since the app was submitted –, Apple may burst the Norwegian company’s bubble with one of its many rejection methods, such as citing duplication of functionality. The Cupertino-based Mac maker is known to dislike applications that replicate features found in its own software, Opera making no exception if we’re to take into account the app’s main purpose. However, in doing so, Apple would protect its browser’s market-share while depriving the iPhone user of choice. Also worth noting is that Opera Mini is now the world’s most popular mobile web browser, having crossed the 50-million-unique-monthly-user mark in January 2010.