Lately, software producers and online service providers have started to focus more on offering applications and features compatible with mobile phones and Opera made its contribution to the project by quietly releasing a version of a browser meant to be installed on Java-compatible mobile phones.

All users which own Java compatible cell phones can install the Opera Mini browser even if the official worldwide launch was scheduled for January. The Finnish software producer decided to lift the restrictions that previously allowed only residents of some Nordic countries and Germany to download the application.

Even if usually full Web browsing is available on smartphones or handsets with powerful processing capabilities, the Opera Mini browser is designed to improve on the limited Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) surfing available on many phones, allowing users of Java-capable cell phone to surf the Web. To simplify the amount of information sent to the phone, the browser, which takes up only 100KB in size, communicates with servers operated by Opera that strip down the size of Web pages, making them easier and faster to transmit to the mobile phone.