Opera Software released a banner-free version of its freely downloadable Web browser Tuesday, and logged more than a million downloads within two days, it says. Elimination of the ads was made possible in part by healthy revenue streams from embedded versions, a company spokesperson said.

Opera will continue to offer commercially supported versions of the browser to corporate customers and individuals, the company says.

Opera desktop spokesperson Thomas Ford told DesktopLinux.com, “We moved to do this immediately once the proper revenue streams could be secured. We have strong revenue streams for our embedded [story] and mobile [story] browsers. We will also create revenues from search, like other commercial browsers.”

In particular, Opera likely receives a solid revenue stream from Motorola, which licenses its browser for use in its Linux-based mobile phones, such as the 780 (pictured at right). The browser is also expected to see use in Nokia's 770 Internet Tablet, expected to ship in the US this fall.

Mozilla Inc.'s open source Firefox browser has made strong inroads against Microsoft's Internet Explorer in recent months, resulting in Redmond's browser falling below 90 percent US marketshare (and below 70 percent in Germany) earlier this year. In May, WebSideStory listed browser marketshares for the US, Germany, and Japan, as follows:

Browser	US	Germany	Japan
Internet Explorer	88.86%	69.45%	93.92%
Firefox	6.75%	22.58%	2.79%
Non-firefox Mozilla/Netscape	2.23%	3.77%	1.26%
Other (includes Opera)	2.06%	4.12%	1.94%
Source: WebSideStory, May 2005

WebSideStory began breaking out Firefox marketshare individually starting in February of this year.

Ford said Opera's main objective is to “substantially increase our market share. This will help Opera have a greater impact on the future of Web innovation. We also want to give users a choice. Because of today's move, more people can experience a safer, faster Internet. We did not want the presence of ad banners or licensing fees to hinder that.”

Ford said that this move shouldn't be viewed as a challenge to other Internet companies. “This is really about choice. More choice allows people to select the best browser for their needs. It also gives them an alternative to OS-bundled browsers,” Ford said.

Over one million served

According to Opera, more than a million copies of the free, banner-less Opera browser were downloaded during the first two days of availability, doubling a previous download record set in April when the company released Opera 8.

Server log analysis showed the majority of downloads coming from Internet Explorer users. However, Opera can be configured to identify itself as IE, suggesting some downloaders may have been running earlier, or non-free, versions of Opera, the company says.

“The success of our free browser proves the world is ready for a fresh option,” said Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner. “I'm most excited about the hundreds of thousands of new users who have discovered the speed, security and usability of our browser for the first time.”

Key Features

Opera lists the following key features for its Opera Web browser:

• Navigate quickly using intuitive mouse gestures and browser tabs
• Start from where your last browsing session ended or save your entire session
• Access downloaded files quickly with the transfer manager
• Protect against identity theft and phishing with integrated security features
• Surf the Web hands-free using voice commands
• Shop Amazon, browse Ebay, and search the Web with Google from the address bar
• Set reminders for Web pages you visit with the notes feature

A more detailed list of features can be found here.

Availability

The ad-free Opera browser, offered in 20 languages, is now available for free download here, with free online support resources available here. The complete download is less than 4 MB.

Opera's premium support costs $29 per year, and is supplied via email in English for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems. Under the premium support arrangement, Opera's support representatives are available to help with installation and/or upgrade, migration from another browser, configuration and customization, and in resolving other support issues. Response time is approximately 24 hours (regular business days, excluding weekends and Norwegian public holidays), the company said.

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