Opera Software on Tuesday took the lid off its final version of Opera 10. The free, open-source browser works on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms and offers three key features it hopes will woo browser users.
First, Opera 10 features Opera Turbo, a new compression technology that, when enabled, automatically detects slow speeds and provides broadband-like speeds. Once turned on, Turbo instantly compresses pages so less data  needs to be transferred over a limited connection.
Second, Opera 10 offers a new interface. And finally, Opera promises better tabs.
More than 40 million people use Opera, but the company has only two percent of the browser market. By contrast, Google Chrome has a 2.8 percent share, Safari holds four percent, Firefox boasts 22.9 percent, and Microsoft Internet Explorer dominates with 66.9 percent, according to Net Applications.
"At Opera, we have always worked hard to innovate new ways to improve everyone's browsing experience," said Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. "Opera Turbo is our newest innovation, and one we think everyone should try, because we all will face a slow connection at some point."
Pushing Browser Productivity
Opera is offering some productivity functions with the latest version. For example, Opera offers a built-in e-mail client. Opera Mail gives users options to organize, sort and search mail and contacts, and a new thread reader aims to make it easier for users to follow discussions. Opera 10 also features a spell checker.
Opera said it fine-tuned its overall speed, making the browser faster and smoother on resource-intensive pages such as Gmail, even without Opera Turbo. Opera also pointed to its adaptive memory-management function that works to conserve memory if a computer has limited RAM and uses more memory to enhance performance if the computer has memory to spare.
Opera 10 allows users to resize the tab bar by pulling down on it or double-clicking the handle. And Opera now shows users full thumbnails of all open tabs.
Does Opera Stand a Chance?
According to Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret, Opera 10 allows Opera to create browser technologies that serve as a testing bed of sorts for other platforms. The problem Opera faces is the same that other lesser-known browsers face: How to get consumers to visit a Web site and expend the effort to download and install the browser. Still, Gartenberg sees opportunity for Opera.
"People have been writing Opera off forever, yet here we are with version 10. Opera still has managed to stay in the game," Gartenberg said. "I think the important thing we're seeing is how Opera is finding ways to take this desktop technology and apply it to other spaces. Opera is enabling browsing technologies for TV sets and mobile phones, where ultimately the larger battles are going to be won."
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