Opera To Show Tablet-Focused Touch Browser

Opera Software plans to show off the first public preview of its touch browser for tablet and netbook computers at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011.

In a press advisory, Opera said its specialised browser for tablets “provides users with the smoothest tablet and netbook experience on the market”.

Opera 11

“In 2011, tablets are a new must-have,” said Christen Krogh, chief development officer at Opera in a statement. “Opera is creating waves with the first public preview of Opera for tablets. Opera for tablets brings the same trusted Internet experience to tablets and netbook PCs as users have come to love on their mobile phones and desktops.”

A video of first preview of Opera for tablets can be found here.

The new preview of Opera’s touch browser for tablets comes on the heels of the company’s launch of Opera 11 in mid-December. Opera 11 combines elegant design attributes, smart updates to some of the company’s most popular features and new ways to customise Opera to user preferences. And tablet users can download the Opera preview now for Windows, Mac and Linux computers from http://www.opera.com/.

Opera 11 features new capabilities including tab stacking, extensions, visual mouse gestures and a safer address field. Tab stacking is a better way for users to organise their open tabs by simply dragging one tab on top of another to create a stack. Regarding visual mouse gestures, with the flick of a wrist, mouse gestures enable users to navigate back and forward, open new pages, close tabs and more. In Opera 11, users now have a handy visual guide to the uses of mouse gestures. And to deliver a safer address field, Opera changed the address bar, so users can make better sense of the security levels of the sites they visit. Opera 11 now displays a clear badge indicating the security level and allowing immediate, one-click access to security and trust information about the site, Opera officials said.

Meanwhile, extensions help users personalise their browser and enhance what Opera can do. More than two million extensions have already been downloaded from https://addons.opera.com/. The top five most-downloaded extensions are:

• NoAds authored by Lex1. The top ad-blocking extension for Opera.
• LastPass authored by lastpass. LastPass is a free password manager and form filler.
• FastestTube – YouTube Video Downloader authored by fastesttube. Download any video from YouTube.
• Image preview authored by whochan. Displays a pop-up preview of an image.
• Translate authored by neilj. Automagically translates foreign-language webpages.

“We have always worked hard to introduce new and bold ideas in web browsing,” said Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera, in a statement. “But, sometimes we want to take an idea and improve upon it. Opera 11 adds a layer of polish to features people have known and loved for more than a decade, while introducing extensions. If you have never tried Opera before, Opera 11 will change everything you know about browsing.”