Opera Mobile 9.7 beta is now available to accelerate the mobile browsing experience for Windows Mobile-based phones. Speed is at the heart of this beta release due to the addition of Opera’s recently launched technology for faster surfing, Opera Turbo. Opera has also included its newly upgraded browser engine, called Opera Presto 2.2, for faster page loads and better overall performance. With the added bonus of Opera Widgets, Opera Mobile 9.7 gets you the Web content you want in fewer clicks and less time.

“There are other mobile browsers on the market that claim to be faster and more Web site-compatible on Windows-based phones, but I challenge users to take Opera Mobile for a test drive and discover a new standard for speed and compatibility. Opera Mobile 9.7 leaves other “sluggish” and “painfully slow” browsers in the dust,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software.

Opera Mobile 9.7 beta features a mobile version of Opera Turbo. This turbo-charged technology is made possible by:
- Server-accelerated rendering – Opera Mobile unburdens the mobile phone of its full rendering responsibilities by off-loading this task to Opera servers. This frees device resources, thus improving download rates and overall performance.
- Compression technology – Opera Turbo uses advanced compression technology to speed up data transfer and to reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded by up to 80 percent. This means that despite network shortcomings or in the absence of a powerful device, Opera Turbo enables a fast and rich browsing experience that is even faster than the most advanced 3G phones.

“It is our belief in One Web that challenges us to develop technology such as Opera Turbo.” von Tetzchner states. “Not everyone owns a 3G phone and not everyone needs to. This is why Opera’s focus is on improving our browser so that your EDGE network feels like you’re surfing 3G style or better.”

Opera’s latest rendering engine, Opera Presto 2.2, is under the hood of Opera Mobile 9.7 beta, Opera Presto 2.2, is Opera’s rendering engine that helps display Web pages on your phone up to 25 percent faster. Opera Presto 2.2 is the same rendering engine used in Opera’s desktop browser.

Currently available for Windows Mobile-based phones, you can download Opera Mobile 9.7 beta at http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/ while the Opera Widgets SDK is available for developers to download at http://dev.opera.com/sdk/.