Opera Mini Now on Tata Indicom Handsets

Opera Software has announced an initiative with Tata Teleservices to provide Opera Mini on its upcoming BREW-enabled handsets. The browser will be made available first on the Huawei C2900i, a mass market BREW-enabled handset.

This is the first delivery of Opera Mini on a BREW-enabled handset and marks Opera's entry into the Indian market.

According to Gartner India's mobile phone market is set for a period of rapid growth, with revenue from cellular services expected to jump by more than 18 per cent year on year for the next five years. Indian mobile data revenue is expected to outpace that of voice services and contribute to about a fifth of total revenues by 2011, doubling year on year.

A report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, (TRAI) the Indian telecom industry watchdog, suggests that the number of Indian consumers connecting to the Internet via mobile handsets has more than doubled in just over a year - to 38 million from 16 million.

Mobile web browser Opera Mini, will provide users with access to the Web on the go. Opera Mini will also support local language Web sites such as BBC Hindi, Dainik Bhaskar and others and will include bookmarks, secure access to e-mail and online banking.

"We are bringing the world's best mobile Web browsing experience to India and are the first operator to enable this experience for Indian consumers. Mobile Web on affordable mobile devices will open up the power of the Internet to a huge base of consumers, in a language of their choice. Tata Indicom's superior CDMA capabilities, coupled with Opera Mini's unique capabilities, will bring a delightful browsing experience to our customers," said Pankaj Sethi, President, VAS & Enterprise Marketing, Tata Teleservices Ltd.

"India continues to be an important market for Opera and we are excited to partner with Tata Teleservices to offer the full power of the Internet to mobile users in India. Opera's focus on innovation is what differentiates the company in the market today. The new Opera Mini on BREW solution clearly demonstrates our vision and commitment to providing an outstanding Web browsing experience on mobile phones to customers in India," says Jon von Tetzchner, Chief Executive Officer, Opera Software.