opera – Tech Raman

Opera brings Ad blocker to mainstream in its desktop and mobile browser

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 04 May 2016 10:12:00 +0000

Ad blockers are nightmare for publishers, especially independent publishers an bloggers like me for whom ads are the biggest source of revenue to keep us sustainable. Still, many users seem to install ad blockers to ‘kill’ the ads from their screen plus it also reduces the data consumption and speeds the website loading time. The sad truth for publishers is Ad blockers are here to stay. Opera introduced the Ad blocker as part of the browser setting in the developer version and today they released the stable version of Opera browser with the feature built-in. Both the Opera browser for Desktop and the Opera Mini for Android now comes with the feature that can be enabled by the user. Good news for the publisher though, if they can convince their user, they can add the website to the exception list and support their favourite websites. (If you are reading this, please support us!) The Opera browser for desktop also comes with a shield icon at the search and addres bar, which can be toggled on/off to enable or disable the feature for the webpage you landed. Opera says by integrating the ad-blocker technology directly into the browser code, the new Opera for computers speeds up page loading by as much as 89% compared to browsing without ad blocking. They also say it can be 45% faster than using a third-party ad-blocking extensions. Opera claims, the Opera Mini for Android can load webpages 40% faster when the Ad-blocker feature is enabled. By removing online ads, it can also save on the data consumption.

How to activate the native ad-block technology in the Opera browser

Opera Mini Under the “O” menu in Opera Mini, tap the data-savings summary. From there, simply toggle “block ads” on and off. On Android, the ad blocker is available in both high and extreme-savings modes.

Opera for desktop

The integrated ad blocker can be enabled with a single click in settings. To deactivate it for a specific website, click the shield icon in the search and address bar and flip the switch. The dialog shows statistics on how many ads you’ve blocked overall, as well as on the current page. You can also compare the webpage’s load speed with and without ad blocking. ]]>

Opera browser now comes with free VPN for anonymous internet access

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 07:06:34 +0000

Some websites are Geo-restricted and some governments are overzealous in curbing internet, plus some users prefer anonymity when surfing. Virtual Private Networks has been popular with folks to access blocked websites and also remain anonymous. There are free VPNs but the good ones comes at a price. Now, Opera has integrated a free VPN to their developer version of their Opera browser. “Now, you don’t have to download VPN extensions or pay for VPN subscriptions to access blocked websites and to shield your browsing when on public Wi-Fi.” says the company’s blog post. The move is part of Opera’s active strategy to woo the tech-savvy generation to its browser and this roll out is after the native ad blocker which they adopted into their browser recently. Opera quotes a survey which says half a billion people (24% of the world’s internet population) have tried or are currently using VPN services / proxy servers, which is a pretty big figure and one-third of the young people are actively using it. So it makes sense for Opera by including the VPN into its browser.

Some of the features of the Opera VPN are:

It lets you hide your IP address
It unblocks firewalls and websites inspite of Geo-restrictions and government or institution blocked websites and services.
Go anonymous when surfing on public Wi-Fi

Check the video below from Opera for more. https://youtu.be/OgOsu2PipmE ]]>

Opera Max now helps save upto 50% data from music streaming apps

Lakshmi Rajan — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 11:35:13 +0000

Smartphone is becoming the main choice of media consumption in India and while the Smartphones are becoming very affordable, spending on data is very calculated. When people plan their data spend, they look at optimizing the data wisely. It’s where Opera Max comes into picture. Opera Max is a data-management and data-saving app for Android phones which can save data drastically as much as 50%. Opera Max is the first app in the world to optimize the video and music streaming apps and save the data. A month ago, the company had optimized the Opera Max for video saving for YouTube and Netflix apps, the latest update to the apps takes care of the music streaming apps. Initially it works for six music apps that are Pandora, Slacker Radio, Gaana, Saavn, Mix Radio and YouTube Music, with more apps to be supported in the future. According to a recent study conducted by market research firm JuxtSmartMandate, streaming and listening music online is the third most preferred activity of urban Internet users in the country and it mentions 97.4 million people in urban areas listen to music online. With increasing adoption of Smartphones, this numbers are only going to increase but the music streaming apps also take a heavy toll on the data. “More and more people love listening to their favorite music with apps; however, these apps are among the major data hogs consuming users’ mobile data quickly,” says Sergey Lossev, Product Manager at Opera Software. “Now, we have added audio compression for these music apps so that people will feel free to stream music without having to look constantly for available, free Wi-Fi coverage. This is particularly helpful for users with limited data plans.” Opera Max uses Rocker Optimizer technology for the data compression of the streaming audio without the loss of audio quality. It supports both MP3 and MP4 formats and for better efficiency it can also convert the audio into AAC+ codec, thus delivering high audio quality over a low bitrate connection to any compatible device. Recently we have seen some of the Mobile companies using Opera Max technology by default in their devices to help users save data. Xiaomi’s MIUI 7 uses Opera Max baked inside for data compression and we also noted recently that Samsung’s new feature in Galaxy J2 is powered by Opera Max. Opera Max optimizes data both on mobile networks as well as on Wi-Fi. Apart from video and music streaming apps, it can compress and save data when you are browsing and also most other apps including popular apps like Instragram, where you access more images. Users can monitor the data spend both on mobile internet or Wi-Fi on a monthly or daily basis and control their usage accordingly. ]]>

This new feature in Samsung Galaxy J2 is powered by Opera Max

Lakshmi Rajan — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 06:04:44 +0000

Opera Max is a data-management and data-compression technology that compresses videos and photos on any app and saves on your data when on data or even Wi-Fi, Opera says it can save up to 50% of your precious data consumption which would be a big deal when you are on data connections, especially 4G. The Samsung Galaxy J2’s Ultra Data Saving mode also lets user to individually choose and pick apps to allow or deny them from using mobile data, enabling them to optimally use the data as per their needs. Backed by the Opera Max technology, the users can monitor how much mobile data is consumed and saved. Especially is your a heavy user of image-heavy or video apps, such as Instagram, YouTube, Vine and Flipboard, the Opera Max powered Ultra Data Saving mode can save up to 50% of data consumption and also free up to 11% RAM, which can not just vastly improve the user experience but also save on your data spend. https://youtu.be/k3FFC1zNxYA ]]>

Opera Mini for Android now offers two different data compression modes

Lakshmi Rajan — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 08:40:55 +0000

Opera drives around 'web-on-wheels' in Indian cities; offers free WiFi access

Lakshmi Rajan — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 12:42:22 +0000

If you spot this peppy, colorful car in your city, experience free WiFi access at its vicinity. Opera is celebrating its 20th anniversary riding around this car around 20 Indian cities and offering free mobile internet access. The Web on Wheels (WOW) aims to encourage new users to get into the digital highway and experience the internet on their devices. The makers of the Opera mini and Opera Max browsers would be driving the specially painted and equipped car to provide free WiFi covering around 20 cities over the next 10 months. The long journey begins at Agra, the city that houses the monument of love where it would be parked at multiple locations such as Raja Mundi, Paliwal Park, Sadar Bazar, St. John’s College etc Then the WOW car will drive around North India covering cities like Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad and then will hit the roads to other parts of India. So if you spot the car at your locality, turn the WiFi settings to On and look for Opera Mini Free WiFi from the WiFi network options. Sign-in and enter the details on the browser and a one-time password. Once signed in, the user can access 20 minutes of free internet access on their mobile phones daily. Opera mini browser is one of the popular browser and it saves data consumption and thereby their mobile data charges with their data compression technology. The company claims to have more than 55 million users in India. “At Opera, we strive to bring the web to everyone. This year marks our 20th anniversary. With Web on Wheels, we want to give something back to our users and hope to help more people see how fun and educational it is to be on the web,” said Sunil Kamath, Vice President for South Asia & South East Asia at Opera Software. ]]>

Microsoft replacing Nokia store with Opera Mobile Store in Nokia Phones

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:31:49 +0000

Its end of the road for Nokia store very soon. Microsoft has opted for Opera Mobile Store to replace Nokia store for their Nokia feature phones, Symbian and Nokia X smartphones. The transition to the Opera Mobile store will begin in the first quarter of 2015 and the users will be automatically redirected from the Nokia store when they access it. Microsoft hopes to complete the process by the first half of 2015 by then the existing Nokia users using the non-Lumia devices will get access to apps, games and content from the vast repository of Opera mobile store. Talking about the partnership with Opera, “We continue to sell and support classic Nokia devices, which remain popular in many parts of the world,” said Rich Bernardo, Vice President, Phones, Microsoft. “We’re delighted to partner with Opera Software and continue to provide a reliable app store experience for consumers and developers alike.” According to Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software. “When the current users of the Nokia Store are migrated to Opera Mobile Store, they will continue to get fresh, interesting apps for their Nokia phones,” “The Opera Mobile Store becomes an even more significant player in the app store market, and Nokia mobile phone users get a first-class app store for years to come.” Opera is poised to become third largest app store in terms of download with the addition of new Nokia users next only to iTunes and Play Store. Opera has around 300,000 apps and games and it supports more than 7,500 different devices, from feature phones to the most advanced smartphones. It should be noted that in August, 2014 Microsoft chose Opera browser as the default browser for Nokia-branded phones, including Series 30+, Series 40, Asha and Nokia X handsets.]]>

Microsoft replacing Nokia store with Opera Mobile Store in Nokia Phones

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:31:49 +0000

Opera Mini 9 launched for iOS, comes with 'Video Boost' feature

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:14:47 +0000

O menu, then tap Savings Enabled, choose Opera Turbo, and toggle on Video Boost. Enjoy! ]]>

Opera Mini 9 launched for iOS, comes with 'Video Boost' feature

Lakshmi Rajan — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:14:47 +0000

O menu, then tap Savings Enabled, choose Opera Turbo, and toggle on Video Boost. Enjoy! ]]>