News just hit that Opera Mini 5 for the iPhone, which we showed you a few weeks ago – boy was it speedy in the video – has now been approved for the app store and is completely free to the masses.  So what are you waiting for?  Dive in, download and lets us know how fast the server side based compression works out for you.  Any issues?

Keep in mind that the app is currently being rolled out to all markets over the next 24 hours.  It’s currently not available in the US as of this posting.

Opera Mini App approved for the App Store

Oslo, Norway – April 13, 2010 – Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store. Opera Mini will be available as a free download within 24 hours, depending on market.

Opera Mini, with more than 50 million users worldwide, enables fast mobile Web browsing by compressing data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the device, resulting in significantly improved page loading. Users of the app will notice an uptake in speed, especially on slower networks such as the 2G Edge network. Surfing the Web with the Opera Mini App on iPhone and iPod touch will also help users save money because of its data compression capabilities. This will hold especially true while the user is incurring roaming charges.

“We are delighted to offer iPhone and iPod touch users a great browsing experience with the Opera Mini App,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “This app is another step toward Opera’s goal of bringing the Web to more people in more places.”

The Opera Mini App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Resources
A demo video is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpTCS3g-cBY.
Screenshots are available at: www.opera.com/press/resources/.

About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.

Generally speaking Safari on the Mac is the speediest of browsers. So it’s only logical to assume the same for the iPhone, right?  Wrong.  Opera’s web browser for the iPhone, Opera Mini, looks to be almost 3 times as fast as the iPhone’s native browser thanks to Opera’s server-side processing of web pages coupled with binary file caching (think compression).  This results in much faster web page load times as demonstrated in the below video on a 2G network. As of now, the iPhone Opera browser does not support pinch to zoom, but they promise to add that feature later (presumably implementing that feature during an initial release would surely get it denied from the app store).

As of now Opera has officially submitted their app for approval by Apple, but it’s questionable as to whether or not it will be approved since their technology appears to be superior and poses a threat to Apple.  Just in case Apple takes their sweet time, and to place a little added pressure on the Cupertino approval team, Opera has placed a counter on their website indicating the app’s approval time.  In the past, Apple has been known to take their time when it comes to approving competitive apps, especially when they might negate one of their own, instead of flat out denying it.

Read

Opera Mini and visual voicemail from Fusion Voicemail Plus are now available on T-Mobile’s G1 Android.

Opera Mini is a quick and efficient browser with a UI optimized for mobile web surfing. Fusion Voicemail Plus is a free service that displays voicemail in an easy to access list. For details, click the link below.

[ZDNet]