Qualcomm to preload Opera browser on Brew MP devices

LAS VEGAS--Wireless technologies developer Qualcomm announced an agreement  to pre-integrate mobile web solutions provider Opera Software's  Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5 browsers into its Brew Mobile Platform operating system. The Brew MP OS promises smartphone functionality across mass-market devices, enabling capabilities like touchscreens, rich multimedia and expanded support for native application development; Qualcomm will team with Opera in conjunction with its 3Pre program, which enables developers to distribute their applications prior to the launch of Brew MP devices.

In related news, Opera announced it submitted Opera Mini for iPhone to Apple's App Store, promising to power through web pages up to six times faster than the iPhone's native Safari browser. In the past, Apple has frowned upon rival iPhone browsers. Even without iPhone support, 50 million consumers worldwide used Opera Mini in January 2010, a 7.4 percent month-over-month increase and up 149 percent compared to January 2009. Opera Mini users viewed more than 23.3 billion pages last month, up 12.7 percent over December totals and increasing 208 percent over year-ago totals. Opera Mini users generated over 337 million MB of data for operators worldwide in January.

For more on the Qualcomm/Opera deal:
- read this release

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