Opera Software — More Than You Know
Here is the video from this transcript: Opera Software
Opera Software AS is the Norwegian company behind the Opera web browser. It is true that the majority of people tend to use web browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox, but Opera has built an impressive offering catalogue that is worth exploring.
Opera web browsers have some nice features such as free built-in VPN, battery-saving mode and a native ad blocker plugin. If you are a big fan of online shopping, you will also find the built-in currency exchange tool useful. But what really makes the browser cool, is that it embeds social networking apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp in the sidebar.
Opera offers three variations of its web browser for mobile phones: Opera Mini, Opera for Android and Opera Touch. All of them have native ad blockers which help boost loading speeds. Also, Opera Mini was the first browser to introduce offline file sharing in 2019. Users can transfer images, videos and audio files between devices in close proximity at speeds of up to 200 times faster than Bluetooth.
But for us, the main selling point for Opera Mini is its compression ability. It reduces the amount of data that is sent over mobile networks and in turn helps reduce data cost. A lot of network providers in some countries offer data at high prices and some still do not offer unlimited data. Opera Mini was a real lifesaver for us back in the days. And this is why it is still very popular in Africa and Southeast Asia.
A functionality worth mentioning is My Flow, which is a personal space that connects Opera Touch with the Opera browser for desktop. Users can use My Flow to share files of up to 10 megabytes and access them at any time on their Opera browser. Although the size limit is really low, it’s a pretty handy tool to keep some photos, videos and notes readily available.
If you are a fan of cryptocurrency, you’ll also find Opera’s Crypto Wallet useful. The wallet enables access to blockchain-based Web 3 applications. Web 3 refers to emerging technologies intersecting cryptocurrencies, blockchains and distributed systems that extend the use case of the web.
Opera users can use their Crypto Wallet to make online payments and also receive money from other wallet users. Opera supports the Ethereum blockchain and its currency, ETH, as well as hundreds of Ethereum-based crypto-currencies. Opera also partners with Marble.Cards, which turns web pages into digital collectible cards that can be bought.
In 2019 Opera launched Opera GX, a gaming browser that has a lot of interesting features. It has limiters that actually allows users to set limits on usage of RAM, CPU and network usage of the browser. Google Chrome should definitely look into that.
The browser also comes with integrations to Razer Chroma and Twitch. It also offers a GX Corner which displays the latest gaming deals and news. In short, Opera GX has all the features necessary to enhance the gaming experience. We definitely don’t expect it to be perfect at first, but it shows a lot of potential.
In 2017, Opera launched Opera News, a personalised news aggregator. At first, it was integrated in Opera web browsers but since it became popular among its customers, it was also made available as a standalone app. They did a good job at using AI for content recommendation, which led to increased user activity and time spent among their userbase. An interesting addition to Opera News is Instaclips, a streaming feature that engages users with short-form videos. Since its launch, Opera News attracted 170 million monthly active users.
Opera’s revenue grew by almost 100% from 172 million dollars in 2018 to 334 million dollars in 2019. Most of the growth comes from origination fees it collects with its new mobile loan app feature, Okash.
The app offers a microlending platform that enables access to short-term loans. They claim that they use AI to analyze loan performance and offer competitive interest rates. What you probably don’t know is that Opera is a huge player in Nigeria’s technology landscape.
They launched a slew of apps across different verticals such as fintech, transportation, food and marketing. As you can see, Opera offers more than simple web browsers. They offer a lot of interesting features and apps. They sure seem to be innovating their way to the top.
Let us know if you use Opera’s browsers and apps. How is the user experience? Do you recommend using them?
