Kestrel Soars Anew

New Opera 9.5 beta 2 now ready for testing

Oslo, Norway — April 24, 2008

Opera today unveiled the second beta preview of the forthcoming Opera 9.5 desktop browser, code-named Kestrel. The new beta improves on security, speed and performance, while refining some of Opera’s most popular features. For the enthusiastic, curious, adventurous or just interested, please visit http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/next/ to try the new beta. Opera is completely free to download and use.

Coming to you in Opera 9.5 beta 2

Quick Find: Forgotten the site where you found that perfect gift or idyllic vacation spot? Not to worry, Opera remembers all the text on a page you’ve visited. All you have to do is enter a few words you remember in the address bar and Opera will find the pages with that text. In the newest beta, you can also use Quick Find from your history tab, available under Tools > History.
Opera Link: Opera Link is a free service that connects your Opera Speed Dial, Bookmarks and Personal Bar between Opera, Opera Mini, the award-winning free browser for your mobile phone, and the Web itself.
Improved Fraud Protection technology: Now Opera keeps you even safer from fraudulent Web sites. Our Fraud Protection now complements PhishTank’s community-powered anti-phishing database with NetCraft’s phishing site database.
Support for Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates: Opera supports EV SSL certificates to provide additional assurance and trust for your online transactions.
Powerful Performance: Opera has been the leader in providing full-featured browsing without compromising the performance of the browser. In the new beta we have optimized performance on a number of fronts including substantial gains in the RSS feed reader, Quick Find, and start-up time on Macs. These, along with other subtle changes to performance, make Opera even faster and more protective of your system memory.
E-mail enlightened: Opera’s built-in e-mail client features faster retrieval of your e-mails, quicker searching through archived mails and is more responsive.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made towards the release of Opera 9.5,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “We’ve had contributions from millions of people who use Opera. Their suggestions — for improving features, for crushing bugs — have helped reach this milestone. We welcome their continued candor, suggestions and feedback as we improve Opera 9.5 ahead of its final release.”

View the Opera 9.5 Beta 2 guided video tour.

Opera 9.5 beta 2 in the words of a few of the people who use it

“I am a long time Opera user, and Opera 9.5 has brought the best improvements. Opera Link is awesome, site compatibility works better than ever,” says Carlos Lamarca from Rio de Janeiro. “It’s amazing to find out all the cool features Opera 9.5 brings.”

“My favorite part of the Beta is Opera Link, a service that allows you to upload your bookmarks and Speed Dial and synchronize them across other computers, or to Opera Mini,” said Gavin Troy, of Dublin, Ireland. “The close integration with my mobile is amazing; I don’t know how I lived without it. Close second is Quick Find, which allows faster, more efficient surfing. And of course you know you’re safe with Opera, but with Opera 9.5 more than ever. Really there’s something new for everyone in Opera 9.5.”

“Opera 9.5 allows me to keep data synchronized between all my devices easily, it’s even faster than the previous version and got a nice new IMAP client,” according to Lars Kleinschmidt, of Bad Kreuznach, Germany. “With Quick Find I don’t have to remember the URL of that interesting site I visited a week ago, but can just enter some terms that were on the page in the browser’s address bar and Opera will find it for me.”

Be heard

We rely on the feedback from people all over the world to make Opera the superior browsing experience that it is. Help us give you an even better product by letting us know your thoughts on the beta forums: http://my.opera.com/community/forums/forum.dml?id=31.

The Choice of Millions

More than 20 million people rely on Opera for a fast, safe and productive Web experience. The new betas of Opera 9.5 have already been tested by more than 500,000 people. Try it for yourself today at http://www.opera.com/.

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the Web should be a universal right. 220 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the Internet. Our vision of one Web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.