“Opera for IPTV” goes prime time at IPTV World Forum in London

Oslo, Norway — March 25, 2009

With powerful new technology in town, Opera Software heads to the IPTV World Forum in London, March 25-27, 2009. Opera is ready to introduce leading TV, STB, middleware and chipset makers to the recently launched Opera Devices SDK 9.7 and prove the potential of Opera Widgets and full Web browsing on the TV screen.

Cross-platform, cross-device Web technology is one of the foundation stones Opera Devices offers. With a strategic and strong focus on Opera Widgets — supported by Opera Devices since SDK 9.0 — and, more generally, on Web-based applications, customers and partners will fully understand the technology and business value of “Opera for IPTV” as a powerful platform for deploying and delivering quick, standard, portable and tailored services that IPTV end-users will enjoy.

Though only a few months have passed since the release of the Opera Devices SDK 9.7 (featuring Opera Turbo, Opera Link, Opera Dragonfly and hardware-accelerated Opera Zoom), Opera Devices engineers have been working hard to improve existing features continually and add new features to the Opera Devices SDK: hardware-acceleration of graphics operations such as clipping and rendering of lines, rectangles and bitmaps.

“At Opera, we are always working towards elevating both end-user experience and customer satisfaction. We strive to get IPTV closer than ever to a mass-market reality, making our overall offering for this market even better and on more platforms than before,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “One Web as a core technology and a scalable platform is something we have long envisioned for IPTV, and we believe that ‘Opera for IPTV’ will literally change the face of the TV experience as we know it. The IPTV World Forum is the perfect place to showcase our innovations.”

While at IPTV World Forum, visit Opera’s meeting room (#24) for more information or a demo of Opera Devices’ features, including the following:

Opera Widgets for IPTV — These small, single-purpose Web applications run locally on the TV just like a native application. With one click, end users can access their favorite Web content, including Web pages or even advanced AJAX applications such as Google Maps.
Opera Dragonfly developer tools — With Opera Dragonfly, developers can debug JavaScript and inspect CSS and the DOM.
Opera Link — This unique “linking” feature allows end users to synchronize their stored bookmarks across desktop computers, mobile phones and consumer entertainment devices.
Opera Turbo — This is a cross-platform solution, available for desktop computers, mobile phones and other Internet-enabled devices. By compressing network traffic by up to 80%, operators will be able to reduce network traffic and save on data transmissions.
Acid3 — 100/100 score on Acid3 — the ultimate standards test. Opera continues to support the latest in Web standards in order to ensure Acid3 compliance on a wide variety of architectures/chipsets.
Full Web browsing — Get out of the walled garden and experience the real Web on a TV. Opera is a pioneer at delivering a fully optimized Web experience to the TV screen, and end users will enjoy intuitive navigation plus fast and easy access to their favorite Web sites.

To schedule a media briefing with a representative from Opera Software, please contact Julie Sajnani at julies[at]opera.com or call +47 9710 2027.

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. 250 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. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.