User of the HTC G1 Android phone haven't had much choice of which browser to use with their devices. That all changed when Opera Software recently made is Opera Mini browser available in the Android Market.Opera Software released a beta version of Opera Mini 4.2 recently to other platforms, such as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry OS. The latest rendition of the browser claims to have faster Web site rendering times.

Opera says, "Opera Mini 4.2 can use our newly established server park in the U.S. This means significantly faster page downloads for our users in the Americas and Asia-Pacific region. Users in the rest of the world will also experience faster page downloads since we've reduced the load on our other servers."

Opera Mini 4.2 beta also has better support for video, allowing users of certain Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones to watch YouTube videos from their phones.

Starting over the weekend, Opera Mini 4.2 beta was added to the Android Market. The download is free for users of the HTC G1.

The beauty of many smartphone platforms is that they give users some choice of the software that runs on them. A plethora of mobile browsers are currently available for Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS, and Palm OS.

The Android Market hasn't filled with as many applications as the iPhone Apps Store has. One limitation has been that the only browser available to the G1 is the native one supplied within the Android OS. That browser is highly capable, but user choice is always a good thing.

It was cool of the Opera folks to offer Android users a little more flexibility.