The announcement marks an expansion in the number of platforms supported by Mini 5. The mobile browser is also available for Research In Motion BlackBerry smartphones and handsets that are running Windows Mobile 5 or 6 or can run Java applications.

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Opera claims its browser is peppier than others because it compresses data by up to 90% before sending it to the phone, a feature that could be helpful when a phone is operating on a low-bandwidth data connection. The software does this by actually being a proxy-based browser that's connected to Opera's servers, which handle the compression remotely and then push the final results to the phone.

The browser delivers a desktop-like Web experience familiar to PC users, according to Opera. Other features in all Mini 5 versions are speed dialing, tabbed browsing, bookmarks, and a password manager.

Android phone users can download Mini 5 by visiting Opera's mobile Website, m.opera.com/next, with the standard Android browser. The Opera browser can also be downloaded through the Android Market.

In a hands-on review, InformationWeek blogger Eric Zeman said, "The [user interface] is clean, stark, and easy enough for any user to figure out after a few moments of fiddling around."

However, the "killer feature," is the browser's speed, Zeman said. "Opera Mini 5 loads Web sites dramatically faster than both the native Android browser and the Dolphin browser on both the Droid and the myTouch 3G."

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