Windows Mobile users have a new way to surf the Web, as Opera Software has released a beta version of Opera Mobile 10 for Microsoft's mobile platform.

The product is Opera's higher-end version of Opera Mini, and it also features server-side compression technology that minimizes bandwidth and hardware requirements. The mobile browser is built with the Opera Turbo technology, which can compress Web traffic by up to 80% while still offering support for Web technologies like Ajax and Flash.

Users will quickly notice the changes in the latest version of Opera Mobile because it boots to a "Speed Dial" screen that has nine customizable visual bookmark thumbnails. Opera Mobile 10 also has a streamlined user interface that pushes many of the browser options to the bottom of the screen. The free browser also adds visual representations of bookmarks, tabbed browsing, a password manager, and improved touchscreen navigation that includes kinetic scrolling and adaptive zooming.

As more customers access the Internet from mobile phones, the mobile browsing space is becoming increasingly crowded. Along with on-deck browsers like mobile Safari, Opera is competing with a host of companies trying to capitalize on growing mobile Web usage. Mozilla is trying to replicate the success it had on the desktop by creating the Fennec browser for Windows Mobile and Symbian handsets. Skyfire has also garnered some attention because its mobile browser uses server-side compression to let users access and interact with sites built with Flash, Ajax, Silverlight, and other Web technologies.

Opera Mobile 10 is available for free on Opera's Web site, and it's compatible with Windows Mobile handsets like the Touch Pro 2, Tilt 2, and others. The beta browser is also available on some Symbian handsets.