Opera Scores Major Distribution Deal With AT&T

Today's news from Opera Software is the kind of win the company really needs. Starting with four new feature phones that AT&T announced today and moving forward, Opera Mini will be behind the att.net browser on board AT&T phones.Early today, AT&T introduced a handful of feature phones for the mass market. As part of that announcement, AT&T noted that all four devices would have its new mobile browser built in. That browser is powered by Opera Mini.

This is a major with for all parties involved. It's great for Opera, because it gets a distribution deal with a major U.S. carrier. This means millions more people will become active users of its software over time. It's a win for AT&T, and, most of all, a win for AT&T's customers, who will gain a much better mobile browsing experience.

AT&T says that the new browser offers a lot of personalization and features for end users. AT&T spokesperson Seth Bloom said, "Our solution utilizes Opera Mini, allowing for improved page rendering and faster page delivery. But we've also enhanced the experience through personalization tools like options to post shortcut buttons on your home page; robust location-aware search and information tools; and feeds of the most popular mobile Web content (headlines, sports scores, etc.). We've created a hybrid mobile Web experience -- making mobile browsing more recognizable and similar to that of a PC, but also taking advantage of capabilities unique to a mobile phone and keeping what have been the mainstays of the mobile Web easy to find."

The new browser solution for AT&T phones will have three home screens that users can populate with their own content, such as bookmarks, weather and local news, and top headlines from around the world. Let's not forget Opera's HTML chops, and its ability to compress the heck out of data as it transits the networks, making for faster load times.

The new browser will be included with the new slate of feature phones, and will be pre-installed on most feature devices moving forward.