HANNOVER, Germany—Opera Software ASA scored a major win, inking a deal to pre-load its Java-based mobile browser on T-Mobile International phones in Europe.
The deal calls for a customized, branded version of Opera Mini with “T-Mobile’s look and feel” to be embedded on three handsets in March: the Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. K608i, Motorola Inc.’s V3/V3i and Nokia Corp.’s 6280. The browser, which will power T-Mobile’s “web’n’walk” wireless Internet service, is expected to be available on other devices in the second quarter.
The news marks the first carrier win for Opera’s offering for mass-market handsets; the company also markets browsers for PCs and smartphones. T-Mobile, which is owned by German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom AG, serves roughly 80 million users in Europe and the United States, although its “web’n’walk” offering is available only to European subscribers.
Like its competitor Novarra Inc., Opera provides a mobile browser that can access both WAP and traditional HTML Web sites.
“Smart phone owners have already shown the potential of full Internet services to boost [average revenue per user],” Ovum analyst Tony Cripps said in a prepared statement. “Now, mobile operators can extend that option across their customer base and free users from the confines of the walled garden.”
