Opera in 2011
To say that 2011 was busy here at Opera might well be the understatement of the year. There were so many innovations, new releases and achievements that we can only focus on the highlights.
New releases
We stepped up our game in mobile browsing with the release of Opera Mini 6 and Opera Mobile 11. Meanwhile, over on the desktop, 2011 saw the release of Opera 11.10, code-named Barracuda, followed by a quick jump over .4 spaces on the release ladder to 11.50, closing out the year on the high note of Opera 11.60. With each of these releases, Speed Dial looked slicker, searching became easier, and the browser engine running the whole shebang got a mighty extra dose of processing power and rendering capability.
More places, more devices
Getting better was only part of the story in 2011 - Opera also got broader. We extended our reach to more places in the world, from China to Latin America to the Middle East. At the same time, we also found our way to a new set of screens, from tablets to TV And while we're talking about expansion, let's not forget getting onboard the A train, with Android.
Innovations
Within the browser, we added a number of very cool features this year. With folks around the world facing a new wave of data caps or other brakes on their browsing habits, Opera highlighted the benefits of our data compression technology with the Data Usage Tracker tool, which showed the total data savings by all our users over the period of one month to be the equivalent of 50 billion hamsters! (Now you know why get such a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever you think of Opera.) Not to be outdone, our tireless CTO Håkon Wium Lie improved the experience of reading online with the invention of paged reading in the browser. What will we cook up next in that mysterious lab/basement/garage/unmarked office where all the magic happens, you wonder? Well, if this year was any indication...
Other notable stuff
Our associations in the wider world spanned a particularly wide gamut, from sponsoring the worst hockey team in America to facilitating a real-life meetup of blogging sensation iJustine with legions of her Norwegian fans. We also paid our own sort of tribute to Oprah Winfrey, and participated in a random act of pizza.
But none of this would have been possible without the dedication and support of our users and fans, so thanks to each one of you for making 2011 such a great year. We look forward to doing even more in 2012!
Readers' comments 21
Left under the original article, as archived.
About this article
| Published in | Choose Opera |
|---|---|
| Date | December 28, 2011 |
| Author | Anna Rohleder |
| Tags | year in review, browser, opera |
| Original | Internet Archive |
Jirayu YingthawornsukThursday, December 29, 2011 5:15:10 AM
TamilThursday, December 29, 2011 7:05:27 AM
NimeshThursday, December 29, 2011 7:58:41 AM
No mention of 12.00?
P2O2Thursday, December 29, 2011 10:30:35 AM
Not to mention that round corners are puerile and perhaps Windows based to satisfied idiosyncrasies of Windows users, ha?
That's why I was scared reading the common code was born for Windows and Linux worlds in your Labs. The tenet of the least common denominator will prevail soon with 99% "inventions" indulging cravings of Windows users.
BTW.1. Is there a room for Opera Light (w/out Unite and Mail)? I know the present Opera is an entity but it's becoming slowly a blob with many functions not used by many.
BTW.2. Why don't you expose the best functions of Opera in your adverts more? Let me cite what I wrote on my blog:
"Why I have chosen the Opera browser
Tabs can be grouped in one window (canvas) with individually set options like refreshment(!) and size. Such sets can be saved separately via sessions."
No other browser offers such functionality yet!
Regards
P.S. You'll find my remarks on vaunted here "page reading" aka Paged Media technique on page "Opera Talks: A whole new way to read on the web" (http://my.opera.com/chooseopera/blog/2011/10/20/opera-talks-2).
HurrThursday, December 29, 2011 10:42:41 AM
Originally posted by P2O2:
You do know the things you do not use don't get loaded, right? Your argument is invalid.
In fact, having two stable branches would mean double testing, double bug trackers, double everything. It's like getting rid of 50% of the opera employees but probably even worse.
NimeshThursday, December 29, 2011 12:18:58 PM
Originally posted by P2O2:
Even I would like to have a just a plain browser, sometimes. Or maybe Opera for Tablets adapted for keyboard and mouse as well, I would prefer that on my 10inch netbook instead of complete opera browser.
Chanchal Kumar HensThursday, December 29, 2011 12:38:48 PM
Max stoneThursday, December 29, 2011 2:25:14 PM
Enoch 'Robot Boy' Appiah JuniorThursday, December 29, 2011 2:25:33 PM
Andrei Daniel TicleanThursday, December 29, 2011 3:20:38 PM
Charles SchlossThursday, December 29, 2011 4:15:34 PM
ErikThursday, December 29, 2011 4:53:47 PM
CarolThursday, December 29, 2011 5:56:25 PM
CoyoteeThursday, December 29, 2011 8:25:20 PM
Phillip Robert O'ConnerThursday, December 29, 2011 8:41:32 PM
LOL JK It Going To Be Awesome Next Year.So Anyway Happy New Year OPera (A Few days Ahead.)
RASVIFriday, December 30, 2011 5:29:28 AM
But anyway happy new year to opera team..
Rafael LuikSaturday, December 31, 2011 7:21:35 AM
You're the best!
Happy New Year to everyone!
I hope 2012 will be a great year for Opera and you can make even better products!
d4rkn1ghtSaturday, December 31, 2011 5:06:28 PM
CoyoteeSunday, January 1, 2012 1:50:06 PM
New Year’s resolution: smoke and drink more!
JhonThursday, January 5, 2012 2:58:10 PM
Vasilis IlioglouFriday, January 20, 2012 11:26:45 AM