Internet & Communication · Reviewed
Opera
A web browser originating in Norway, known for integrated browsing tools and for a long history spanning its own rendering engine, mobile products and Chromium-based desktop releases.
Overview
Opera provides web navigation, tabs, bookmarks, downloads and built-in tools around the browsing experience. Across its history, the desktop application has emphasized offering several useful functions within one program rather than relying entirely on separate extensions.
The browser's underlying technology has changed substantially. Earlier releases used Opera's own rendering systems, including Presto, while later desktop generations adopted Chromium and Blink. Opera Mini and other mobile products have distinct technical designs. Features associated with one generation or platform should therefore not be treated as capabilities of every application carrying the Opera name.
Key features
- Tabbed web browsing
- Bookmarks and download tools
- Integrated browsing utilities
- Historically extensive interface customization
- Presto and later Chromium engine generations
Historical significance
Opera demonstrates how a smaller browser developer could compete through interface design, compactness and integrated functionality. Its history is also important to the diversity of web-rendering implementations: the move from Presto to Chromium changed its technical relationship with the wider browser market. Mobile variants further show that browser branding can span very different delivery architectures.
History and development
Opera began as a browser project at the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor in 1994. Opera Software was established in 1995, while the company dates its first public browser release to 1996. These separate milestones explain conflicting early dates in brief product histories.
The browser developed a following through features such as integrated navigation tools, mouse gestures and customizable interfaces. It also expanded into mobile browsing. In 2013, the desktop browser moved away from the Presto engine toward Chromium-based technology, marking a significant change in implementation while continuing the Opera product line.