Opera Software has signed up with seven Indian mobile OEMs to preinstall the Opera Mini mobile web browser on all the manufacturers’ upcoming handsets, phablets and tablets running on the Android mobile operating system. Opera Mini will be the exclusive third-party browser to be preinstalled on all Android devices by Celkon, Karbonn, Lava and Intex. Opera Mini will also be preinstalled on select Android devices by Fly and Zen, as well as on HCL ME tablets.

Well suited for Indian mobile networks thanks to its data compression, Opera Mini is the most widely used mobile web browser in the country. It uses a server to pre-process and compress websites to as little as 10% of their original size before sending them to the mobile device. Therefore, Opera Mini users get a remarkably faster and more cost effective browsing experience than other mobile browser users.

“The number of Indians accessing the web from mobile devices is growing at a much faster rate than those using a computer. This unique environment has made it essential for handset manufacturers to ensure their upcoming mobile devices are web enabled and are ready to deliver the best browsing experience,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.

India is one of the fastest growing countries for adoption of mobile Internet; it also continues to be home to the largest number of Opera Mini users in the world.

“We are extremely pleased to work with these Indian mobile OEMs who have chosen Opera Mini for their devices based on Android, a very promising mobile OS for smartphones. A combination of affordable Android devices and smart applications such as Opera Mini will ensure that users enjoy a seamless browsing experience and encourage newbies to get on board the web express,” adds Boilesen.

Opera Mini’s features such as Smart Page, Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, password manager, download manager and Opera Link are sure to make the browsing experience on Android devices faster, cheaper and smarter. Opera Mini is also available as a free download from m.opera.com.

Opera has two different browsers for smartphones, one is the conventional Opera Mini and the other is Opera Mobile. Opera Mobile is a full browser for mobile devices whereas Opera Mini is a cloud-based browser running across different platforms. Opera is now preparing itself for the revolution. They already have gone a step forward with their Opera for Android mobile browser running on webkit engine. This is currently in beta and is available on Android from the Google Play Store.