“More than 2.6 million people used the Opera Mini browser on their iPhones in the two weeks following April’s mid-month launch,” Opera Software announced May 28.
The browser maker continued, “This surge in new Opera Mini users reshaped both the top 10 countries and the top handsets for mobile Web usage, according to Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report, issued today. The United States jumped two spots in the top 10 country ranking, displacing South Africa and Nigeria. Globally, the iPhone immediately became the third most popular device for Opera Mini users worldwide.
“Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report, published monthly, provides information on the top global trends affecting the mobile Web. The full report is available from http://www.opera.com/smw/ (English only). In addition to a full review of Opera Mini on the iPhone, the report highlights global statistics and reviews the mobile browsing trends in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).”
“While many iconic smartphones are superb Web-browsing tools, today it is possible to make nearly every phone capable of browsing the Web gracefully,” Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera Software, said in a statement. “Because the number of mobile-Web users will eventually dwarf wire-line users, making [it so] the Web works flawlessly only on a handful of mobile devices is to turn our collective backs on more than a billion new users. We believe access to the Web is a universal right, and as more companies embrace developing sites for the wide spectrum of mobile-Web users, we will come closer to that goal than ever before.”
Opera said other trends include: “In April 2010, Opera Mini had more than 58.9 million users, a 6.6 percent increase from March 2010 and more than 152 percent compared to April 2009. Those 58.9 million people viewed more than 26.3 billion pages in April 2010. … The top 10 countries for Opera Mini usage in April 2010 were: Russia, Indonesia, India, China, Ukraine, United States, South Africa, Nigeria, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Due to [the] Opera Mini on the iPhone launch, the United States leaped ahead of South Africa and Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, “The United States is ranked No. 1 in terms of Opera Mini users on the iPhone, and the iPhone is the No. 1 handset used by Opera Mini users in the United States, well ahead of BlackBerry (which previously occupied the top spot). The United Kingdom is ranked No. 4 in terms of Opera Mini users on the iPhone, and the iPhone is the fifth most popular handset used by Opera Mini users in the United Kingdom. … Countries outside of the top 10 where Opera Mini on the iPhone has become popular include: Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Netherlands, Italy and South Korea.”
In its State of the Mobile Web Report, Opera Software said the Top 10 sites visited by Opera Mini users in the United States (unique users) were:
“1. google.com2. facebook.com3.nytimes.com (up from 8)4.my.opera.com (up from 6)5.accuweather.com (up from 7)6. twitter.com (new)7. wikipedia.org (down from 3)8.youtube.com (down from 5)9.yahoo.com (down from 4)10.espn.go.com“
And the Top 10 Opera Mini handsets in the United States for April were:
“1. Apple iPhone2. BlackBerry 8330 (“Curve”)3. LG LX600 (“Lotus”)4. Samsung SPH M810 (“Instinct s30”)5. BlackBerry 9630 (“Tour”)6. BlackBerry 9700 (“Bold”)7. BlackBerry 9000 (“Bold”)8. Samsung SPH M800 (“Instinct”)9. BlackBerry 9530 (“Storm 2”)10. BlackBerry 8520 (“Curve”)“