T-Mobile chooses Opera Mini for web�n�walk

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Opera Mini displaying Google T-Mobile has chosen Opera Mini to power their web’n’walk offering on high-volume feature phones in Europe. A branded and customized version with T-Mobile’s look and feel will be pre-installed on four mobile phones.

The supported phones will be Sony Ericsson K608i, Motorola V3, Motorola V3i and Nokia 6280. Tailored Opera Mini will be available from mid-March, 2006 in Germany.

Several more handsets under development, say Opera Software press release. T-Mobile is the first operator to pre-install customized Opera Mini browsers on selected handsets.

“Full Internet browsing on mass market mobile handsets is now a viable service for most consumers,” said Tony Cripps, Wireless Software Analyst, Ovum.

“Smartphone owners have already shown the potential of full Internet services to boost ARPU. Now mobile operators can extend that option across their customer base and free users from the confines of the walled garden.”

By pre-installing Opera Mini on its high-volume feature phones, T-Mobile is bringing the web’n’walk concept to phones that have previously been incapable of running a full Web browser.

“T-Mobile underlines its commitment to bring web’n’walk to the mass market by enabling an even broader device portfolio to surf the open Internet via the Opera Mini browser,” said Ingo Schneider, Vice President Mobile Data, T-Mobile.

T-Mobile was the first operator in Europe that brought full Internet browsing to mass market in 2005 with the customized Opera Mobile browser on several handsets. Web’n’walk is T-Mobile’s initiative to differentiate itself as the leading mobile Internet provider and grow data services into a mass market.

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