Microsoft could be putting Opera's mobile browser on 100 million more phones this year after agreeing to install the Opera Software Internet browser on phone models it gained in the recent Nokia acquisition.
"This is a great agreement for us, and something we have been dreaming of for 10 years and now it's finally happening," said Opera CEO Lars Boilesen, as quoted by Reuters.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft has agreed to put Opera's browser on low- and mid-market mobile phones from Nokia, which the tech giant gained for $7.5 billion in April.
Opera hasn't given an estimate of how many devices it will gain for its browser platform, but the company has said the deal should be immediately profitable. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Opera Mini, which is Opera Software's mobile browser, would be put on 100 million additional mobile devices this year.
The Opera browser, which is able to compress data by up to 90 percent, is on 250 million phones, most of which are in emerging markets.
The move allows Microsoft to outsource web browser development for mobile devices that aren't already running the Windows operating system. Opera could potentially score a much larger user base when Opera Mini is pushed as an upgrade to the existing Xpress browser.
"The deal involves feature phones and the Asha product line, which is good, but there is a potential kicker here if they manage to convert existing users, like they say they will," said Christer Roth, an analyst at DNB Markets, as quoted by Reuters.
"If they succeed then it would give them a solid user base growth, which they indirectly can monetize," Roth said. "The most lucrative part would be if they managed to take over the browser part of all windows phones."
On the other hand, TechCrunch pointed out that the three phone models that will house Opera's browser will be phased out by the end of next year, perhaps making the agreement less of a coup than it seems.
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