The Internet Browsers wars have been going for a couple of years now ever since Google Chrome became popular, with the major players in the game have been Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, Google Chrome and Opera. Of all these browsers, Firefox has remained the most convenient and efficient, while Google Chrome follows closely. In terms of numbers, Internet Explorer has been used more widely but that is only in places where there isn’t much knowledge about other browsers that are available.
Strange as it may seem, Opera has always been in the background and not many people would have thought that it could give tough competition to Firefox, Chrome or IE. However, the browser was unanimously chosen as the best Major Desktop Browser in a survey performed by About.com in the beginning of 2010.
It scored really well and stood first in many areas and bagged a number of Reader’s Choice Awards including Best Privacy/Security Add-On, Best Independent Browser, Best Browser Theme, Best Major Desktop Browser, Best Mobile Browser, Best Overall Add-On (Non Security) and Best User Script. With that being said, Opera also has announced the release if Opera 10.50 on Tuesday and the Norwegian company is touting the browser as the fastest on Windows.
As a hardcore Firefox fan, I downloaded Opera 10.50 and was surprised to see how elegant, and visually attractive the interface really is. Since there is no toolbar that would stand at the top of the screen, your screen would appear larger, clearer and more “spacey”.
All the functions of the browsers can be accessed through a tiny button on the top of the screen. Bookmarks, History, Downloads, Opera Unite and other features can be accessed through the menu button which replaces the traditional menu bar which I spoke about. Now let us take a look at what makes Opera 10.50 the winner.
Appearance
As mentioned earlier, Opera 10.50 is minimalist, simple and elegant with an attractive welcome screen. One can customize the appearance of the browser to suit their taste as well. Thanks to the removal of menu bar, there is a whole lot of space on the screen.
Widgets
There are several stand-alone widgets that run on the desktop even when you close your Opera. Popular widgets include Unite Media Player and eBook Reader. Unite Media Player lets you listen to your music wherever you are right on your browser, and you could exchange pictures, stream music and do a lot more with your friends as well. There are many other cool widgets as well.
Developers
Thanks to HTML5 and Cascading Style Sheets 3 web designers can build great applications using open technologies.
New Features
Opera 10.50 supports Aero Glass feature in Windows 7 and Vista and also Aero Glass, Aero Peek and Jump Lists. Of course, private browsing is always another advantage.
Verdict
Opera 10.50 is easy to use, fast and great to look at. It offers private browsing and supports 42 languages. While it may not replace Firefox overnight, it sure can be used as an alternative Internet browser since Firefox crashes way too often. Mac and Linux versions of Opera 10.50 would be launched soon.
Opera 10.50 Via: Tech Crunch
