Opera Mini is now the third largest mobile app behind only Facebook and WhatsApp, with over 50 million users in India, according to an official press statement released by the company.
Opera Mini has over 300 million users globally, with 50 million users- India has become the browsers biggest market. Opera Software chief executive Lars Boilesen stated that the number of users would double from 50 million to 100 million within a year given the pace of growth of smartphones in the country.
A fourth of the users are expected to come from the Nokia's Xpress web browser which migrated to Opera Mini post Microsoft's Nokia acquisition. The browser has become the default for Microsoft's (Nokia) feature phones and the Asha phones. Opera CEO Lars Boilesn made the announcement by doing a Bollywood flash dance alongside 50 other dancers at Ambience Mall in Delhi. Read: Opera ties up with 7 Indian OEMs to pre-install Opera Mini on their devices
In a press statement, Opera said, “In India, the number of Opera’s smartphone users grew by 110 percent over the past year and now account for 50 percent of Opera’s total user base. These users are spread across Opera’s portfolio of browsers, including Opera Mini and Opera’s high-end smartphone browsers – Opera Coast for iOS devices and Opera for Android.”
Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera Software said, “Opera Mini’s famous compression technology, which makes browsing faster and helps users cut down on their data costs, is extremely relevant for India. It feels fantastic to be embraced by so many Indians and I’m confident that India will play a key role in Opera’s global vision of bringing the next billion people online.”
Read: Opera Mini users save Rs 2.1 billion on mobile data bills: Report