Opera Browser Free Download

Opera Browser

Opera's move to Webkit and later embracing the Chromium engine signals a new, much more competitive push by the Scandinavian browser-maker to keep up with speedier demands, yet still maintaining some of the classic signature features of previous versions.

Speed Dial and Stash are both very fluid, well-executed takes on bookmarking. Using Speed Dial is similar to organizing apps on a touchscreen, so it's no coincidence that Opera has designed this browser to be touch friendly with large containers. You can reorder and reorganize your saved pages or drag them into another to create a folder.

Stash is another take on saving pages and reading them later, but functions more like Pocket in that it's meant for pages to be read later. Again, these are features that can be achieved via extensions and Web apps, but having them conveniently built into the browser and working natively brings its own advantages. And this makes sense: earlier in the year, Opera released its mobile version to complement the desktop browser and maintain a consistent user experience much more seamlessly across devices than it has ever really done before.

Opera has maintained a consistent but small fraction of the browser market, with a noteworthy hold on the mobile market with Opera Mini on lower-end devices. Version 15 reflects a refocused initiative on performance, design, and surprisingly, content curation. It's still a long uphill battle when facing heavyweight titans like IE, Firefox, and Chrome, but if users are looking to embrace an alternative take without sacrificing performance, then we highly recommend taking Opera out for a spin.