Opera 30 for Desktop Brings Sidebar Extensions; Opera Mini for Windows Phone Launched

Opera on Tuesday announced its latest browser version, Opera 30, which offers sidebar extensions to Windows, Linux, and Mac. The firm also launched its Opera TV browser for Android TV, and on Wednesday also unveiled Opera Mini for Windows Phone.

For those unaware, sidebar extensions are similar to regular browser extensions, except they are placed on one side of the screen and help users access them side-by-side while continuing their work. For activating the feature, users can simply select the desired extensions from the Opera menu which they want to keep on the sidebar extensions.

In the latest update, the Opera browser 30 also brings Tab cycler, which makes it easier to switch between tabs; an improved tab menu that lets users change the order of tabs based on which they were recently used; recently closed section for accessing the Web-page closed accidentally, and the Other Device tab menu that lets the signed-in users to see all the open tabs.

"If you have an idea for adding new functionality to Opera, you can now easily implement it by creating a sidebar extension," said Zhenis Beisekov, Product Manager at Opera Software during the launch. "This solution brings unlimited possibilities for anyone who wants to contribute to product development - and a dose of fresh energy to the browser world."

The firm has also launched its Opera TV browser, which as the name indicates would let users browse the Web on Android TV platform. The app is free to download in select parts of the world but is currently said to miss out on Nexus Player support, according to Android Police. The app can be installed on the Nvidia Shield and ADT-1. The app uses a speed dial interface, includes smart elements like auto page resize and others. The app requires Android 5.0 Lollipop and later versions to run.

As for Opera Mini for Windows Phone, the company after releasing a beta version several months ago, has launched the stable version of the app on the Microsoft Windows Phone Store. The company is emphasising the "truly native look and feel" of the app that it says it build from the ground-up to give Windows Phone users an customised app, rather than bringing over the interface from other platforms.