Opera's WebKit-based Android browser out of beta

Opera for Android, the WebKit-based iteration of Opera's mobile browser is now out of beta and can be downloaded through the Google Play Store.

Released as a beta back in March, the browser offers faster rendering thanks to the new WebKit engine and a cleaner user interface.

The updated browser adds some new features including the ability to toggle the navigation bar from top to bottom, wrap text when one zooms-in, and the ability to view active tabs in full screen. The browser also supports data compression and server side rendering through the Off-Road mode that also lets users save on data costs and load web pages faster. The off-road mode is turned off by default.

As we reported earlier, the Opera browser features the usual Speed dial launcher for popular websites in addition to saved pages. It also offers a Discover page where it offers curated content across categories such as Top Stories, Arts, Business, Entertainment, Food, Health, Lifestyle, Living, Motoring, News, Science, Sports, Technology, and Travel. The content can be customised according to one's country and the browser also features a Hindi feed for the Indian region. Unfortunately, the content can't be customised further by the user.The browser also doesn't support changing the default search engine (Google).

The browser also sports regular features such as a private browsing mode, a download manager, a unified address and search bar, popup blocker, an option to save pages for offline reading and the ability to change the user agent of the browser.

The Opera browser is not optimised for Android tablets, but should still run like other Android apps.

Opera had first showcased the new browser at the Mobile World Congress, after announcing the transition to the WebKit rendering engine. Opera has not given a timeline for the release of the iOS version of the browser, which is also expected to release soon.

Recently, Opera had announced a tie-up with seven Indian handset makers, namely Celkon, Karbonn, Lava, Intex, HCL, Zen and Fly to preinstall the Opera Mini mobile web browser on their Android devices.

Download - Opera browser