Opera, Bytemobile speed up wireless surfing

Future mobile phones that come with Opera Mobile browsers should get a speed boost thanks to a partnership announced Tuesday between Opera Software and Bytemobile.

Going forward, Opera Mobile browsers will be compatible with Bytemobile's Optimization Services Node Monaco Edition, a server-based platform that mobile operators use in their networks to speed up the browsing experience for users.

"You have applications like Opera so users can view the real Web, but sometimes the experience is still painful and slow," said Timo Bruns, executive vice president of mobile at Opera. Mobile operators are asking suppliers like Opera to speed up the browsing experience to encourage customers to use the mobile Internet more, he said.

Bytemobile's servers optimize Web content by shrinking content such as an image, for example, before it's delivered to the handsets. Bytemobile says its server software is used by more than 60 operators around the world including China Mobile Communications, Orange, Vodafone Group and NTT DoCoMo.

The combination of the Bytemobile-optimized Opera Mobile browser and Bytemobile's server platform can double or triple the speed of browsing, according to Bruns. He hopes the increased performance will encourage operators to choose Opera's products. Opera Mobile browsers will still work on networks that don't use Bytemobile's products.