Opera tells Forbes to calm down, no US carrier agreements at CTIA

By on Mar 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM
Software March 23, 2009

Following a report from Forbes last Friday, Opera has stated publicly — at least in PR speak — that it denies suggestions of one or more US carrier agreements rumored to be announced in early April. Forbes’ report suggested US carriers were finally “coming around” and the Oslo-based browser company would be announcing agreements to bring its mobile browser to subsidized handsets in the US at CTIA. Opera’s public response:

Opera is aware of statements in the media that Opera will announce one or more agreements with US operators in early April.

Opera would like to clarify that it has no plans to announce any US operator agreements to the OSE in early April as mentioned in the media.

Well that doesn’t leave much room for debate now does it? The idea of less-savvy users in the US having access to a more real version of the web from feature phones was definitely exciting as typical, casual users are unlikely to seek out a browser like Opera Mobile on their own. Alas, no such luck if this announcement is taken at face value. We’re sure Opera will continue to push its browser to US carriers and we can only hope deals will be announced at some point. That point however, will not be next week at CTIA.

Thanks, erik!

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  • boogereater

    Maybe they’re not going to release the info in early April, but maybe at a later date? They only denied the “announcement” not any agreements they may or may not have….

  • erik

    just to clarify, Opera has an information policy to release “major contracts” and other share price sensitive information through OSE (Oslo Stock Exchange / Newsweb). Other information is released through the ordinary press release channel.

    If there are any carrier contracts at CTIA, my best guess would be distribution agreements for the free version of Opera Mini (less earnings potential for the company compared to carrier branded versions).

  • mo

    First!!!

  • Roger A

    Like I always say, when a company says something is NOT happening, it means it will happen.

  • hey ya

    @mo

    Man, this isn’t Engadget.

  • ksmithinny

    @ mo

    I believe “Third!!!” would be a little more appropriate ;)

  • http://www.innopath.com Jason Lackey

    Interesting stuff. While I was absolutely amazed by what they were able to do with Opera Mini on my Moto RAZR V3M I have been less blown away by Opera on devices such as the HTC Raphael (Touch Pro T7272), largely because of what seems like unexpected behavior related to unintended gestures. Their compression technology is first rate and they really do squeeze amazing performance out of limited hardware, which to me has always been the hallmark of good coding. I wish them well.

  • RoBBold

    Opera Mini makes every phone better for getting on and around the internet. I used Opera Mobile, not Opera Mini, on my Nokia N95 and om my HTC Fuse, did not like it as much.

    As long as the carriers do not cripple it, this could be good news. I hope it is!

  • http://miagentz.blogspot.com Jay

    what’s so great about Opera anyway? I think the real excitement would be the release of Fennec by Mozz!

  • Brian

    If you want to check out Opera Mobile, it has already been loaded on the Samsung Saga and Omnia from Verizon. I find it more of the same but a chance to get some different scenery if you are bored with the IE experience.

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