Opera, an alternative web browser, unveiled a brand-new version on Tuesday that features an updated design for both Windows and Mac computers.
The Norway-based software company released desktop version 15 of its browser. Among other updates, it sports a cleaner, modern look that seems to take inspiration from its competition.
The “Stash” feature (pictured above) lets users save webpages, and organize them into a list that is searchable using keywords. Opera says Stash is useful for tasks such as saving articles, comparing offers or looking for the best hotel.
Much like Chrome and Safari, Opera’s new webpage address and search bar are now combined into one field. Opera’s new download manager, which also bears similarity to its competition, is sleeker and includes pop-up listings and statuses of downloading items.
Opera 15 includes a “Discover” feature (pictured above) to help users access the latest articles based on categories of interest, a revamped “Speed Dial” for organizing favorite sites, and “Off-Road” mode, which uses compression technology to speed up browsing when a network is slow.
In the competitive market of web browsers, Opera is definitely an underdog. Data published by Toshiba in June indicates that Microsoft’sInternet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple’s Safaridominate in most countries worldwide. For example in the United States, 42.4% of web surfers use IE, 27.9% use Chrome, 15.6% use Firefox and 12.1% use Safari. In countries where Opera was actually referenced in Toshiba’s data, the market share remains small: 0.7% in Mexico, 2% in India, 0.6% in Australia, 1% in Japan and 0.4% in Brazil. In Russia, however, Opera is the fourth most-popular browser, grabbing 12% market share.