Opera for iPhone May Be Available But Will Apple Approve It?

February 11, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke

February 11, 2010 – As soon as next week, Opera Software could debut its mobile browser for use on the iPhone. Reported to be up to six times faster than Safari, the iPhones native browser, it also claims to reduce unnecessary bandwidth consumption by as much as 90%.

While that last statistic might sound very attractive to AT&T, the iPhone’s only approved carrier, Apple may not be as excited at the possibilities. If Apple feels Opera may ultimately pose a threat to Apple’s stronghold on the device’s platform, they may do everything possible to prevent or, at least, delay it’s approval for inclusion in the tightly controlled App Store.

Opera Software has yet to officially submit the software to Apple for review, but they do not anticipate problems, once they do. According to Reuters news sources, Opera cofounder Jon von Tetzchner is quoted as saying, “…we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in Web browsing experience.” Other industry insiders are not as positive. While they predict that Apple will eventually approve the application, they see it happening only after an extended and exhaustive review period.

Opera’s hopes may depend heavily upon the FCC’s ongoing review of Apple’s policies based on allegations of anti-competitive practices, brought forth by Google. Their allegations of unfair practices were based on Apple’s initial rejection of the Google Voice Application. If the FCC puts the pressure on Apple to play nicely, Opera and, ultimately, consumers may be the big winners.

(Source: Reuters International)

February 23, 2010 at 1:08 pm

[...] will refuse Apps like this. At this point, one can’t even be sure they are going to let the Opera Browser App into the store. The potential problem for Apple, though, is the distinct possibility (or [...]