Opera Software Extends Nokia Deal

Nokia has agreed to put Opera‘s mobile browser on several more handsets, bringing the total to 11. Opera expects the number to increase as mid-range phones become powerful enough to surf the Internet. While the deal is obviously great for Opera, it also serves a purpose for Nokia. The handset giant is worried that handsets will become a low-profit commodity, and is therefore wary of Microsoft’s entry into the mobile market – considering the software giant is largely credited with commoditizing the PC industry. Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Casio, Sendo, Sharp and Kyocera were also mentioned as having deals with Opera.

An interesting footnote on the price: “Opera licences its Internet browser to makers of phones and other mobile devices “for everything from a few dollars to half a dollar,” Jebsen said. “To come down to the half-dollar level you have to have significant volumes, and I am talking about millions of phones,” he said. “We expect the average price to come down as volume grows.”

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