Opera Purchases Skyfire, Expands Mobile Web Browser Capability

Opera Purchases Skyfire, Expands Mobile Web Browser CapabilityYou can say that the folks behind the Opera web browser have been kept pretty busy, where they recently announced that they will no longer support the Presto rendering engine, having decided to uproot and make a move over to Webkit. Now, we have news that they will fork out a whopping $155 million in order to pick up rival browser maker Skyfire. Similar to Opera in some ways, Skyfire has had a level of success in the mobile web browser market, where it delivers features which are not normally found on default browsers on platforms such as iOS and Android.

Both Opera and Skyfire mobile browsers are capable of playing nice with slow devices and slow Internet connections, as it will pre-render data on remote servers in order to help users save on bandwidth costs before sending images and other content to your handset. This acquisition will see Opera gain Skyfire’s software which converts Flash and other online video content into a mobile-friendly format, not to mention the Rocket Optimizer service which enables mobile operators to save further bandwidth by optimizing content prior to delivery. Captain Planet will definitely smile on this as their powers combine…

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Opera buys Skyfire, wants its video and smartphone optimization expertise

In a sudden joining of former leaders in the mobile browser arena that have seen their fortunes turn, Opera announced tonight that it has acquired Skyfire for about $155 million in cash and stock. According to the press release, Opera believes one of the things the two can help each other with is its WebPass program that provides short-term mobile data, by further optimizing user’s data requirements. Skyfire CEO Jeffrey Glueck will become an executive vice president at Opera and oversee joint offerings for the two, as well as remain CEO of Skyfire as an independent but wholly-owned subsidiary of Opera.

If you’re still using Skyfire don’t expect it to go away anytime soon, as the two indicate its browser will continue to be developed and supported. The company says three large US mobile operators are already customers for its Rocket Optimizer tech, meant to speed up all manner of data even as mobile connections have gone from dial-up to broadband speeds. Opera claims its advertising chops can help the Skyfire Horizon mobile browser and toolbar applications as well. The deal is expected to close before mid-March, and the two will be taking meetings at MWC 2013 later this month to show mobile operators how much better they are together.

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Source: Opera, Skyfire Blog