A Visit with Opera

The Convergence of Local and Mobile Marketing

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Webcast - Nov. 17, 2011 (1pm ET / 10am PT)

On-the-go consumers are the most valuable prospects available. But while local advertising on the PC has not been well understood by marketers, the importance of location-based content to smartphone users is all but self-evident. Recent behavioral data shows that 40% to 50% of mobile searches are local in nature, not including apps.

Join Opus Research’s Senior Analyst Greg Sterling and AT&T Interactive’s Executive Director of Product Management Matthew Goldman for a mix of data, discussion and perspective about location and mobility today. Goldman will also present what AT&T is seeing “from the field” in terms of SMB advertiser demand and mobile consumer behavior.

Register Now!

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For more information, please contact Pete Headrick (pheadrick@opusresearch.net or 1-415-904-7666)

A Visit with Opera

Wed, 10/22/2008 - 15:31 by Greg Sterling

We spoke at some length with Opera this afternoon. I believed I knew a good deal about the company but was surprised by a number of things that I did not know.

One of those things is Opera's extensive presence in TV set-top boxes and its extensive relationships with wireless carriers and handset makers globally. On the TV front, there are probably millions of people in the US alone that are currently able to access the full Internet through an Opera browser on their Wii game consoles or through a TV set-top box. This was striking to me.

I think, at some point in the future, "TV" sets will be a major Internet access point. I also think the user experience on TV and in mobile share some common challenges and limitations.

Opera has a tiny browser market share online, but in mobile it's one of the dominant players and has many millions of users (via Opera Mini and Opera Mobile). I was told that 200K Opera Mini browsers are downloaded every day. I asked whether the two browsers would merge eventually. Opera explained that there was a technical rationale for each browser and so it appears both will survive, but the distinctions will undoubtedly be less over time.

Opera previouisly charged US$9.99 (I believe) for its full mobile browser but is now giving it away. The company makes money on search ads from Google, as well as fees for every installed browser that ships with a handset. Opera also offers widgets, which are very much like iPhone Apps but work across multiple platforms: mobile, online and TV.