Opera for Mac review - an underdog with a twist

Opera is one of the oldest Internet browsers around. It was born in 1994 as a research project at Telenor, the largest Norwegian telecommunications company and two years later this David started competing with Goliaths like Apple, Google and Microsoft. Not very surprisingly, its share market remains very low in comparison with the most used browsers (look here for more details).

Though it's not widely used, Opera is an interesting and innovative browser, offering a fast and pleasant surfing experience. Its mobile version has, in fact, become more popular in the last years. I've tested the Mac version of this browser.

Major features


Interface

Opera's interface is unique, implementing a look very different from the major browsers, based on three elements: Speed Dial, Stash and Discover.

• Speed Dial 

When you open up a new tab, this functionality shows you a list of thumbnails corresponding to the more often visited web pages. You can add a new site to the list by clicking on the "+" button and entering the page URL, or select a web page from the list in the next window where it says "Click to Add a Web Page" (Fig. 1). You can drag and drop URLs from bookmarks and other locations. It's possible as well to delete entries from Speed Dial by clicking on the X button on the upper right corner of the thumbnail. Thumbnails can be rearranged, dragged and dropped from one space to another.

Fig.1 (Click to enlarge)

Speed Dial (Click to enlarge)

    



 

Discover (Click to enlarge)

Stash (Click to enlarge)

• Stash

Stash allows you to add a page you want to go back to, by clicking the heart-shaped button on the right of the address bar. The bookmark functionality is, in my opinion, the biggest downside of this browser and I'll talk more in detail about it in a few. 

• Discover

Discover displays the latest news (like Google News) and it can be customized by clicking on the drop-down menu.

Browsing experience and performance

Opera is a fast and reliable browser. It's very fast, even compared with the more popular browsers.
In the video tutorial I performed a comparative browser speed test opening the same web page with Opera, FireFox, Chrome and Safari. Even though this is clearly a hands-on and nonscientific test (a scientific one should consider the hardware features of the observed computer, the type of Internet connection used -whether DSL, LAN, T1, HDSL, etc.- and its Internet connection speed), it shows that Opera browsing performance is as good as that of the other browsers. During my tests, I've never observed any problems. The users can perform their ordinary browsing activity (surfing the web, downloading files, playing YouTube videos..) rather smoothly. The only time I noticed a slower performance was when I had too many apps open at the same time.
Note: I took Internet Explorer off from this test because I run Windows in a virtual machine and any virtualized operating system is notoriously slower than a physically installed one. So, if from that test it had resulted that Internet Explorer was the slowest one, that wouldn't have been a correct conclusion, not depending on the browser itself, but on other factors, and to me that didn't allow me a correct testing.

Opera fully supports voice commands and keyboard shortcuts (the list of implemented commands and shortcuts is really extensive, see figure and video tutorial for more details), making it an ideal browser for impaired users. Its multi-modality makes the mobile version popular.
Opera offers as well an interesting Off-Road Mode. This feature (also called Turbo Mode), utilizing a proxy and server-side compression, should ensure faster browsing, especially when the user has a slower Internet connection (for more details, visit this page). In my tests, I didn't notice any remarkable difference, though. 

Fig.2 (Click to enlarge)

Opera Link (accessible through File/Synchronize) allows to "Synchronize your Speed Dial and bookmarks between any devices you use to get online" (Fig. 2). For more details about the overall features of Opera web browser I will refer you to my video tutorial. 

Final considerations 

• Pros

Opera is a very fast and reliable browser that deserves much more consideration than it's gotten so far. Its interface is easy to use and functional and it supports vocal commands and keyboard shortcuts.

• Cons

Organizing bookmarks is a real puzzle. In fact, unlike the other browsers, the user can't see their bookmark folders in a hierarchical structure. There's no bookmark organizer and the only workaround is to activate the Quick Access Toolbar. To do that, the user has to enter Opera:flags in the address bar. From the following window (Fig. 3), next to Quick Access Bar, select "Enabled" (the default option is "Disabled"). This way you can add a page to the bookmarks by clicking on the "+" button. If you have already bookmarks imported from another browser, you can create folders to organize them, but all this must be setup manually by the user. Though some deny this is a big deal, in my opinion (and according to most reviewers) it's a serious flaw. The current version has totally eliminated any bookmark functionality with the clear intent to push the new Speed Dial feature (maybe they are planning to boost corporate revenue by adding advertising to pages in a coming version). The thumbnails representing the websites can be arranged in groups, but this isn't enough to replace a true bookmark organizer. On the other hand Opera supports private browsing (File/New Private Window).

Wrap up 

Opera is a very fast and reliable browser, underrated and has potential and innovative features, but it's like a giant with feet of clay. Its voice and keyboard functionalities are very advanced (Fig. 4). I personally enjoyed the overall browsing experience and the stylish interface, but the final verdict can't overlook the fact that is lacks some essential functions such as bookmarks. Opera developers continue to make effort to make Opera unique and unmistakable, which has always made it a sort of rebel and a slightly snobbish exception in the conformist world of Internet browsers. But in this case being a rebel is a downside and not a plus. If you want to be unique then you should also be the best and Opera is lacking in the above-mentioned features. This is one of the reasons why this browser isn't used by more people.In the Opera community itself, there have been some dissenting opinions about the new functionalities. 

If nothing will be changed in the following version, Opera won't stand a chance competing with giants like Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox, Google Chrome or Apple Safari and will remain an outsider fighting a losing battle.                                           

Fig. 3 (Click to enlarge)

Fig.4 (Click to enlarge)