Do tablets require a custom Web browser? Opera Software thinks so.
The Norwegian browser developer announced it’s going to be giving a sneak peak at Opera for Tablets, a touch-oriented Web browser designed for tablets, at the big Consumer Electronics Show later this week in Las Vegas.
The move seems logical given the speedy Opera browser has had its greatest success, in terms of market share, on mobile devices. Last month the company said its Opera Mini browser has 76.3 million monthly users worldwide and is optimized for more than 3,000 different handsets.
Speed and fast load times, helped by the software’s ability to compress data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the phone, is a boon to mobile users on a pay-as-you-go or limited data plan or having to incur roaming rates.
A blog post had few details about the Opera for Tablets and a very brief [YouTube video ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1pnuXZVfyk)gave just a scant demo that showed off smooth fingertip scroll and zooming on an Android device.
The blog promised Opera for Tablets will provide the smoothest tablet and netbook experience on the market for checking email, managing social networks or surfing the net.
“In 2011, tablets are a new must-have. Opera is creating waves with the first public preview of Opera for tablets,” said Christen Krogh, Chief Development Officer for Opera Software. “Opera for tablets brings the same trusted Internet experience to tablets and netbook PCs as users have come to love on their mobile phones and desktops.”
In the broader browser market, Opera trails the vastly more popular Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers, coming in fifth place with 2.23 percent of the market, according figures released by [Net Applications](http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/entdev/article.php/3915256/Internet-Explorer-8-Use-Up-but-Overall-IEs-Down.htm) last month.
