Samsung will pre-load Opera Max on smartphones

Opera Max is a new feature within the Opera browser suite that will allow smartphone manufacturers and advertisers to send out free or sponsored web-app passes to users. Opera is one of the most secure web browsers that can be had for free, and with this new feature we’re guessing the user base of the app will definitely increase over time. Opera Max with Web Pass is a feature that targets advertisers more than users, from what we can understand. Still, it does offer the opportunity to users to access applications for free, which is always a neat thing to include in pre-installed software.

Opera Max will be pre-loaded on phones targeting entry-level and developing markets, as companies like Samsung, Micromax, Tecno and more have said that they would take advantage of the new features that come included with the app. Bloatware and pre-loaded software is never ok for smartphone users, as many complain that they can’t remove them without rooting their phone, thus the apps taking up unnecessary space. But it seems that Opera is hoping to make their app desirable with these new free features, even though they tie in with advertisements. It’s free content, in the end, so it’s definitely worth a try. Moreover, Opera is indeed one of the safest and most secure browsers for mobile devices, so it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.

With the new feature, Opera subscribers in emerging markets will have the opportunity of accessing free, sponsored or paid mobile Web applications offered by various companies. Opera Max in itself is a data savings application that is widely popular in emerging markets where data plans are expensive and not too easy to come by. With the application, users are able to monitor how much data each of their apps is using in the foreground and background and put limitations on them. At the same time, Opera Max comes with a feature that compresses content so that you don’t need to consume so much data to view a video, for example. It’s a pretty neat tool for anyone to have, especially if they’re on the road a lot and Wi-Fi is scarce.

What the new app pass does is essentially offer users access to applications without consuming any data. That means that the data you use up when checking out the Flipboard Pass, for example, will be supported by your carrier. These passes are only temporary and are synonymous to trial versions, but you do get full access to the application for a limited time. Later on, you can decide whether the app is worth getting a data subscription for so that you can browse content indefinitely. Overall, it’s a nice initiative, even though it does come with a few advertisements added in as extras. The feature is intended for emerging markets, and is currently being tested in Asia. Probably the feature will only be available in such regions in the future, but the Opera Max is available in most Asian and European countries already.