Coming Soon, Maybe: Opera Mini for iPhone

Opera is set to unveil Opera Mini for iPhone in a press and partner preview during the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, the Norwegian browser software company said in a statement released earlier today. In addition, the company will be introducing a slew of other Opera-powered devices at its exhibit at MWC.

Small caveat: Opera has yet to submit the iPhone app for approval in the App Store.

The company foresees zero issues with the approval of the app, and hopes Apple will “not deny their users a choice in Web browsing experience”. Frankly, I hope Apple won’t block the app from appearing in the App Store either, but you never really know with Cupertino.

Once the app is completed and live in the App Store, Opera Software hopes people will be enticed to leave the iPhone’s Safari browser for what it is primarily based on the speed of its own product. The company says that Opera Mini for iPhone is up to 6 times faster than the native browser thanks to its compression technology, based on internal tests. (Can’t wait to try that for myself)

Furthermore, Opera says users who pay carriers per MB or roam a lot, will be able to reduce browsing cost up to 90%.

I’ll be heading to Barcelona for the congress next week, attend Opera’s press preview and hopefully be able to record a video of the app in action.