Opera shows browser battle not over until fat lady sings

The Internet browser market is not for the faint hearted, being dominated by two embattled giants, both giving their products away free. Any company trying to sell an alternative browser appears to be pushing a boulder uphill while its competitors are rolling theirs down.

But by keeping its boulder small, the Norwegian developer of the Opera browser has found a small but growing niche willing to pay $35 (£23) for an alternative to Microsoft and Netscape's free browsers. The "small is beautiful" philosophy of German economist, Mr Fritz Schumacher, seems applicable, for one of Opera's main attractions is its ability to run on machines where disk space and memory are scarce resources.

According to Opera Software's chief executive officer, Mr Jon von Tetzchner, its user base grew tenfold last year and is expected to keep growing as the company ports the browser to new operating systems. However, he admits that "considerably less" than its one million customers are paying users. Opera distributes its browser from its website with a free 30-day trial, explaining the presence of many non-paying users.

The global browser market is estimated to stand at 97.2 million users at the end of this year, according to Ms Joan-Carol Brigham, an analyst at the International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC figures gave Netscape Navigator 41.5 per cent of the US market last June, while Microsoft's Internet Explorer had 27.5 per cent. America Online's (AOL) browser, based on Explorer, had a further 16.3 per cent, leaving 14.7 per cent to "others". Ms Brigham agrees with Mr von Tetzchner that Opera's estimated share is less than 1 per cent.

However, she says, America Online's recent purchase of Netscape has led to rumblings of discontent among Internet service providers (ISPs). AOL is now expected to shift from Explorer to Navigator, and Microsoft is hoping vigorously to target any remaining independent ISPs. The battle for customers, says Ms Brigham, may create space for another browser.

But the browser market is not only about customers: there are also the developers to be considered. Website developers already resent having to make sure their sites can be successfully viewed by two different browsers, meaning any third browser needs to move close to the existing leaders. This conflicts with the need to be different.

In Opera's case, the difference has up till now been primarily about size. While managing most of the normal functionality of its competitors, it requires a lot less disk space and memory, making it attractive on slower PCs.

The latest release, version 3.5, eats only 1.7 megabytes of memory, according to Mr von Tetzchner, although he admits that it gets bigger - up to four or five megabytes - if Java is run. Java applets are commonly used to add interactive and multimedia features to websites.

Being smaller means it is well placed to target the emerging market for hand-held Internet devices, such as palm-top computers and Internet-ready mobile phones. Mr von Tetzchner describes the Symbian alliance of Psion, Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola and Oracle as "a huge opportunity for us", and says a Psion version of Opera will be released during the first quarter of 1999. Apple Mac and Linux versions are also expected sometime next year, as are multiple language versions.

However, Netscape's release last week of a preview version of its new Gecko browsing engine, targeting the small-device market, shows that Opera cannot expect to be left alone in the sub-two megabyte browser market.

But Opera is also adding features. The latest version includes cascading style sheets, offline viewing of previously viewed sites, file upload, and user-definable tool bars. Java support, however, requires a (free) download from Sun Microsystems' website, which Mr von Tetzchner admits is "extra hassle".

The Norwegian browser also incorporates 128-bit encryption for viewing secure sites, meaning non-US users benefit from additional security when using it to supply credit card details over the Net. Existing non-US versions of Explorer and Navigator use 40-bit encryption.

Ms Brigham says the long-term success of a browser such as Opera will depend on identifying and concentrating on a market segment. The company will have to create an online identity, she says.

It looks like Opera Software is already aware of this. Mr von Tetzchner says the three-year-old company, which split off from the national telephone company, Telenor, derives 99 per cent of its revenue from the browser, but is diversifying. Its website (www.operasoftware.com) now includes free email.

If enough Web surfers prove willing to pay $35 for a new alternative, the existing giants may find their battle interrupted by a surprise attack from the Norsemen.

Eoin Licken is at elicken@irish- times.ie