Opera Mobile Store was a platform-independent browser-based

app store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...

for mobile-phone owners and a digital application distribution platform used by more than 40,000 developers around the world, owned and maintained by

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

. Launched and powered by a third-party provider in March, 2011 the Opera Mobile Store was relaunched on a new platform, after acquisition of Handster, a mobile app store platform company, in January 2012. The service allows users to browse and download

applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

for over 7,500 different devices on Android,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

BlackBerry OS BlackBerry OS is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system developed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices. The operating system provides multitasking and supports specialized i ...

, Symbian,

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

, and

Windows Mobile Windows Mobile is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones and personal digital assistants. Its origin dated back to Windows CE in 1996, though Windows Mobile itself first appeared in 2000 as Pock ...

. Opera Mobile Store delivers more than 1 million app downloads a day and is accessible from any mobile phone via a visual bookmark with the OMS logo on Speed Dial or Start Page of

Opera Mini Opera Mini is a mobile web browser made by Opera. It was primarily designed for the Java ME platform, as a low-end sibling for Opera Mobile, but it is now developed exclusively for Android. It was previously developed for iOS, Windows 10 Mobil ...

or Opera Mobile browsers that run on more than 260 million devices worldwide. The store is also accessible from any other browser, including desktop versions, and on any

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also i ...

, from http://apps.opera.com/. The Opera Mobile Store then forwards the user to the country-specific store based on the location information provided by the mobile carrier or ISP. Over 86% of the applications for Android-powered phones provided by the Opera Mobile Store are free of charge, while others require payment. The average free-vs.-paid-apps ratio for all platforms is 70% and 30%, respectively. These applications are generally targeted on a particular category, including

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

, business applications,

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

apps,

e-books An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

, and others. Opera application was pre-installed in Samsung galaxy old series phones such as j2 but in today's phone this application is not pre-installed.

History

On March 8, 2011, Opera Software announced the launch of Opera Mobile Store powered by third-party provider. On September 19, 2011 Opera Software acquired app store platform company Handster, which was the leading independent applications store for Android market at that time. Following the acquisition of Handster, Opera Software made a major overhaul since the Opera Mobile Store launch. Opera Software announced a revamped Opera Mobile Store with improved distribution and

monetization Monetization ( also spelled monetisation) is, broadly speaking, the process of converting something into money. The term has a broad range of uses. In banking, the term refers to the process of converting or establishing something into legal tend ...

capabilities for developers, and better customization for white-label marketplaces at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 27, 2012. In July 2013, developers can now upload apps to both the

Yandex Yandex LLC (russian: link=no, Яндекс, p=ˈjandəks) is a Russian multinational technology company providing Internet-related products and services, including an Internet search engine, information services, e-commerce, transportation, map ...

Store and the Opera Mobile Store simultaneously, as a result of agreements between the two companies. On November 18, 2014,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

and Opera Software have signed an agreement to replace Nokia Store with the Opera Mobile Store as the default app store for Nokia feature phones, Symbian and Nokia X smartphones. The process of migrating customers from Nokia Store to Opera Mobile Store is expected to be complete in the first half of 2015, at which point Nokia Store will be closed.

Number of downloaded applications

As stated in the official Opera Software press-release, by February 27, 2012 Opera Mobile Store reached more than 30 million monthly app store visits and over 45 million monthly app downloads. Number of apps in the store has tripled over the year 2013, while the number of monthly visitors to the Opera's app distribution platform grew to 75 million in October, 2013. At the end of Q4 2013 Opera Software announced that it has reached a new milestone — 105 million monthly visitors. That is a 172% increase in a year since the close of 2012. The top-three countries in 2013 based on the number of Opera Mobile Store users were

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. By November, 2014 Opera's app store started to offer close to 300,000 mobile apps and games across most mobile platforms. Earlier, in early 2014 the mobile store offered over 200,000 apps significant growth in the number of apps available.

Most popular apps

Top 100 apps lists are compiled separately for each country with an Opera Mobile Store presence. The lists feature 17 categories, ranging from business apps to games for every platform supported by the Opera Mobile Store, consisting of the most popular apps among the store users in the selected category.

Top 20 most downloaded paid and free apps across all countries, platforms, and categories (March 2015)

Application ratings

Currently, the Opera Mobile Store does not rate applications; instead, the OMS team ether accepts apps submitted for inclusion into the store or rejects them, based on whether their content is appropriate for a wide age group, and keeping objectionable apps out of the store.

App submission process

Opera Mobile Store does not charge developers for joining mobile store's distribution program and publishing apps. Developers get 70% of net revenue from sales of paid apps for Android accepted into the Opera Mobile Store, and 50% of net revenue for Java apps.

App approval process

Applications are subject to approval by Opera Mobile Store team for basic reliability testing on all the platforms and devices declared by developer in submission process. Opera Mobile Store does not accept adult and sexual content.

Opera Top App Awards

Every year Opera Mobile Store runs Top Apps Awards. These awards recognize the best apps in the Opera Mobile Store across multiple categories based on popular user voting.

Partnerships

In 2013 Opera Mobile Store signed a cross-app store distribution partnership with

, the largest search engine in the Russian-speaking Internet market and the leading search engine in Eastern Europe, based on audience reach. This agreement allows apps in the Opera Mobile Store also to be available for download in the

Yandex app store Yandex LLC (russian: link=no, Яндекс, p=ˈjandəks) is a Russian multinational technology company providing Internet-related products and services, including an Internet search engine, information services, e-commerce, transportation, maps ...

and vice versa. The same year Opera Software signed several more partnership agreements with mobile carriers in Eastern Europe. Both MTS Belarus and MTS Ukraine launched Opera co-branded app stores for their 28 million total user base.

Opera Subscription Mobile Store

Starting July 21, 2014 Opera Software started to offer service that provides mobile carriers' customers with unlimited access to premium games and apps catalogue built on the Opera Mobile Store technology and supported by the OMS team. The first carrier to implement app store subscription model for their customers was MTS Russia that launched App Market service together with Opera. In this model mobile users pay a weekly subscription fee for “all-you-can-eat” access after a free seven-day trial period. During 2014 Opera Software launched subscription mobile stores with MTS Russia, MTS Ukraine, MTS Belarus, TIM Brasil and

XL Axiata PT XL Axiata Tbk (formerly PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk), is an Indonesia-based mobile telecommunications services operator headquartered at Jakarta. It is the second largest mobile telecommunications company in Indonesia. The operator's coverag ...

in Indonesia.

One Platform Foundation

In May 2013 Opera and

announced together with SlideME and CodeNgo the launch and provided support for a new open-source One Platform Foundation (OPF) initiative, enabling developers to easily code and submit their apps across multiple alternative app stores.

Similar services

References

External links

Official website

Official Opera Mobile Store developer site

Software distribution agreement

Opera Mobile Store team's official blog
{{Software digital distribution platforms Mobile software distribution platforms