Opera 9.5 released to public

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 12 Jun 2008 at 08:36

The final public release of Opera 9.5 has been opened for download today, nine months after the first alpha build.

Opera claims that improved synchronisation between various machines is one of the key features among the many changes.

A feature called Opera Link allows users to view common bookmarks and written notes on any computer or mobile device using the browser, simply by logging in.

Another feature will be instantly recognisable to any Firefox users. Quick Find allows users to search through their browsing history simply by typing keywords into the address bar, with Opera searching page text for likely matches.

This search function seems to work well, at least comparably to Firefox, although we only have a couple of hours browsing history built up so far.

Most noticeable among the changes is the new look and feel, with a more clean and simple interface and redesigned icons. One feature of Opera that remains the same is that new skins can be downloaded to alter the appearance of the software.

As well as these user-facing updates, Opera claims that speed and security have both received a boost, and improved phishing protection has been provided in collaboration with Haute Secure, Netcraft and PhishTank.

Versions of Opera 9.5 are available for download from the project's homepage for Mac, Linux and Windows platforms, in 30 different languages.