Now I really do love Google Chrome and I use it all the time as my primary browser. Why do I use it so much? Well it’s fast, very fast, it launches in a second and is over all very clean and reliable. Well recently Opera software, who were very much responsible for the introduction of the browser ballot screen, has released Opera 10.5 for Windows, boasting that it’s “the fastest browser on Earth.”
The main focus for Opera 10.5 is speed, and much of the speed comes from two new under the hood features in this release, namely the new Carakan JavaScript rendering engine and the Vega graphics engine
So I decided to put it to the test, and well, Google Chrome still beat it for me anyway. It easily beats Firefox and Internet Explorer but it just can’t beat Chrome. Even with a couple of Chrome extensions installed it still launches fractionally faster than Opera and loads pages just as fast.
But Opera has got something that I wish Google Chrome would have, and that is support for access to individual open tabs. Internet Explorer has this as well as a few other applications, but not many that I use often.
I don’t know why Google and many other software companies haven’t got onto this sooner as it’s a great feature and I love it.
Opera has also added its “Speed Dial” to the jump list from the task bar. These are a list of sites which you can quickly launch.
Opera also has a nice feature called “Opera Turbo” which loads web pages much faster. What it does is compress the webpages on Opera’s servers before sending it on to your PC. While this means faster load times, it also means that picture quality is reduced and I’ve found that some sites like my own and this one don’t work very well with this feature on. It also limits functionality and security since it doesn’t allow Https connections.
In addition to the Windows 7 integration, Opera 10.5 sports a somewhat different look on Windows, having eliminated the traditional menu bar in favor a new “Opera menu,” which looks and behaves much like the single button menus found in Microsoft Office.
For now Opera is just available for Windows as the Mac and Linux versions still remain in Beta. You can download Opera 10.5 from here
What do you think of Opera 10.5?
Let us know in the comments
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I have installed Opera 10.5 lately and I am impressed. It is far far faster than Firefox, which even when there are no plugins installed, can still be sluggish. The last time I used opera was years ago and it has improved ten-fold for me. The integrated windows 7 features are a must, i think, for any new software. Why firefox and chrome seem to be taking there time with the tab view thing is beyond me.
Google Chrome I have not used enough to form an opinion on.
What is written about Opera turbo is WRONG .
If you use opera turbo on a fast broadband connection it makes opera slower and also serves up lower quality pages.
Opera Turbo should be used on slow connections like dial up or on mobile phones where it will deliver faster pages & because it’s compressing the data if you are paying for what you use on mobile broadband you save money & time.
Before Chrome & Safari were born Opera was the fastest browser & Opera has now regained it’s crown as the fastest browser.
Beats firefox?
how so?
as for turbo mode….it should be only use on dial up and limited net. Also you be losing some quality of images on web pages.
As a power user, once I discovered Opera in 2008, I saw every other browser as too shallow. After switching from IE to Firefox, I liked the upgrade and felt like it could be my permanent browser. I then tried Chrome, but despite its speed, it was too watered down for an advanced user like me. I then came upon Opera, which I had heard of before, but never really cared about. Even on the website I felt like it was just another one of those small browsers that no one cared about.
But once I started it up, I was immediately impressed. I learned of its innovations, its functionality, its customization. To this day, I am glad I discovered Opera.
OPERA 10.5 will u marry me.
I’ve been using Opera for a number of years now and think it’s very much underrated. It is fast, reliable, customizable and full of features. One feature I like very much is the speed dial with my favourite websites which is immedaitely present (with its own background) when Opera starts up. Opera can also handle numerous open webpages very easily, one of the features that Chrome advertised with recently but doesn’t live up to (at least not in my case). It has an integrated mail program as well as a torrent downloader (though I prefer uTorrent).
With the same webpage opened the memory usage is as follows: Opera 57 Mb, IE8 46 Mb, Safari 256 Mb (!). Firefox beats then all with only 10 Mb.
I go between Opera, Safari and Firefox, depending on what I’m doing. Forget IE and Chrome.
Chrome faster,better.No comments.
I use Firefox because its modularity with Add-Ons. Two of them that cannot be missed are NoScript & AdBlock Plus; simply AWESOME, and to be honest I’m waiting for Opera or Chrome to make some like them. It’s the only reason for me to migrate.
Loving Opera 10.5, was using Firefox but have now switched to Opera 10.5 – Great Browser
Has lots of cool features, looks good and doesn’t take up to much of the screen with toolbars 
It’s also very fast! 
Recommended Browser!
Really Fast
Well.. Since Chrome is i in the market I have been using it. I love chrome, but like you said there are thing’s that are still missing, that Opera have include in the newer version that i have been testing in the last days. I like it, but I am going back to google. Faster, and simple. I like it. Hope that google will change to new OS of Microsoft, windows 7.
No. Chrome is okay, but it’s not THAT great. It still lacks half the features Firefox has. It still doesn’t have as cool of an interface as IE does. Thus, it shouldn’t be default.
I use opera for five years and I use Firefox because of many useful plugi-ins.Opera is a little underestimated because most of the best innovations come from Opera and then other browsers take that ideas.New opera takes too much memory and it is the only Opera minus.
Sorry about my english.