Today Opera announced its new mobile browser, Opera Touch designed to be used with one hand. Most key functions of the browser are now placed within a user’s thumb enabling you to browse whilst carrying your groceries with one hand, for instance.
Opera brags that its latest browser is for “for busy people who do other things while also using their phones”
But I fear that Opera’s Touch browser will encourage car drivers to drive whilst browsing which can cause accidents.
The innovation comes after the Norwegian software company conducted a research which discovered that 86 percent of U.S. smartphone users prefer to hold their smartphones with one hand while also doing other stuff, such as eating, commuting, walking or shopping.
When you open the Opera Touch browser, it starts in search mode and is ready for a user to start typing a URL or a search query to find things for you on the web. Then when you enter into a website, scrolling up will reveal a button at the bottom of the page that you can tap to access your other tabs or to start a new one.
With Opera Touch, you don’t have to make any additional moves or taps before you can start searching. That’s because they know you usually want to quickly find something online and move on with your life, or that your other hand might be holding something. That’s why they have reduced the number of steps before you can start your search to zero.
That alone is a handy additional given that lot of mobile browsers still place all of their buttons on the top of the screen (namely, Chrome), forcing you to reach up or reposition your hand just to change tabs. Being able to do that with just one hand is definitely a convenience.
And guess what? In the new browser, you don’t even have to type in order to search the web. You can also use the voice search function or scan a QR or barcode to perform your search.
That’s a useful function when you, for instance, see a product at a shop and want to check its reviews or prices online.
Opera Touch also comes with a Cryptocurrency mining protection function
The Bitcoin and cryptocurrency buzz has introduced a fraudulent activity of remotely mining cryptocurrencies using other peoples browsers. Opera Touch comes with a function that a user will be at liberty to enable or disable cryptocurrency browser mining. Although, it comes disabled.
You can download the Opera Touch app on Android on Google Play iOS’s version will come soon.
3 comments
For a browser marketed as a one hand experience, they shouldn’t have placed a lot of menu options at the top of the interface. Had to jiggle my phone around in my hand so my thumb could reach important option up top.
Also, for some reason, typing in the search area disabled “swiping” on my Google keyboard.
While some pundits applaud multi-tasking, I don’t. However, there’s no reason to believe that it will see an increase in car accidents, because some drivers are inherently careless
Good app and i have tested it