Opera Software CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner said in a New York Times interview yesterday that its engineers have developed a version of the Opera web browser that works on the iPhone, but Apple has rejected it for the App Store because it competes with Safari.

This isn't unprecedented: Apple rejected an app called Podcaster possibly because it duplicates functionality in an upcoming version of the iPhone software. Podcaster was (for a time) available via ad-hoc distribution before that, too, was shut down.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber suggests that Apple rejected Opera because the browser included its own JavaScript interpreter, something forbidden by the iPhone SDK developer agreement.

Opera makes two flavors of its mobile web browser: Opera Mini for most mobile phones, BlackBerry, Palm, or Windows Mobile; and Opera Mobile, a more featured version for Symbian and Windows Mobile. A beta version of Opera Mini for Android is also in development.

Update: Gruber used his massive Rolodex over the weekend to determine through an unnamed source that the app may not have even been submitted to the App Store. Huh.

Consumer Reports, in its annual internet security survey, recommended that Mac users avoid Safari because of its lack of phishing protection. Instead, they recommend users install Firefox 3 or Opera 9.5 as their default browsers, since both will warn users before displaying the contents of sites known to be source of scams and personal information theft.

Jeff Fox, technology editor at Consumer Reports, noted that "e-mail is the weak vector on the Mac," meaning that most successful phishing attacks on Mac users arrive via email.

"Windows users are used to being paranoid about not clicking [links in phishing emails]," he said. "Mac users aren't, even though they say, 'Antivirus software, who needs it?'"

As we've mentioned before, 1Password does a great job of adding phishing protection to Safari. Also, always be extra-wary of clicking links in emails from people you don't know.

[Via Computerworld.]

With a passionate seven-tenths of a percent of the worldwide market, Opera software has released version 9.5 of its eponymous web browser.

Opera 9.5 introduces synchronization of bookmarks with Opera Link, a new developer tool called Opera Dragonfly, improved Fraud Protection, and a significantly altered set of keyboard shortcuts.

The browser scores an 83 (out of a possible 100) on the Acid3 Test.

Opera 9.5 is a free download, and is 15.6 MB.

Opera Software's "alternative" web browser, aptly named Opera, hit version 9.10 yesterday. The only new feature of note is the anti-phishing filter they've added, but this release also includes bug fixes aplenty. Opera is still free (although @29 USD will buy you "premium support" via email), it's Universal Binary and you'll need OS X 10.3.9 or later to check it out.

Opera has never "felt" right to me on the Mac, so I rarely turn to it, although I do keep a copy handy in my Apps folder for special occasions. That shouldn't and won't stop you from using it, though. For what it's worth, I do like the Opera Mini browser on my Blackberry.

Opera, the little browser that could (and did - go free, that is), has finished its beta and reached version 9, going Universal in the process. New features include:

• a built-in BitTorrent client
• adding your favorite search engines to Opera's search bar simply by right-clicking them
• site-specific preferences for cookies, pop-ups, etc.
• thumbnail previews of tabs when hovering over them
• widgets (hey, at least they didn't call 'em 'gadgets')
• customizable content blocker
• and more

This version definitely seems snappier now that it's Universal, and (say what you have to) these new enhancements like a built-in BitTorrent client show that Opera is blazing a trail faster than its competition. Give this version a whirl if you haven't touched Opera in a while but are still curious about it. If you need help with a browser transition, why not check out some of the del.icio.us tools (like my personal favorite: Delibar) we've blogged that take the 'bookmarks bar' out of the browser and into Mac OS X's menubar, removing the need for worrying about which browser you're using.

A public beta of Opera 9 was announced yesterday. I'm not an Opera user myself, but the download is free, so I took a very quick look at some of the new features:

• Widgets. Opera 9 has its own widgets -- clocks, games, and other small AJAX apps. Of course, Mac users have plenty of widgets anyway, so this feature may not be much of a draw for us. You can download currently available Opera widgets, learn how to develop your own Opera widgets, and share any you create at the Opera Community site. There are a reasonable number of widgets there already, and the list is bound to grow.
• BitTorrent Support. I didn't try this out, but it sounds very tempting. Opera 9 has built-in support for the BitTorrent protocol, so you can download large files directly through Opera without having to use a separate BitTorrent app.
• Content blocker. The Opera 9 content blocker lets you choose the kind of content, from ads to images, that you want to block on a particular site.
• Custom search engine. You can customize the Opera search box to use the search engine from any site.
• Thumbnail previews of tabbed pages. Opera has had tabbed browsing for a while now. There are some nice enhancements to tabbed browsing in Opera 9. Hovering over a tab triggers a thumbnail image of the page that's open in that tab. This is really useful when you have lots of tabs open and you can't remember what's open in each. Another new feature is the ability to lock an open tab so you don't close it accidentally.
• Site-specific preferences. These come in handy to block pop-ups or deny cookies on a particular site.
  

Opera 9 has lots of other improvements. For the complete list of goodies check out the change log for Opera 9.0 Beta 1 for Mac.

Forget podcast overload, I'm suffering from widget overload. There are Konfabulator widgets (now called Yahoo! Widgets Engine) and Apple Dashboard widgets. Microsoft will included "gadgets" with Vista, KDE will soon support Dashboard widgets and a soon-to-be-released version of the Opera web browser will feature its own built-in widgets. Phew.

The next preview version of Opera to be released (scheduled for some time this week) will include tools that will allow users to view information drawn from certain websites, like sports scores or weather reports, without having to continually revisit those sites. A dozen "demo widgets" will be included. Integrated BitTorrent search and download will also be a part of the Opera preview release.

The idea of widgets written and launched directly from a browser is kind of interesting. I'll have to check this out.

[Via MacSlash]

Update: It's available now.

Thanks, James!

Yesterday we reported Opera was throwing a 10th anniversary party and offering free registrations for one day only. Well, it seems like the offer is still running today. I saw the story show up in MacNN's feed this morning and thought "What? That was yesterday..." and just figured they were late to the party. But sure enough: I went over to Opera's party page where the offer appeared and it's still available. I have no idea if this is a fluke or possibly a strategy to gain some marketshare, (I wonder if it's even working) but as of this writing you can still get a copy of the $39 Opera browser for free.

[Update: Looks like the free offer has finally ended. The page has now reverted to mentioning their affiliat program through which you can still obtain a free copy - as long as you place an Opera button somewhere on your site and grab 250 unique clicks. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.]