Opera 7.60 joins the browser battle

The next version of the Opera browser, due at the end of the year, will improve the browsing experience, Opera Software said on Tuesday.

Opera 7.60 will include new rendering technology that will cut out the need for horizontally scrolling across Web pages, regardless of screen size. The same technology also means that online content can be printed on any size of paper without cutting off the edges. The browser will also contain an accessibility feature that allows uses to magnify Web pages and view them without scrolling sideways.

The renderer uses a combination of techniques: reflowing page elements where possible, and resizing them to fit where necessary. Depending on how a Web page has been written, this can result in either a rescaled version of the page, or some elements being pushed to the bottom of the page.

Opera has been working on the problem of rendering Web pages on small screens for some time. It produces versions of its browser for various mobile phones including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Panasonic and Siemens handsets. It also recently added support for Microsoft smartphones, reversing its self-imposed ban on producing software for Microsoft.

Opera 7.60 also aims to speed up Web browsing, through a partnership with SlipStream that it announced three weeks ago.

A preview version of Opera 7.60, which includes the Web rendering functionality, can be downloaded from the Opera Web site.