TechWeb is reporting that Opera has hit the 2 million download mark in the two weeks since its release. While that is an admirable statistic, the fact still remains that Opera only holds a 1% marketshare.
Asa Dotlzer pointed out more statistics. The Register has an article quoting Opera’s CEO that they had over 60 million downloads of Opera 7, and currently have about 10 million active users, which translates into the 1% marketshare.
My question is where did the other 50 million downloads go? Are users downloading Opera only to not like it and turn back to Firefox, IE, or some other browser?
Has anyone here downloaded Opera and been so overwhelmed by its awesome abilities that you made it your default?
Opera seems like a good browser, certainly it ‘feels’ better this time around. Even so, it misses features that I like in Firefox – namely the ability to extend the product however I feel like.
Opera just doesn’t do what I want it to do, and it feels untidy and cluttered. What’s with the ‘wand’ too? Call it what it is if you decide such a feature even has to have a name, but certainly don’t give it some meaningless name.
I test layouts in Opera, but that’s all.
I’ve downloaded Opera at least a dozen times since version 5(ish). Only used it for about half an hour in total though. Have never liked the interface, it always feels cluttered and unprofressional. I rarely even bother testing sites in it.
I downloaded v8 recently because I had a complaint about my website not working when I knew it worked in Firefox and IE.
I’m going to stick to Firefox for the forseeable future I think.
I’ve been using Opera as my primary browser for about 4 – 5 years and while Firefox, etc. have made great strides recently, I’m sticking with Opera (despite having Safari, Camino, Firefox, Shiira, lynx, dillo, IE/Mac, IE/Win, etc. etc. etc. etc. at my fingertips).
Reasons:
1) Integrated email client boasting many of the same features that Gmail “borrowed” (sure, the Mozilla suite has an integrated email client too, but have you actually *used* that lumbering beast?)
2) Crazy fast page rendering
3) More ways to handle pages and tabs than you can shake a stick at (I’m a web junkie … I typically have at least 3 windows open, each with 30+ tabs )
4) Innovative features (small screen rendering, built in RSS/Atom reader and mouse gestures before — I think — just about anyone else, page zoom, fit page to screen, notes area, being able to undo closing a page, etc.)
Of course, if I’m to be honest, there’s a lot of things that I’d still love to see:
1) A plug-in/extension architecture
2) Native XSLT support
3) Better JS handling and error reporting (though great strides have been made in this area recently)
Is Opera quirky and different? Yes. That’s also part of what makes it so endearing. Is the interface a little cluttered? Yes, but in the same way that a swiss-army knife is cluttered … you’ve got a tool for every occasion. Would I switch if there was a better alternative? Yes, but I’m still waiting for that day to come.
If Firefox didn’t exist Opera would certainly be my default browser. As it stands, I prefer Firefox’s interface and the ability to easily customize it with a virtually endless array of extensions. I’ve had Opera on my computer since version 7, but in truth I rarely use it.
When I read this, I thought it was Asa again.
There are Opera users and I am one of them. That does not mean I do not respect Firefox. I consider it really good but, personally, searching for extensions is not funny (besides Firefox runs slower in my (a bit) old PC). I test my designs with Firefox too and I must admit that seldom (nearly never) it gives me any trouble.
Does Firefox users have nothing to do apart from talking about Opera?