Opera Mini Review for iPad with Speed & Data usage Test

Opera Mini is a unique free browser that has come to the iPad.

The main difference with this browser is it renders the web pages server side instead of on the device.
This server side rendering is supposed to increase speed and reduce data usage.
Well we will test this and give you my thoughts.
Speed Test:
I ran a test reloading a couple sites 12 times and timing the results.  I removed the fastest time and the slowest time on each and did an average. Test was ran on fast WiFi, results may be very different on slower connection.

The results show on www.muchoipad.com Opera Mini had an average of 5.2 seconds and Safari 5.83 seconds.  A site with a little more graphics www.cnet.com on Opera Mini averaged 4.69 seconds and Safari game in at 6.51 seconds.

So the winner by a little bit would be Opera Mini.

Bandwidth Usage:

I tested 10 non-mobile sites in Safari, and Opera Mini using Large image quality and low image quality.  I used an app DataMan Free to track the data usage.

This test was a big surprise to me.  I didn't expect to see such a big difference.

Opera Mini low image quality	1.2 MB
Opera Mini large image quality	1.6 MB
Safari	6.5 MB

Opera Mini with its server side rendering has really been able to save you some data usage here.  I don’t see a huge benefit on WiFi but if your are using Cellular this might be your saving grace.

Pros:

• Speedy page loads
• Small data usage
• Better tabs then Safari
• Nice start page with tile views of favorite sites
• Ability to save pages for offline viewing
• Good sharing options
• Scrolling and pinch and zoom performance is great 
• Free

Cons:

• HTML 5 video does not load
• No real time search

Final thoughts:

I am really impressed with Opera Mini on the iPad.  The responsiveness and usability really makes this feel like a browser I could use.  I could only find one glaring issues the lack of HTML5 video streaming.  I would recommend this browser especially if your running on any kind of slower connection. Also if you are running on a limited data plan this browser could save you big time.  The tabs are better than Safari but still not the kind of tabs everyone is looking for.  Hey its free give it a try.