Tech in Africa
Opera is rethinking the concept of using mobile browsers to offer personalized and engaging browsing experiences that streamline smooth surfing, chatting, and sharing of content without making compromises on speed or data consumption. Hype is the world’s first mobile browser with its own dedicated chat service.
Charles Hamel, the Product Lead at Hype expressed Opera’s desire to change “the very definition of what a mobile browser.” Hype first launched in the Kenyan market as a pilot project. Users could easily set up their accounts and start chatting on secure end-to-end encrypted channels. This launch was part of Opera’s emphasis on investment and growing its digital ecosystem across the African continent. The aim is to attract more online users. Since 2018, Opera’s user base has increased by 40%.
Hype was initially developed with the African consumer in mind. Today, mobile phone penetration in Kenya is close to 100%. Over 40% use smartphones most of whom are youth- making up 75% of the country’s 47 million people. In addition, Opera will partner with Safaricom to offer free browsing to all Opera Mini users.
Opera has had a track record of innovation, being the first to integrate messenger services to its PC browser in 2019. Today, 80 million users enjoy its integration services such as Telegram, Messenger, Whatsapp, Twitter, and Instagram.
Share online content
To keep up with the recent communication trends among users such as memes and stickers, Opera brings WebSnap, a new feature of its desktop browser. This gives users an opportunity to take web snapshots. The websnap can then be edited by adding text, colors, filters, and emojis.
The Kenyan rollout is part of Opera’s strategy to develop African consumer-centered products. Invest and grow in the African digital ecosystem, then partner with leading global and regional companies.
Hype promises to reimagine the chat experience while relying on content sharing. Opera Mini has over 100 million users worldwide becoming the world’s first integrate chat service in a mobile browser.
Original source: Africa news
