Preview of the major update to the popular web browser

Platform : Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista

Type: freeware

Manufacturer: Opera

Size: 7.2MB

Rating: 5

Verdict: First beta of the forthcoming 9.5 release, but if this is an example of what's planned, we should all look forward to the release

System Requirements:

Since the release of Opera 9 earlier this year, Opera have been working hard fixing little bugs, making minor improvements and turning Opera in to a serious rival to Internet Explorer. Now at 9.5, albeit a second early preview, it's worth downloading if you've not used this browser before.

The new speed dial feature is a new view in new tabs. It shows live thumbnails of up to nine websites. Click on one to open the site, or enter a new address as normal. It's certainly more useful than a blank tab.

Opera also supports BitTorrent downloads. These type of downloads make best use of available bandwidth by splitting files up and downloading the different bits from several locations at the same time.

The principle of the system is that files downloaded onto your computer should be accessible to others but Opera can turn this off to conserve bandwidth quotas.

An improved content blocker allows individual elements of a webpage to be blocked to avoid adverts. The pop up blocker has also been improved.

Widgets are a small programs for showing news feeds or other information, some of which can be taken from the web. They are accessed with a single keypress and are written by the Opera community rather than the company itself.

The tabbed browsing has also been improved with a small preview of the webpages.

This is the first beta release of the forthcoming Opera 9.5 and it's worth downloading if you're an Opera user. It's much faster, the user-interface has been updated and the search bar includes immediate feedback.