Spike in Android use in Southeast Asia, India points to huge opportunities: Opera Software

Fabrizio Caruso, senior vice-president for Asia at Opera Software, said Android is now the second largest mobile OS platform among Opera Mini users in India and Indonesia—with first place still belonging to a version for feature phones.

“From May 2012 to April 2013, we saw 148 per cent Android Opera Mini user growth in India, 161 per cent in Indonesia, 187 per cent in Vietnam and 214 per cent in Philippines,” he added.

Caruso noted that 55 per cent of Opera users in India and Indonesia have access to the web only via their mobile phones. 

There are tremendous opportunities for operators and brands to reach and engage consumers through mobile devices in Asia, Caruso said. "It no longer means sending intrusive and irrelevant ads to a consumer's phone," he added. "Instead, it's about reaching the relevant audience and the ability to track results through various mobile contents,” he said.

Four of the top 10 countries using Opera mobile browsers are in Asia, namely India, Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Opera Mini users in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam view more than 1,000 pages on average per month, he added.

Opera Software recently announced its expansion into the region with the opening of a regional head office in Singapore, which will be home to its operator and advertising business, technical support and marketing activities in the region.

It is also a hub for Opera's operations in Asia-Pacific, including Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asian countries. The Singapore office will be led by Caruso, who will be working with operators and brand advertisers to help them reach more mobile internet users, as well as developing Opera's advertising business in Asian markets.

The Singapore office is the company’s 17th office globally. It already has offices in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan to provide client support and grow its user base.