Access to the Internet should be a universal right.
This is the word from Peter Panait Lojmand, senior VP for commercial operations at Opera Software, who recently chatted to ITWeb about the brand's new offerings, which cater to the needs of both the high and low ends of the market.
"We are trying to cover the whole spectrum of the mobile Internet," he said.
According to Lojmand, the Web and mobile browser company is targeting high-end users with its Coast offering, which is a browser that was developed exclusively for iPads. Coast was released in September and is a touch-focused platform intended for leisure Internet use in that it offers users an intuitive, full-screen experience, says Opera. "With Coast, we looked at a specific device that is widely used," Lojmand said, adding that it has been quite successfully received by consumers.
But this does not mean Opera is ignoring Android users, he pointed out, noting that the company is constantly making products to follow Android developments, which it is currently doing by adding and updating features on its Opera Mini mobile browser.
Looking at less financially connected users, Opera has partnered with the likes of Facebook and Samsung, among others, in an attempt to reduce barriers to Internet connectivity. "Billions of people across the globe still do not have reliable access to the Internet. As an industry, we need to make products that make connectivity easier," he said.
While he believes the industry will continue to focus on the upper echelons of the mobile market, he stressed that the real work is to be done for low-end users. "This is where the industry should be focusing its attention."
According to Lojmand, Web Pass, which was launched at the beginning of 2013, is intended to simplify the process of selling data bundles. The offering is different from conventional bundle packages in that it allows users to buy time- or content-based bundles, or even a combination of the two, which is more flexible and easier for consumers to understand, he said.
Roll out of Web Pass across Africa is planned for 2014, said Lojmand, acknowledging that feature phones are still a dominant force in the African market, something that needs to be considered. "As people switch from feature phones to low-end smartphones, we believe something like Web Pass is a good onboarding tool in that it will make it easier for people to actually access the Internet."
In the same way that desktop users have increasingly moved away from Internet Explorer - once the preferred Internet browser - customers in the mobile market are going to choose browsers based on whether they offer the features they want, he continued.
"Everyone has their preference; it is important to give people choice. This is what we are all about. We are trying to work with everyone in the industry to reach all kinds of consumers, who have different devices and different needs."
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