Close on the heels of the launch of Opera Mini for Windows Mobile ^[1], Opera Software has released Opera Mini 5 beta for Android handsets.

The new beta for Android contains all the features we have come to love in Opera Mini. It attempts to provide a desktop like browsing experience through features such as tabbed browsing, visual speed dial, bookmarks and password manager. Android users should not have to compromise when it comes to surfing the Web on their phones. Opera Mini will give Android users a fast and cost-efficient access to their favorite Web sites and services,said Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products, Opera Software.

Opera Mini lacks multi-touch and flash support, but tries to make up for the missing features through sheer speed. All webpages are compressed (by up to 90%) before being sent to your device. This dramatically increases browsing speed while reducing your bandwidth bills.

Android users can download Opera Mini from the Android marketplace or by visiting m.opera.com/next ^[2] with their Android browser.