NEW YORK: Blog sites are agog with rumour that search company Google is all set to annex the Norwegian browser firm Opera, and an announcement in imminent.
One of the most reliable sources, which has posted a blog, is Pierre Chappaz, founder of Kelkoo and former Europe head of Yahoo!. In his personal blog, Kelblog, he has quoted a "usually well informed source" to say the acquisition is on the cards.
Chappaz says such a move can be expected in the light of Microsoft's latest product in the browser segment, its Internet Explorer, IE 7, which is touted to have search technology integrated as one would expect given the success of Firefox and Netscape with integrated search.
'Google browser' when and if it arrives, whether Opera or home grown could then see some tough competition from IE7 but with such a good brand, search engine results and market leading reputation combined with the other offerings like gmail, news, blog search, book search, maps, froogle, earth, voice, the new music search and more besides or in the pipeline, Google has, perhaps the real Browser wars battle will begin.
Why Opera could be an attraction is the fact that it has adaptations for smart phones and is a major player in the mobile phones market. And Google may not want to reinvent the wheel. Google is also ambitious about entering the wireless technology field.
There is no official confirmation from Google on the report. Opera has, however, denied the rumour, saying “Rumors come and go. Google is not buying Opera.”
Opera, with a 1 per cent market share, had gone free recently, thanks to the AdWords support from Google. Google is also understood to be monitoring the success and profitability of the browser, along with its advanced functionality.
Google fans are waiting with anticipation and excitement at the thought.
