DailyTech reports that Opera will become the official browser for Microsoft/Nokias non-Windows phones

Norway's Opera Software ASA (STO:OPERAO), known for its speedy internet browser, has long played the role of creative underdog, pioneering tabs, server-side page-caching, and other technologies later embraced by larger browsermakers. In the mobile space, it's a far more serious challenger, having offered smartphone browsers since the form factor first emerged in the middle of last decade.

Opera boasts that its mobile browser, Opera Mini, currently has 250 million active users, of which 100 million are on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android OS platform (Opera is also available for iOS and other platforms).

But for all its mobile gains, Opera was never the official browser of a software platform (to our knowledge) -- certainly not an official browser of a high volume smartphone platform, at least. That's what makes Opera's new licensing deal with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) both historic and intriguing.

  Opera Becomes Official Browser of Microsoft-Nokias Non-Windows Phones