Opera's new desktop browser leaves beta, lacks features

Opera's new desktop browser Opera 15 exited beta today after a month of testing and is now available to the masses for Windows and OS X at Opera.com.

But despite a whole lot of changes to the independent browser, much is still lacking, according to TechCrunch's synopsis.

As of this version Opera is now built on Google's Chromium and JavaScript V8, and it shares much with Google's popular Chrome browser.

It also uses Google's new Blink rendering engine, which Google hopes will replace WebKit and help streamline web development.

Something's missing

Users of Opera's new browser can expect regular updates across multiple release channels, including standard Opera releases, Opera Next, and Opera Developer.

The initial post-beta release includes new features such as the Google News-like "Discover" tab, a "Stash" tab for storing pages you want to read later, and an "off-road" mode that replaces Opera Turbo and functions similarly, speeding up browsing on slower connections.

But it lacks a traditional bookmarks menu, instead relying on a combination of the "speed dial" set of oft-visited pages and the aforementioned Stash tab. At least speed dial supports folders now.

In addition, Opera 15 won't yet sync settings from other browsers and its search bar is not customizable. Other features are missing, while some that should have been ditched, like a separate email app, are present.

TechRadar asked Opera whether it believes some of the missing features simply aren't necessary or if it plans to add them in future updates, but so far we haven't heard back.

For now the new Opera browser looks great, but it looks like it's going to take some iterations before it can compete with the big browsers.

• Want to know which browser is best? Try TechRadar's synopses of the best browsers for Windows, OS X, Android, and iPad.

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