6 ways to add more inspiration in your day

Maybe the mornings are uninspired and the coffee isn’t triggering the brainwaves. Perhaps the music on the radio got a little stale and the news is depressing…

Maybe you’re a designer, a hipster, a teacher, a mom or an engineer just looking for a fresh start and ideas to do your job better. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to add inspiration to your life either online or offline.

Norwegian browser company Opera Software, whose mobile and desktop browsers are made to discover and explore inspiration online, provides several ideas and tips to add inspiration to your life.

1. Visualize:

Find inspirational images (a skydiver in coastal Spain, a quaint town in Italy, a rice farmer in Vietnam) on the web and create a cool, inspirational image gallery on your blog. A simple search for “inspiration” on image-sharing sites such as Flickr or Instagram should do the trick.

2. Watch:

Need a more visual inspiration for your many pursuits? Pull up YouTube and watch amazing videos (such as Steve Job’s famous Stanford commencement speech, or one of the TED talks) to start your day off with wise words! Who knows you might be on to the next big thing.

3. Listen:

Nothing gets the brain cells going than listening to some soothing, inspirational music. Search for an “inspiration” playlist on Spotify – whether its soothing or upbeat music that gets you motivated. Or even better, download karaoke apps like Smule Sing! and sing with people around the world for even more fun. Our suggestion: “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey.

4. Think:

Make a list of all the goals you have accomplished in the past year and what you’d like to achieve in the coming year. Put both lists as your screen saver or on your fridge door so you are constantly reminded of them.

5. Discover:

Go to your favorite Opera web browser, whether it’s on your smartphone or laptop, and browse the Discover section for interesting and inspirational stories. Select the “arts” or “food” category through the settings button and discover tantalizing content that will be a feast for both your eyes and your hunger.

6. Get out:

The best inspiration you can find is in nature. Find an amazing outdoors spot. Discover nature and appreciate the beauty. Document the sunsets and hikes through photos and share them on social networks.

“Inspiration is everything,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “I start every day finding inspirational thoughts, stories, ideas, images on the web with my Opera browser, whether it’s on my phone or my laptop. The web and the world are a treasure trove of inspirational ideas and you can start off right there.”

Download the Opera browser and discover all that the web has to offer!

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the web should be a universal right. 300 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the internet. Our vision of one web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera atwww.opera.com.

LatAm embraces the mobile web

Latin America has been an area of economic growth in recent years, and this shows in the uptake of mobile web usage. The State of the Mobile Web report this month takes a closer look at the Latin American countries and their surfing habits.

The “big three”, Facebook, Google and YouTube, dominate the web landscape in Latin America, as well as in the Asia Pacific. In fact, across all regions in Latin America that enjoy Opera Mini, these three dominate their top 10 domains.

Smartphones seem to have a significant rise in the Latin America region, just as was found in the Asia Pacific region in the last month’s State of the Mobile Web report. Opera Mini users on smartphones in the Latin America area now makes up 34% of the total Opera Mini user base in the region.

A few key trends:

The top Opera Mini user-growth countries in the region are Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru and Honduras.
The landscape of devices seems to be are bit more diverse than what was found in the last two State of the Mobile Web reports. There are fewer Nokia devices in the lists and more Samsung and BlackBerry devices.
Regional sites like MercadoLibre are represented three times in the top 10 lists. Local news sites are also well represented, especially in the smaller countries.
Read the full SMW report.

Growth

In August, the number of Opera Mini and Opera Mobile users increased to more than 209.9 million on a global basis. Compared to August 2011, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile combined grew by more than 40% year over year. The number of pages viewed grew 53% from August 2011 to August 2012, and data traffic grew by 79% in the same period.

To read the full report, please visit http://www.opera.com/smw/.

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the web should be a universal right. 275 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the internet. Our vision of one web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.

Custom-made Opera Mini for Dialog will transform your phones' experience to smartphone-like

Streaming TV on the mobile phone, receiving live cricket updates, surfing websites and downloading games and wallpaper has received a speed-boost in Sri Lanka, thanks to Dialog and Opera Software joining forces to create a co-branded Opera Mini browser for millions of Dialog subscribers.

Opera Mini is one of the world's most popular browsers used on mobile devices. Available on more than 3,000 handsets, Opera Mini works on almost all mobile operating systems including Java (J2ME), S60, iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices.

Some top features of this custom-made Opera Mini for Dialog browser include the following:

Quick Links: One-touch access to popular Dialog services such as MyTV, CricHQ and Dialogin.lk.
Smart Page: This page, displaying automatic updates from social networks and other favorite sources of news, views and entertainment, loads as soon as the browser starts. The Smart Page also suggests websites and webpages based on user preferences.
Data compression: Opera Mini’s data compression technology helps save money on phone bills by substantially reducing data usage. Opera Mini uses only a tenth of the bandwidth of other browsers, compressing webpages by up to 90%.
Speed Dial: Unlimited Speed Dial entries provide instant access to preferred websites. Users can add, edit or rearrange Speed Dial entries easily and can even synchronize them with desktop browser using Opera Link.
“We are grateful to our loyal subscribers for staying with us over these years. Our users have gradually become more sophisticated in their usage of mobile devices, and a majority of them are exploring the web on their mobile phones. A custom-made Opera Mini browser will allow users to turn their existing phones into smartphones and experience the full web at their fingertips,” says Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Operating Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC.

“We’d like to say ‘Ayubowan’ to all Dialog subscribers,” adds Sunil Kamath, Sales Director for India and SAARC, Opera Software. “While developing this co-branded Opera Mini, we have taken special care to ensure users are never too far from their favorite online content. We hope Dialog subscribers will enjoy this treat and relish the opportunity to enhance their surfing on mobile devices significantly by using Opera Mini.”

This custom-made Opera Mini can be downloaded by sending an SMS with “opera” in the text field to 678 from a Dialog number. Consumers can also download it directly by visiting m.opera.com from their mobile devices. The page will automatically detect users’phone models and offer Dialog subscribers the appropriate version of Opera Mini for download.

About Dialog Axiata PLC

Dialog Axiata PLC, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), operates Sri Lanka’s largest and fastest growing mobile telecommunications network. The Company is also one of the largest listed companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization.

Dialog has been at the forefront of innovation in the mobile industry in Sri Lanka since the late 90’s, propelling the nation’s mobile telephony infrastructure to a level of advancement on par with the developed world. The company delivers advanced mobile telephony and high speed mobile broadband services to a subscriber base in excess of 7 Million Sri Lankans, via a 2.5G, 3G/3.5G infrastructure. Dialog also provides a comprehensive suite of International Roaming Services across a global footprint comprising of more than 200 countries, and operates a wide portfolio of international telecommunication services, including but not limited to retail and wholesale international voice and data services.

Dialog Axiata supplements its market leading position in the Mobile Telecommunications sector with a robust footprint and market presence in Sri Lanka’s Fixed Telecommunications and Digital Television markets through its fully owned subsidiaries Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Ltd (DBN) and Dialog Television (Private) Ltd., (DTV). DBN operates CDMA fixed wireless telephony services alongside WiMAX 16D high speed broadband services, and is also a leading provider of Radio and Optical Fibre based transmission infrastructure facilities and data communication services. DTV operates a Direct-to-Home (DTH) Digital Satellite TV service and is the market leader in Sri Lanka’s PayTV sector. DTV supports a broad array of international and local content alongside a wide portfolio of Sri Lankan television channels and delivers high quality infotainment to a viewer base in excess of 200,000 Sri Lankan Households.

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the web should be a universal right. 275 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the internet. Our vision of one web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.

Hisense and Opera bring personalized TV-viewing experience

Opera Software announced its cooperation with Hisense, the fifth largest LED TV provider in the world. Opera will deliver its Opera Devices Software Development Kit (SDK) for Linux-based devices to the company’s TV model 55XT770/50K360/K300 series, and Hisense will use Opera’s leading HTML5 engine to bring an enhanced TV-viewing experience to their customers.

With a promise of improving the quality of life for people, Hisense is taking full advantage of Opera’s powerful SDK including each and every feature to bring high performance and innovation to their TV products. This will enable Hisense to develop new services and content across the company's offerings.

“As television is becoming a dynamic component of a multi-screen, digital, connected home, a superb internet experience with more personalized content on TVs will be the silver bullet for attracting more users,” said Dr. Lin Lan, VP of Hisense. “Hisense aims to provide personalized content to TV viewers, and with Opera it is much easier for us to achieve our goal of personalizing the entire TV experience, because of their market leading TV standards support and developer-friendly tools.”

Opera Devices SDK provides the ideal foundation for developing connected, interactive TV solutions by combining pre-approved support for popular HTML 5 and CE-HTML TV applications from global brands. It is a robust, open platform for creating web-standards-based internet solutions.

“Hisense is a recognized leader in the global TV market. With Opera in the mix, they can now take advantage of our standards compliant, high-performing, web-based technology and strengthen their overall web engine,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.

About Opera Software ASA

The worldwide World Wide Web — any device, any platform, any bandwidth, absolutely anywhere in the world. Opera Software was founded in 1994, based on the idea that access to the web should be a universal right. 275 million people (and counting) use the Opera web browsers for computers, mobile phones, TVs and other connected devices. Opera also delivers tools, distribution, engagement, monetization and market insights to developers, publishers and brands around the world. We are passionate about breaking down barriers, so everyone can share in the power of the internet. Our vision of one web for all remains at the heart of what we do, because we believe that participation changes everything. Opera Software ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. ‘Opera’, ‘Opera Software’, ‘Opera Mini’ and the ‘O’ logo are trademarks of Opera Software ASA. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.