Opera's Android apps hit 100M active users, see major growth in developing markets

Opera, once a major contender in the desktop browser game, today announced a major growth milestone on mobile: The company claims its Android apps command 100 million active users, up 200% from last year.

Opera currently makes three Android apps, two of which are mobile browsers. According to Opera, its Opera Mini browser is its most popular offering; the company says the app “compresses webpages to as little as 10% of their original size.” Opera also offers a standard Opera for Android browser, without the data compression features.

Earlier this year, Opera also debuted a separate data saving app, Opera Max, which isn’t a browser at all — it simply attempts to compress as much of the data that goes through your phone as possible.

Opera’s data-saving browser is apparently a hit in developing markets; the app is most popular in India. The rest of Opera’s user base resides in “China, Indonesia, Russia, and Mexico,” the company shares.

Opera isn’t the only browser company after India. Mozilla announced plans yesterday to launch a low-cost Firefox OS handset in the region.