Former Opera CEO launches a feature-packed browser called Vivaldi

John S. Von Tetzchner, founder and former CEO of the popular Opera browser, has just announced a new way to browse the web. It’s called Vivaldi, and it’s aimed at power users. When von Tetzchner created Opera back in 1994, the startup browser began gaining some traction and soon became one of the fastest web browsers on the web. Unfortunatlely, after Opera grew to the next level and ultimately changed directions, the founder decided to part ways with the project. He made it his point to develop a browser that’s rich in functionality and easy to use. Thus, Vivaldi came to be.

Vivaldi is built using the Chromium source code, similar to what we see in Opera’s current iteration. Being such a small team of developers, they couldn’t build their own engine from scratch, which might be a good thing. This way, the basis of the browser is set up for them, allowing the developers to focus on layout and features.

This browser is filled with awesome features. Quick Commands allow you to assign your own keyboard shortcuts to scroll through settings menus, open tabs, view history and much more. You can even jot down blurbs or add screenshots to the built-in Notes tab. Notes in the browser can be tagged and organized for keeping your thoughts in order. You can add “Speed Dials” (shortcuts) to Vivaldi, so your most-visited sites are easily accessible. Last but not least, Vivaldi has a feature called “Tab Stacks” which lets you group tabs together under a single tab. This can really come in handy if you constantly have an abundance of different web pages open at once.

Vivaldi Technologies is also working on a huge list of features, likely set to debut before the official public launch of the browser. Here is what we have to look forward to:

• Mail – Yep, we are working on mail. That’s all we can say for now.
• Sync – Your Notes, bookmarks, History and session synced across your different devices.
• Spatial Navigation – Spatial navigation allows you to navigate the Web easily, using only your keyboard.
• Performance – Our aim is to be the fastest browser in the universe but we are not talking about theoretical speed here. It’s all about efficiency. We focus on making it quicker and faster for you to find things and getting things done!
• Extensions – We want to build a powerful, feature packed browser to minimize your need for extentions. They can impact browser performance and increase security risks. Still, we understand you might want more, so extension support is coming. Stay tuned.

Vivaldi is currently only available as a tech preview, though it’s widely accessible through their homepage. So far, this browser is fast, intuitive and packed with some great features. If you’ve tried Vivaldi, be on the lookout for new enhancements and updates added to the browser weekly.