Opera launches Coast web browser for the iPad

Opera has released a new web browser for the iPad called Coast, which, according to the Norway based software company, is made from scratch for tablets.

The Opera Coast browser sports a minimalistic user interface focusing on putting content, front and center on the whole screen, and not interface elements offering a more visual browsing experience. The browser doesn't include a URL field at the top of the screen, back or forward buttons, or tabs and bookmarks. Navigation is done by swipe gestures. So, left and right screen swipe gestures take the users back and forward.

Coast offers a single button at the bottom of the screen that takes users to the home screen, and another one at the bottom right, that displays recently visited websites.

"Websites and apps today invite you to interact in new ways, but browser design for tablets has not pushed to liberate itself from the influence it has experienced from its computer and mobile phone cousins," says Huib Kleinhout, Head of the Coast project at Opera Software. "On a tablet, browsers felt outdated, and that bothered me. Why? Because we make browsers for a living. We're passionate about making the internet better."

"I have a background in user experience and am in love with the thoroughly refined iPad, and we wanted to design an app targeting the devices of the future, not the past," says Kleinhout.

It's worth pointing out that unlike Opera Mini, Coast does not render websites on its servers and uses Apple's WebKit based engine to render websites on the iPad.

The opening screen of the Coast browser features large icons for frequently-visited websites. These websites are automatically added to the bottom of the home screen and can be saved as bookmarks. The opening screen also sports a search bar and the browser three suggestions as users enter the website's name. The browser offers a full preview of the open tabs which can be dismissed and closed by swiping them off the screen.

Opera mentions that essentials such as website security are handled in the background in Coast, with can't-miss warnings popping up when a suspicious site is accessed, along with extensive information on the site's reputation.

The browser is a free download and is available through the App Store.