Technology.am (June 03, 2009) — Web analytics firm StatCounter said that Norway’s Opera Software overtook Apple’s iPhone browser in May as the most popular mobile browser in the world.

Aodhan Cullen, chief executive of StatCounter, said, “Opera began the year in the number one slot but iPhone overtook it in February.”

In the month of May, 24.6 percent of all Internet pages that were downloaded to mobile devices globally through Opera’s browser and 22.3 percent via iPhone. Nokia retained third place in mobile browsers with 17.9 percent of the market, StatCounter said.

Opera sells its browser to many cellphone makers and operators, and consumers can directly download it for free, while the Apple browser’s ranking reflects only iPhone users surfing the Internet.