Opera Software has released Opera 18 for Android, a major redesign with every aspect of the browser interface being optimised for larger Android tablets.

We poured a great deal of thought into the Opera for Android tablet version,” says Johan Schön, SVP for Mobile Consumer Browsers, Opera Software. “The size of devices and mindset of users make the tablet very different from its smaller cousin, the smartphone, and we have to respect that. In Opera 18 for Android, we have spent hours and hours tweaking, and fiddling with the placement of, even the most minute detail, just to get that top tablet feel”.

The existing features are now more comfortable to use. Speed Dial makes it quick and easy to access your favourite sites; swipe right to left and Discover shows your custom news feeds, while Off-Road mode compresses data traffic to improve performance and save you money.

This is all now based on Chromium 31, and enhanced with a new remote debugging feature, and a selection of other tweaks. The official change log includes:

– improvements in search engine list
– fixed issue with fullscreen video playback
– fixed issue with HW back button on Discover
– fixed issue with viewport size in new tab
– fixed issue with keyboard staying on screen
– fixed issue with page reload when leaving text input in off-road pages
– various stabilization and performance improvements

Opera 18 for Android is available now.