Vivaldi 1.0 unleashed

It’s fitting that Opera’s ex-CEO is now releasing the finished Vivaldi browser. After all, some say that Vivaldi caters to the demographic that Opera left behind. There was a time that Opera was being designed for more specialized users than the average web surfer, but those days are long gone.

Jon von Tetzchner, Opera’s old CEO, has just debuted Vivaldi 1.0, a browser that promises to be for the “web’s most demanding users.” In a blog post the company notes that 1.0 is focused on three distinct attributes: fun, efficiency and productivity.

After already millions of downloads and longer than a year in public development, 1.0 arrives with great promise for power users that are fond of customizations, as well as shortcuts. Sure, it features one of Opera’s centerpieces in the form of Speed Dial, which allows users fast access to favorite sites from any new tabs, yet it also has a slew of new features that make it stand out from almost any other browser.

Instead of going the route of most browsers, which is stripping down their offerings, 1.0 gives users more options and features to enable a better user experience. Vivaldi’s philosophy has always been to create with and for the Internet. Its user interface utilizes Node.js, React and JavaScript. Pages are rendered very quickly due to the presence of Chromium in 1.0’s core.

The best way to understand a new browser is by taking a look at its features. Here they are:

• Tab stacks – This feature lets users stack tabs on top of each other by dropping them, allowing a less cluttered interface and promoting order for users. Switching between tabs is easy, thanks to customizations.
• Tab stack tiling – Tiling tab stacks lets users see multiple pages at once. Think of this feature as giving you multiple desktops.
• Sessions – Save the set of tabs you use most as a session for future retrieval.
• Notes – A research tool, this feature lets users mark a quote and then save it as a note. 1.0 will let you take screen shots, too.
• Quick commands – Enjoy access to history, bookmarks, open tabs and settings.
• Mouse gestures/keyboard shortcuts – Good for when you want to use 1.0 at lightning speed. Gestures and shortcuts transform flicks of the wrist and key combinations into almost any in-browser action.
• Speed dial – Gain access to bookmarks and favorite sites from blank tabs.
• Better bookmarks – Get to your bookmarks from the bookmark panel, bar, manager and the aforementioned Speed Dial.
• Web panels – This lets you look at sites in the 1.0 sidebar. It’s perfect for attending to social media or chatting with someone right next to your main browser window.
• Personalized – 1.0 adapts to users, which is why it’s customizable. Customer feedback is to thank for this.
• Extensions – 1.0 supports Chrome add-ons to boost your work flow.

The finished release is out on Linux, Windows and OS X. Interested users can download 1.0 right from the Vivaldi homepage.

Marc Schenker

Marc’s a copywriter who covers design news for Web Designer Depot. Find out more about him at thegloriouscompanyltd.com.