浏览器大战硝烟再起

    此外，外界一直传言，Facebook有意收购挪威软件公司Opera。1995年，谭咏文与盖尔•伊瓦尔绥合作创立了Opera公司。最初，Opera浏览器只是挪威电信集团（Telenor）的一个研究项目，后来谭咏文和伊瓦尔绥获得了这个软件的所有权，正式成立了独立的Opera公司，并开始开发计算机和手机浏览器软件。

    Opera 1.72%的市场份额确实有些微不足道。但据报道，2012年第一季度，公司收入达到了4,700万美元，其中大部分来源于与其他公司的授权许可，比如授权任天堂公司（Nintendo，NTDOY）在其Wii游戏主机上内置Opera浏览器；而另外一部分收入则来自与其他公司的站内搜索与网购利润分成。截至今年3月份，使用Opera Mini手机浏览器应用的用户超过1.68亿人，比去年同期增长了64%，增长幅度非常显著。外界传出Facebook将收购Opera的传言后，Opera股价大幅上涨了26%。

    目前，Facebook每月活跃用户为9.01亿，其中5亿同时也是手机用户。因此，如果Opera被Facebook收购，其较小的市场份额可能就不再是一个问题。因为促进Opera手机业务的增长只需要设计一个解决方案，使Facebook的移动用户使用Opera业务，包括将浏览器整合到手机应用中。

    除了Opera的用户数量外，对Facebook来说，更重要的是加强其手机战略。正如五月份《财富》杂志（Fortune）报道称，当初Facebook选择以10亿美元收购照片分享应用Instagram时，其实这家社交网络已经在竞争中落于下风。目前，苹果、摩斯拉和雅虎在手机搜索业务领域激战正酣，Facebook的手机应用却屡屡受挫，它推出的应用虽然功能最为出色，但有时也会出现无法使用的情况。凯鹏华盈（Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers）合伙人玛丽•米克尔表示，目前全球智能手机订阅量已经达到9.53亿，但与全球61亿手机订阅总量相比，就略显苍白了。对于Facebook这样的公司来说，其中蕴藏的巨大潜力，根本无法忽视。

    此外，除了已经开始显示手机新闻提要的“赞助商内容”外，目前，Facebook仍缺乏强有力的手机广告平台。如果将Opera招致麾下，Facebook就可以出售其目前使用的默认搜索引擎，当然，假设的前提是Facebook确定它没有主导搜索领域的意愿。

    而对于摩斯拉公司而言，至少到目前为止，其战略一直非常有效。其火狐浏览器凭借开放开发环境和强大的自定义选项而颇受用户欢迎，公司大部分收入都来源于有利可图的搜索业务。2010年，公司1.21亿美元的收入中，98%来自搜索业务。但摩斯拉在手机市场的起步较晚。虽然公司也推出了一款安卓（Android）应用，但却并未专门推出iPhone浏览器应用。（它针对苹果设备推出的火狐主页应用根本不是一款成熟的浏览器，而更像是为用户提供了一种途径，帮助用户通过移动设备访问桌面浏览历史和标签。）摩斯拉在手机浏览器市场的份额不足1%，为了解决这个问题，公司正在招贤纳士，并将手机应用、尤其是安卓应用，作为公司发展的重中之重。

    也就是说，不能说浏览器大战“再度”升温。至少在移动互联网市场上，浏览器大战才刚刚打响。

    翻译/审校 阿龙/汪皓

    Rumors also continue to swirl around the possibility of Facebook (FB) acquiring Opera (OPESY), the Norwegian software company started in 1995 by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy. Originally intended as a research project at the Norweigian telecomm company Telenor (TELNY), Tetzchner and Ivarsøy got the rights to their software, formed Opera as a separate company, and began developing browser software for computers and phones.

    To be sure, Opera's 1.72% global market share is tiny. But the company reported nearly $47 million for the first quarter of 2012 thanks in large part to licensing agreements with companies like Nintendo (NTDOY), which offers it on its Wii console, as well as partnerships with companies over its in-browser search and shopping bars. Over 168 million people were using its Opera Mini app as of March, a 64% increase year-over-year, which indicates significant growth. The company's shares initially rose 26% on speculation of a Facebook purchase.

    Opera's small market share may not matter if it gets assimilated by Facebook, with its 901 million monthly active members, 500 million of whom are also mobile. Fueling further mobile growth for Opera could just be a matter of devising a solution where Facebook mobile users are somehow exposed to Opera, which might include integration of the browser into the mobile app.

    What will matter more for Facebook beyond Opera's number is strengthening its mobile strategy. As Fortune reported in May when the social network opted to buy Instagram for a deal then-valued at $1 billion, Facebook's has lagged behind the competition. Where mobile browsing offerings from Apple, Mozilla and Yahoo often hum, Facebook's apps have stumbled, with buggy apps that are at best functional but also occasionally unusable. According to Mary Meeker, a partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, there are already 953 million global smartphone subscriptions, but that number pales in comparison to the world's 6.1 billion overall mobile phone subscriptions, meaning the upside -- and there is a huge one -- for a company like Facebook is one it can't ignore.

    Facebook also currently lacks a strong mobile advertising platform beyond the "sponsored stories" that began showing up in mobile news feeds. With a browser like Opera under its belt, it could sell the default search engine used, assuming of course Facebook decides it doesn't want to dominate search, also.

    It's a tactic that has largely worked out well for Mozilla, at least until recently. Its Firefox browser became popular for its open developing environment and heavy customization options and relies on lucrative search deals to generate most of its revenues. In 2010, 98% of its $121 million in revenues came from search. But Mozilla has been late to mobile. Although it has an Android app, it doesn't have a dedicated iPhone browsing app. (Its Firefox Home app for Apple devices is less a full-fledged browser and more a way for users to access desktop history and bookmarks on-the-go.) With less than 1% of the mobile browsing market, it's an issue the company is tackling by hiring more talent and making mobile, particularly Android, a priority.

    Which is to say, the browser wars aren't just heating up yet again. In some ways, at least where mobile is concerned, they're just beginning.