Opera has updated its mobile browser for the Android platform, introducing SPDY, WebSockets, fraud detection and better CSS and HTML5 support.

Opera Mobile 12.1 for Android is available now from the Google Play store and has been optimised specifically for individual smartphone and tablet devices depending on their chipset.

ARM v5, ARM v7, MIPS and X86 chips are all supported with only the correct version for your Android device automatically downloaded.

Opera’s Turbo compression technology is again present, increasing web loading speeds by condensing pages, which in turn reduces data usage.

What is new is Opera’s new fraud detection. While browsing the web from your mobile address, any suspicious sites will come with a warning from Opera asking you if you’re sure you wish to continue.

Opera has also begun adoption SPDY into Opera Mobile 12.1. Though still in its infancy, it means webpages can be fetched quicker, with Twitter and Gmail already embracing the protocol. 

WebSockets is another new feature that aims to improve the speed in communication between your mobile device and web server. 

Opera has also tweaked the user experience. Web developers can get more creative as Opera Mobile 12.1 now supports CSS Animations, as well as HTML5 Drag and Drop and HTML5 Clipboard API.

The Opera Mobile 12.1 update shows a strong response to the arrival of Google Chrome, which became available on the Android platform to all Ice Cream Sandwich users in April.

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