Opera releases version 9.0, includes bittorent

The web and mobile (and Nintendo Wii) browser Opera released its 9.0 version today and a number of cool new features are offered, including a built in bittorrent downloader, tab previews and widgets.

The Oslo, Norway based browser originated in 1994 and has a loyal, if small, user base – especially among international mobile users.

The bittorent system may be painfully slow to experienced torrent users, but the simplicity of one click downloads of bittorent files could really appeal to novice users. (FireFox users interested in a similar function might want to check out our review of AllPeers.)

The tab preview is a nice feature – hover over any of the browser’s tabs and a small drop down window appears displaying a screen shot, the title, URL and other information. I know I lose Firefox tabs all the time when I have more than 20 lined up.

The new version of Opera also includes a number of desktop widgets that many people might find useful. Despite its small market share, this browser really does have a lot of appealing features.