Chrome and Firefox might finally have a serious competitor

After leaving Opera Software ASA in 2010, Jon von Tetzchner didn’t expect to be back in the browser-building game. But dissatisfaction with current browser options has resulted in today’s launch of Vivaldi 1.0, which boasts the most powerful tab-management features around and a Notes feature similar to that in Microsoft’s Edge browser. The Vivaldi browser has been downloaded over 1 million times in pre-release builds, and though Version 1 goes final today, von Tetzchner and his geographically far-flung team plan many more feature additions, including an email reader, a syncing feature, and mobile app versions. Browsers that aren’t tied to a big tech platform company have a hard time taking hold. Firefox is the notable exception, nabbing nearly 25 percent of browser market share at its high point. But Opera struggles with less than 2 percent share, and the social-centric Flock was retired. None of that stops Opera founder von Tetzchner, who thinks the world is craving a more customizable Web browser. For those who aren’t familiar with Opera, the Norway-based browser firm was responsible for innovations that are standard fare in all Web browsers today, including basics like built-in search and tabs.