Opera 10 is here, but how does it stack up?

I admit it: Download Squad has been talking up Opera 10 all summer. We told you about its wicked-fast new JavaScript engine and the much-hyped Opera Unite, and then Lee told you why he hopes this latest version of Opera will get your attention. Now the day of reckoning has arrived: Opera 10 is here, for Windows, Mac and Linux. How does it stack up to our expectations? Well, there's some good news and some bad news. Good: the Turbo feature for faster browsing on slower Internet connections is in full effect. Bad: two of the most-wanted features - Opera Unite and the Carakan JavaScript engine - didn't make it into this release.

Is Opera 10 still worth going for? Well, it's definitely fast. I gave it a spin on some resource-intensive sites, and without any formal testing, I can say that page load times on my Mac felt at least as fast as those in Safari and Chrome. It also passes the Acid 3 Test with flying colors. Combine that with the slick-looking (and quite space-efficient) new UI and the Turbo feature, and you've got a legitimate candidate for your new favorite browser. And, when Unite finally arrives as a separate download, it should only get better.

Have you tried Opera 10? Will you be switching? Leave us your impressions in the comments.

Tags: browser, opera, opera 10, Opera10