There is also a transparent box that serves as both a search and an address bar. The launch screen of the browser is totally transparent, so you get to see the wallpaper on your desktop (though not the apps on it, thankfully) and a bunch of colourful bubbles representing the sites that the browser recommends. For unlike other worthies which promptly present you with a white box and an address bar, Opera Neon gives youвЂ¦ well, bubbles. So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised we were to see the folks at Opera (those who gave us tabbed browsing, remember), suddenly dip into their design reservoirs and come out with what they termed a вЂњconcept browserвЂќ because praise be, it looks like no other browser out there.ДЄnd this hits you from the moment it launches. Which while not bad in itself, can make browsers a trifle dull and predictable.

A classic case of substance triumphing over style, as it were. Changes are found mainly in terms of features and functionality, rather than appearance. In fact, browser design has tended to be a bit on the stagnant side of late, with the predictable box like interface, space for tabs and so on. For, no matter how long the changelogs and how numerous the bug quashes, the stark fact remains that modern day browsers on computers look rather like their mums and dads from a few years ago (a few years is enough for a few generations to mature in tech!). The times they might be a-changinвЂ™, but when it comes to browsers on computers, you might be forgiven for thinking that itвЂ™s yesterday once more.

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