BANGALORE: Opera Software has announced that its Web browser has been selected for its first Indian-developed Internet device, the "Kaii" PDA, meaning "hand" in the local Kannada language, running the successful Embedix PDA Plus software stack made by Lineo.

The Kaii Platform has been designed by Bangalore company Infomart (India) Private Limited, who will license it to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide. The OEMs can then market the PDA under their own brand names.

Opera offers a small, fast browser for PDA manufacturers that follows the international open standards set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), while also ensuring access to non-standards-compliant sites by virtue of its cross-platform core. Opera's core has been fine-tuned for years with the feedback given by the millions of users of its desktop versions.

By choosing Lineo's Embedix Plus PDA solution, Infomart can use applications developed by independent software vendors for similar devices that use the Lineo software stack, like the Sharp Zaurus. A developer version of the Kaii is scheduled for November, with a commercial release around the first quarter of 2003.

"The Kaii PDA will combine the best of two worlds by offering the very best in technology combined with a low price," said Infomart MD Devesh Agarwal. "Opera's browser fits nicely into both categories. Opera is the best PDA browser available today, while at the same time it saves hardware cost by its minimal demands on system resources."