Opera Mini gets approved, headed to App Store

After nearly three weeks of waiting, everyone gets the result we they were looking for with Opera – Apple approves Opera Mini to go on sale (for free) on the App Store. While the app is not on sale at the time of this writing, you should be able to see it within 24 hours, depending on the market that you have an iTunes account on. Original iPhone owners can also feel a little happier today, since the browser, when tested under EDGE connections, outpaced Safari by more than 6x.

Opera Mini isn’t a Safari based browser, like all the others on the App Store, which explains why people believed that it would get denied from the App Store. The app was first demoed at Mobile World Congress 2010, and then officially submitted the app to Apple in the wee hours of March 23. Most skeptics (me included) wondered if it will ever be approved, and so far it has. It doesn’t mean, however, that the app will remain approved for the weeks and months to come.

Update: Based on reports flying in from various places, those in Australia and the UK should be able to already download and use Opera Mini. Still not out for the United States. Video and more pictures after the break.

Update 2: It’s in the United States App Store, and from initial review, kicks Mobile Safari out of the playing field. Whether you have your iPhone handy or not, download it now.