The five main browsers, with the percentage who use them, as of February 2017 are: Chrome 62.95 percent, Firefox 14.81, Internet Explorer 9.62, Safari, 5.34 percent, and Edge 3.68 percent. Safari is the Apple browser, and Edge the new Microsoft browser. The next most popular browser Opera has only 1.6 percent of the market. Vivaldi has a minuscule .03 percent of the market.
I have several different computers, three of which use Chrome, and on my main computer I am now using Vivaldi. I used to use Opera which I liked a bit better than Chrome although it has many similarities. However, I encountered some difficulties loading the composition page for my blog. I had downloaded Vivaldi earlier to try out. Rather than bother trying to fix the problem with Opera I decided this was an opportunity to try out Vivaldi. I found it quite easy to use and to have all the features of Chrome and Opera and even more. The new history features are described in a recent Digital Journal article. An earlier article discusses other features.
Vivaldi was developed by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Tatsuki Tomita. Tetzchner is also a co-founder of Opera. On the appended video he explains why he left Opera and came to develop Vivaldi. He also explains why he thought that there was room for another browser in a field where it is quite difficult for those browsers that are not already popular to survive. Wikipedia says of Vivaldi: The browser is aimed at staunch technologists, heavy Internet users, and previous Opera web browser users disgruntled by Opera’s transition from the Presto layout engine to the Blink layout engine, which removed many popular features. Vivaldi aims to revive the old, popular features of Opera 12. The browser has gained popularity since the launch of its first technical preview. The browser has one million users as of January 2017.[
While the description makes it sound as if the browser might be difficult for ordinary users to use, I found it to be as easy if not easier to use than the more popular browsers. No doubt there are plenty of features that I do not use but it has the features I need and use all the time. Anyone who uses Chrome, or Opera should have no difficulty using Vivaldi. There is a side bar that can be opened or closed easily in which you can store notes and there are links to other features you often use. Vivaldi retains the Speed Dial of Opera in which you can store websites you often visit as tiles and just click on the tiles to access the site. Vivaldi can also use Chrome extensions.
For those who want to try the Opera browser it can be downloaded here. Opera had more than 350 million users worldwide as of the end of 2014. In July of 2016 the browser was sold to the Chinese firm of Oihoo for $600 million, but in November Golden Brick Capital acquired Opera along with Oihoo. Both Opera and Vivaldi are free so it does not cost anything to try them. Vivaldi will work with Linux systems. Vivaldi can be downloaded free from here. The latest stable version 1.8.770.50 is now available. I appended one of many reviews of Vivaldi. There is a forum for users to discuss issues with the browser.