Opera, not content with being the lightweight browser in the mobile space for not-so-smartphone users, has shown off a version of its mobile browser built for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.

This will go down well with the Apple people

While it might seem a relatively straightforward move to make if you’re already in the business of making mobile browsers, Opera moving to get an app onto Apple’s App Store could well be fraught with issues. The fact is that Apple seems not to allow any app through it’s by now infamous App Store approval process that’s seen to “duplicate an existing function of the iPhone,” the very excuse it used to not block but hold Google’s Google Voice app in “review” for so very long (indeed, it remains in “review” limbo to this day).

Indeed, Firefox in its discussion of Firefox Mobile hasn’t had too much to say about moving to release a version of its browser for Apple’s mobile platform, saying instead that it intends to concentrate on other, perhaps more open, mobile devices. Still, there could be something else going on here…

The fact is that Opera is fairly vocal, no stranger to being outspoken when it feels that it’s been somehow wronged. Indeed, the fact that Microsoft had to acquiesce and include a “ballot” option to force users moving to Windows 7 to choose their own browser, rather than simply bundling Internet Explorer with the operating system, was due in no small part to Opera’s persistence.

Moreover, Opera seems fairly serious about getting its browser released to Apple’s mobile devices, with its co-founder, Jon Tetzchner, saying in its official posting about the new mobile browser,

“This is a unique opportunity to introduce the fast, feature rich Opera Mini experience for the iPhone … Opera’s mission is to bring the Web to the world, and by making Opera Mini available on yet another platform, we are one step closer.”

Bold stuff, considering Apple’s approval process.