Windows/Mac/Linux: Popular web browser Opera just pushed out a new stable release featuring overall speed improvements, several cool feature updates, and a laundry list of bug fixes. Opera still has all the excellent features that made us declare that Opera is still in the browser race with its previous release, but this latest release is faster, and it continues to add innovative features that most browsers only support through third-party extensions. Keep reading for a closer look.

Better Syncing

Opera Link, the feature that syncs Opera browser settings across multiple computers (sort of like previously mentioned Mozilla Weave but built into Opera), has expanded to support custom search engines and your typed URL history in addition to the information it already syncs (which includes Speed Dial, Bookmarks, and more).

Feed Previews

The new Feed Preview feature lets you view a site's RSS feed before you subscribe to it in Opera's built-in RSS reader. It's nicely formatted so you can get a quick glance at what kind of content is included in the feed (e.g., whether or not it's a full or partial content feed) similar to the RSS preview feature in other browsers.

Low-Bandwidth Email

Opera's built-in email client is also sporting several cool new features, including a low-bandwidth mode that reduces data downloads for faster email along with two new thread options to alternately help you keep a closer eye on an email thread or ignore a thread that's not important to you.

And All the Rest

Of course, the latest Opera still sports the excellent stable of features we focused on last time we took a close look at Opera, including Speed Dial (the homepage idea that's inspired countless Firefox knock-offs), mouse gestures, note-taking, BitTorrent support, and even voice-controlled browsing.

As I mentioned above, this release is also supposed to be significantly faster. If Opera is your browser of choice, let us know if the speed improvements show up in your browsing in the comments.