Nokia Xpress, an app and service proxy browser solution from Nokia, is now available in its first full release version via the Windows Phone Marketplace. Nokia Xpress, which had previsouly been available via Nokia Beta Labs, provides a browser-like experience that uses less data than when browsing using Internet Explorer. On slower connections it can also significantly speed up the time taken to load web pages.

Here's how Nokia describe the app in the Windows Phone Marketplace:

Nokia Xpress is a content discovery app that connects you to the internet in an entirely new way. This cloud-powered app is a fast and fun way to find and enjoy interesting web content while saving time and money. The Xpress platform compresses data by about two thirds so you use less of your data plan and save battery charge. Connect with the latest stories & content while automatically optimizing for a better experience and lower data usage. Nokia Xpress: Save more. Enjoy more. Do more. 

In our intial testing we found that Nokia Xpress offers both faster browsing (especially on slower connections) and a way to save data (useful for those with small data caps).

The overall results show that Nokia Xpress significantly speeds up browsing, but in most cases, in terms of speed, is probably only worth using over a 2G connection or a slower speed 3G connection. On average, pages load a third quicker in Nokia Xpress compared to Internet Explorer, when using a 2G connection.

During testing, Nokia Xpress used 80% less data than Internet Explorer. Put another way, this means Nokia Xpress lets you browse five times as much, for the same data usage. This is significant for those with capped data plans. While some smartphones are sold with all-you-can-eat or large (2GB+) data plans, many are also sold with much smaller data caps. 

As we noted previously some may question the need for Nokia Xpress on Windows Phone 8, given the built in data compression functionality:

As part of its new Data Sense feature Windows Phone 8 does include built-in proxy based data compression. It essentially does the same thing as Nokia Xpress, but at the system, rather than the app level. Leaving aside the advantages of a streamlined UI and the Magazine feature of the app this may leave you wondering whether there's a place for Nokia's solution on Windows Phone 8.

As a system wide implementation Data Sense is clearly a better approach. However, it requires operator support, and, at the current time only handsets running on Verizon's US network have the featured enabled. Operator support is expected to grow in 2013, and some portions of Data Sense, such as the data usage tracking, may become universally available. But it is likely that the proxy compression element of Data Sense will only be available to a limited subset of Windows Phone users for the foreseeable future, leaving an obvious gap for Nokia Xpress to fill. 

Nokia Xpress can be downloaded from the Nokia collection in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It is available for both Windows Phone 7.5 and Windows Phone 8.

Here's the launch video for the original beta, which covers the major functionality of the app and service: