Russian, eh? Wikipedia:

The browser is based on NetFront NX v2.1, which uses the WebKit layout engine

Guess that's settled then.

How is it hijacking when they tell you what's going on, and you explicitly have to enable it manually?

I guess you've never heard about proxy servers before.

With the switch to webkit, they lose whatever technical advantages they might have had.

Why? People don't give a damn about the engine. It's the GUI that matters.

It'd be great if Opera released a light version with just the browser

It already exists. It's what Opera is by default when you install it. Mail and all that other stuff is disabled until you decide to start using it.

Sadly they've let it go to shit the past several releases, probably because they knew they were walking away from it.

Really? I've been having fewer problems than ever, and looking at the general feedback on their site it's basically the same as always: A vocal minority complaining about things. This is the way it's been for nearly 20 years now. Someone always insists that "they've let it go to shit" and things like that. Even 15 years ago.

even he is trying various browsers because he says Opera gets slower and buggier with each release

Doesn't make sense. It's got fewer bugs than ever.

Do you think Opera would be ditching presto if it could run on the iPhone?

Definitely. They don't have to switch to Webkit across the board just to run on the iPhone.

Please, rendering technology was the heart of the browser and now it's been flushed down the toilet.

So? If said technology was frustrating to work with (which we now know it is because they have to spend far too much time doing boring things like patching sites that keep breaking), then replacing it will boost morale.

How will it innovate? How will it differentiate? By creating a different set of icons on the toolbar?

So basically, the way Opera "innovates" and "differentiates" today is to be far less compatible with websites than Chrome?

Of course not. It differentiates with its features and user experience. The user interface, not the engine. The engine is a negative differentiator because it doesn't work on many sites.

Look at Dell (basically sticking their logo on sb's else hardware) vs Apple which actually innovated and designed stuff.

What makes you think Opera won't come up with new and unique features? Does switching to Webkit suddenly mean they lose that ability?