Nokia introduces a new Web browser for S60 3rd Edition
November 02, 2005
Powerful open source engine enables intuitive Web experience in S60 smartphones
Nokia Mobility Conference 2005, Barcelona, Spain/Espoo Finland - Nokia today unveiled
the new Web browser for its world leading smartphone software, S60 platform. The
new browser is aimed to provide smartphone users with a true Web experience and
industry leading performance when browsing full Web pages on the Internet using
a smartphone. The new Web browser is available to S60 licensees as part of the S60
3rd Edition offering.
"Nokia studies of S60 smartphone users show two clear trends: browsing is generating
over 60% of data traffic, and the improved network performance of WCDMA/3G more
than doubles the browser usage compared to GPRS/EDGE, offering increased revenue
potential for operators," said Heikki Heinaro, Vice President, S60 Applications,
Nokia Technology Platforms.
"Nokia's approach to browsing on smartphones in the 3G era is to offer a premium
solution for content discovery and download, with equal access both to Web sites
on the Internet and mobile optimized content. The new Web browser is poised to make
Web browsing fast, intuitive, and more enjoyable for both consumers and enterprise
users," Heinaro continued.
As announced earlier this year, the new Web browser for S60 is based on the WebCore
and JavaScriptCore components of Apple's Safari Web Kit, the industry's smallest
and fastest open source full Web rendering engine for mobile devices that Apple
uses in its popular Safari Internet browser. Based on KHTML and KJS from KDE's Konqueror
open source project, this software has enabled Nokia to achieve major improvements
in Web site usability on smartphones, through the re-use of a proven desktop rendering
engine that has been developed and optimized by a large open source community over
many years.
"Safari Web Kit's blazing performance, efficient code base and support for open
standards make it an ideal open source technology for projects like the new Web
browser for S60," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide
Product Marketing. "We're delighted that Nokia can take advantage of Apple innovation
and our commitment to open source development to bring a new Web experience to S60
smartphones."
The new browser provides a True Web experience though features such as:
- Preservation of the original page layout, presented just as the Web site designers
intended;
- Easy navigation of Web pages through page miniatures, reducing the amount of scrolling;
- Pop-up blocking, enhanced start page, and simplified menus;
- Visual History, an easy-to-use back function, showing miniature views of previous
pages;
- Text Search, which works as you type, taking you directly to the interesting part
of the page;
- Web Feeds, providing easy access to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds from
Web sites, blogs, and news stories;
- Dynamic HTML, supporting dynamic menus, rollovers, and scripted behavior such
as AJAX applications;
- Extensive support of industry standards including W3C's HTML, XHTML 1.0, DOM,
CSS and SVG-Tiny; other Web standards such as SSL and ECMAScript; and Netscape style
plug-ins including Flash Lite and audio.
The browser's open source codebase and extensible architecture will enable other
industry parties, such as S60 licensees and the open source community, to develop
new features for the browser. S60 application developers can use open APIs to build
on top of the browser, using it to render rich content within their application.
Nokia is committed to open source, and intends to actively participate in the open
source community to further develop and enhance the browser, contributing Nokia's
expertise in mobility.
"The KDE Project is excited that Nokia will bring KDE's award-winning open source
technology to mobile devices through the S60 platform. It is a testament to the
value of the open source community's work, and will stimulate further innovation
in KHTML and mobile applications. We look forward to facilitating this innovation
through further collaboration with Nokia," said George Staikos, the representative
for the KDE Project in North America.
About S60
The S60 platform, built on the Symbian OS, is the leading smartphone software in
the world and it is licensed by some of the foremost mobile phone manufacturers
in the market. The flexibility of the S60 platform allows for various hardware designs
and software configurations. This is demonstrated through the multitude of S60 devices
already available on the market. Through its award-winning user interface, extensive
support for new mobile services and the innovation potential for partner solutions,
the S60 provides an open and scalable business opportunity for mobile operators
and 3rd party developers. For further information about S60 news and community,
please visit www.s60.com.
About Nokia
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability
of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information
that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones,
devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment,
solutions and services for network operators and corporations.
Please visit the Nokia Mobility Conference 2005 website for more information at:
www.nokia.com/nmc