Full web-browsing technology from Nokia

More than just mobile: usable too

The Web Browser for S60 and Web Browser for Series 40 are setting the benchmark for mobile web browsers. At their core is WebKit technology, enabling fast and accurate rendering of any web content, from WML to HTML. On top of this, Nokia has used its years of experience in mobile usability to create an interface that makes mobile browsing quick and enjoyable.

For web developers, these browsers bring familiar desktop PC web technologies to mobile devices. For mobile consumers, they offer the best mobile web-browsing experience. Together, they mean the best mobile traffic with the minimum development effort for web property owners.

What’s the latest news about the browsing technology from Nokia?

Nokia has introduced S60 Browser 7.1 for S60 5th Edition and selected S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices from Nokia. This new version of the browser is based on WebKit 525, which adds features and updates contributed by Nokia and other members of the WebKit open source community. The new user features include:

• Enabling users to define the function of shortcut keys.
• Providing users with the option to view a web page in the full screen, by hiding the status bar and softkey labels.

For more information, see the Web Developer’s Library »

For developers the introduction of S60 Browser 7.1 delivers full support for Flash Lite 3.0. It also extends support for WRT API 1.1, which offer S60 Platform Services, to selected S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices.

The new browser is already offered in the following S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices: Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6730 classic, Nokia N86 8MP device, Nokia E52 messaging device, Nokia E55 messaging device, and Nokia E72 device. Other selected S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2 devices will gain S60 Browser 7.1 through firmware updates.

Developers should note that early versions of S60 Browser 7.1 were released without support for onKeyPress to capture select and navigation key events. For full details, see the Knowledge Base entry TSS001451 - Key event handling in S60 Browser 7.1 and S60 WRT 1.1. This omission affects both web and WRT widget code. Later versions of the browser will correct this omission.

Key features

Full web experience, just for mobile
See the web as it was meant to be seen: with full and accurate rendering. At the same time, take advantage of features such as text-wrap-to-screen-width that optimise content for viewing on a mobile device.

Adobe Flash and multimedia
Using the Flash Lite player, the Nokia browsers support websites that contain embedded Flash content. In addition, the Web Browser for S60 includes support for FLV — the standard for web video — and H264 video playback is also supported.

Flash Lite 3 is delivered through the browser’s plug-in architecture. Additional plug-ins also offer SVG-T and other multimedia formats as standard. This opens the door to developers using the widest range of media when creating an online user experience.

Page overview
Navigate web pages in their original format quickly and easily on a small screen. The page overview feature offers a miniature of an entire web page, overlaid with a frame indicating the viewing area. This feature is activated whenever the users scroll rapidly across a page.

Visual history
A visual history of pages visited makes it easy for users to find their way back.

Bookmarks and page saving
Fully featured bookmark services, including automatic bookmark creation and the ability to send and receive bookmarks, makes it easy for users to store and revisit favourite websites. In addition, the Web Browser for S60 allows users to save pages for offline viewing.

Open source heritage

The Web Browser for S60 and Web Browser for Series 40 are based on The WebKit Open Source Project. The browsers make use of the following components:

• KHTML rendering engine.
• KWQ adaptation layer from WebCore.
• KJS JavaScript engine from JavaScriptCore.
• Netscape Plug-in API from Netscape Communications.

The open source WebCore and JavaScriptCore components are covered by the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). The Netscape Plug-in API is a ported version of the open source plug-in interface from Netscape Communications, which is covered by the Netscape Public License v1.1.

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