In an effort to standardize a mobile web browser, Nokia announced yesterday (May 24) the release of the source code for its mobile web browser.
Last year, Nokia designed this browser specifically for its S60 mobile phone line, using a code framework similar to Apple’s Safari browser and incorporating several upgrades tailored for mobile web browsing.
Mobile network service providers and manufacturers can now download the core engine of Nokia’s mobile web browser and customize it according to their specific needs.
“We aim to minimize the fragmentation present in the mobile web browser space,” stated Lee Epting, Vice President of Forum Nokia. (Forum Nokia is a software development support program).
Nokia’s browser source code is released under the BSD license, which is considered one of the most permissive licenses, allowing individuals to use Nokia’s source code to develop other commercial products.
Meanwhile, Opera Software believes that Nokia’s latest move will have limited impact. “Its value is confined to the open source community,” asserted Hakon Lie, Chief Technical Officer of Opera. “The amount of source code that Nokia has released is still very limited compared to what they have retained. This is not sufficient and not useful for mobile browser developers.”
Nokia’s released source code includes features such as efficient operation under low memory conditions, a mouse pointer to facilitate web browsing similar to desktop browsing, support for dynamic HTML, and AJAX technology.
Nokia began offering this browser to users of its S60 product line, including products from Siemens, since the end of last year. In the future, this browser is expected to be pre-integrated into all products within the S60, E, and N series.
Hoàng Dũng
