Web Pro to Power Future palmOne Browsers

Posted By: Ryan Wednesday, September 3, 2003 9:19:30 AM

Building on their existing alliance, Palm, Inc. and Novarra, Inc. announced that specific future Palm handhelds will feature the next generation of the Palm Web Pro browser. Currently, Web Pro 1.0, by Novarra, ships on the Palm Tungsten T, Tungsten T2 and Tungsten W.

Novarra's technology has been very well-received by developers and Palm's customers. "We've had great customer response on the user experience," said Steve Manser, senior vice president of product development for Palm Solutions Group. "With wireless technology becoming more pervasive, a solid client/browser is essential to a strong wireless offering. We're very impressed with Novarra's technology, their flexibility with our platform needs and their ability to continually meet aggressive milestones with quality products."

The Web Pro browser's user experience is supported by mobile-friendly features that enhance readability and data access for wireless handheld computers. Support for HTML standards, such as JavaScript, tables and frames, enables enterprises to offer mobile professionals access to Internet and intranet data and existing web-ready enterprise applications, as well as rely on Internet standards to author content. The technology makes it easier for Palm developers to create rich applications that merge local and online content.

No new details on the new browser features were announced.

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Netfront?

IanJD @ 9/3/2003 11:14:03 AM #

Is this a farewell to Netfront AKA WebBrowser as shipped on the T|C?

RE: Netfront?

Admin @ 9/3/2003 11:23:09 AM #

the release says "specific future Palm handhelds" so I take that to mean that not everything will use Web Pro.

Handspring already announced the Treo 600 browser will be powered by Netfront:

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=5647

RE: Netfront?

bcombee @ 9/3/2003 3:07:42 PM #

True, but the Treo's Netfront-powered Blazer is very different from PalmSource's Web Browser 2.0. It looks like the PalmSource variant isn't going to have strong support.

I personally don't mind the different web browsers, as long as the licensees can agree on a method of invoking the system's browser from a program and as long as any handheld-specific extensions are common among them.

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com

Way off topic

Fammy @ 9/3/2003 12:16:20 PM #

I'd like to see someone port Mozilla (Firebird) to the PalmOS. It's on every other platform.

That being said, I'll go out on a limb and say the code base may be a little large for a handheld device.

I (and everyone else) want nothing more than a browser on the Palm that will render most website correctly.

-- Fammy

RE: Way off topic

Edward Green @ 9/3/2003 1:21:10 PM #

Gecko would be great. I Imagine it would need lots of Stack tho.

Edward Green
--
http://www.khite.co.uk

RE: Way off topic

rickyspears @ 9/3/2003 1:31:06 PM #

Opera would be a great Palm browser as well. It's available for almost every other operating system, including several phones.

Thanks,
Ricky
------------------------
The stylus is mightier than the pen!

RE: Way off topic

M1 @ 9/3/2003 1:42:10 PM #

>> I'd like to see someone port Mozilla (Firebird) to the PalmOS. It's on every other platform.

As far as I know Mozilla is not available for PocketPC or for Symbian either!

RE: Way off topic

bcombee @ 9/3/2003 3:09:29 PM #

I think Gecko is a bit large for any of the handheld platforms right now, even though I personally use Firebird as my browser on all my systems.

Opera on Palm OS would be a very nice thing. They have a small rendering engine already deployed on Symbian devices, and they have very good handheld optimization technology to make sites work on small screens.

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com

RE: Way off topic

arielb @ 9/3/2003 10:52:09 PM #

yes but I don't think Opera wants to port to PPC or Palm simply *because* they have a deal with symbian. Mozilla at least offers the possibility that a bunch of brave programmers could take the code and do a port to PalmOS 5. Or maybe PalmOS 6 is more worthwhile. or maybe look at the linux browsers

RE: Way off topic

Token User @ 9/4/2003 12:01:01 AM #

I want Opera for PalmOS :(

~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~

RE: Way off topic

M1 @ 9/4/2003 4:06:32 AM #

The single most important piece of software on my connected PDA is the web browser.

It beggars belief that neither Palm not PPC devices yet have a good proxyless browser with proper standards support.

My company intranet is W3c compliant but the only browser that I can use to access it is Opera. Netfront on the PPC doesn't support pop-up links, nothing on the Palm comes anywhere near compliance.

As you point out Opera will not port to Palm or PPC in the forseeable future and I for one am not jumping for joy about Web Pro being installed as the default browser.

The version that shipped with my TT is appalling. I know hundreds of users seem happy with it but it is just not up to the job and I very much doubt whether this new version will either.

Bah!

RE: Way off topic

arielb @ 9/4/2003 5:02:07 AM #

it is extremely hard for anyone to make a browser that not only supports the theoretical w3c standards but also the real world html that is fitted to the proprietary features and bugs of internet explorer. You would need thousands of users all over the world just to find these things-it is amusing whenever I see a startup trying to provide a web browser that will surely fail with many websites. Opera is probably the best one of these "startups" but even Opera has many problems. Novarra? Netfront? huh?