Nokia Develops a New Browser on Apple WebKit

Althazzar writes "Nokia has built a new browser for their Symbian system based on the WebKit open source project from Apple, released last week. "Apple is pleased to assist Nokia in creating their new Series 60 browser based on the same KHTML open source technology that powers Apple's Safari"."

Comments

Let me know when its free to use

[CrazyJim1]

I have a built in web browser in my phone, but I never fired it up because it has fees that go along with its use.

Re:Let me know when its free to use

[Kaamoss]

Sorry, but I gotta side with CrazyJim here on this one. I never use the browser on any of my phones just because the data service charge is so high. I'm sure it makes sense for some people but deffinitly not for most. it's not the same as asking an isp for a reuter and not exspecting to pay for bandwidth because the primary reason for use of a phone is to make phone calls. I think a lot of people have lost site of this and confuse their phones for instant messaging, camera, web browsing toys and not a device to place a call. But that's just my 2 cents.

Re:Let me know when its free to use

[faedle]

On my carrier, I get unlimited data usage and only 300 minutes of "anytime minutes". My PalmOne Treo is an IMing, SMSing, SSHing computer that just happens to have an expensive-to-use phone attached to it.

It's all a matter of perspective.

Re:Wither KHTML?

[m50d]

WebKit doesn't meet KDE's coding standards. They're quite strict, in order to keep a clean codebase, wheras Apple has rushed features in to a certain extent. Also, KHTML is integrated into KDE, and a large part of the difference between it and WebKit is that Apple have done a lot of work to remove that integration (and add their own). I suspect the reason Nokia are using WebKit is it is mostly de-integrated. Porting to KDE would just mean adding all the integration back in. (kparts, kwallet, etc.). Not too much work, but pretty pointless because the result would be very similar to KHTML.

Re:That's exciting

[SpamJunkie]

Ironically, Nokia is the only phone manufacturer with a sane software interface.

I thought this too until I started to do some serious research. My aging nokia needed to be replaced and the new nokias turned me off for the same reason: horribly deformed keypads and general ugliness. Even though I was afraid of giving up the familiar interface I checked out some alternatives.

To my surprise Sony Ericsson has really usable phones. I had discounted them because their phones lack dedicated answer/hang up keys, but they're actually quite good. Add on the fact that they don't make you do gymnastics to dial a number and I was sold.

But why?

[Gilesx]

Am I going senile here, or is this the same Nokia that gave a large handout to the Mozilla corporation?

This move just doesn't seem to make any sense whatsoever to me, as if you believe the rumours, they had some kind of gecko based browser already up and running. All I can assume is that it just didn't cut the mustard.

Anyone know any more about this?

Re:Wither KHTML?

[jellomizer]

Problem. You have to fix a program. You have 2 hours to fix it, if you are over 2 hours you are fired. The clean version of making a function more adaptible will take 3 hours to do. Vs. Copying and pasting the fuction and altering the bits and pieces and give it a simular name dostuff2(int x,int y, float z).

Time it takes to code in reallife is actually an issue. If you spend to much time then you go over budget, when you are over budget then your job quality is in question, when your job quality is in question there is a hire chance of getting fired. These are real factors that are not taught in Computer Science, because in the virtual world people have endless time to write their code and make it optimised, and clean. In real life, If it takes you twice as long to write a program that is 25% faster. It is usually cheaper to buy a computer that is twice as fast then pay for optimised code. Also with the cost of repairing bad code vs. writting clean code from the start If the tradeoff of fixing code will simular amount of time as it does writting clean code you get the advantage of spreading the money over a longer period of time alling more time to invest money and make more.

Real life sucks doesn't it.