Nokia Opens the S60 Browser Source Code

segphault writes "Nokia has released the source code of it's S60 WebKit browser for mobile devices. Based on the HTML rendering components used in Konqueror and Safari, the S60 WebKit has a multitude of advanced features designed specifically for web navigation on devices with small screens. Nokia decided to release the source code under the permissive BSD license in order to promote adoption by other mobile device companies. From the article: 'the power and scalability of WebKit-based browsers and the highly permissive license under which the S60 WebKit source code is available make it a good choice for companies that want to add mobile web browsing to their devices. I think it will be particularly interesting to see how this affects Opera, whose revenue primarily comes from distribution of its own virtually ubiquitous embedded browser.'"

Comments

Is it really that good?

[grahamsz]

The built in browser on my Nokia seems rather poor. It's way better than what samsung build in, but it falls a long way short of Opera IMHO.

The quality of the built in browser isn't exactly a deal-breaker for most phone consumers, so it's probably not worth the money that Nokia invests in it. By opening it, they will get more development for their money and possibly a browser to rival opera.

Re:Notice one thing.

[somethinghollow]

"Lots of people don't want a [convergent] device."

That's why there are carriers like Verizon that make tons of money crippling their phones and selling phones that are pretty much useless, like the LG Mio, for a premium. You just never hear about them because geeks want "just a phone" as much as Batman wants "just a belt." In other words, you are reading the wrong website if you are looking for news about just-a-cell-phone. That probably would have had heavy coverage in 1973 (or the early '80s when they were available to the public), but not any more.

As far as Nokia's nomenclature, I agree they don't "get it." But as far as their product goes, it's exactly what a different group of "lots of people" want. For me, the fewer things I carry around in my pocket, the better... especially if it is a Nokia N80.

Re:Are they not required to release it?

[MWelchUK]

From http://wiki.opendarwin.org/index.php/S60Webkit:

"The MemoryManager, WebKit and Reindeer components are covered by the Nokia BSD license. The 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 Corporation, which is covered by the Netscape Public License v1.1."

Nokia promoting patents, not open source

[nnos]

This must be a misunderstanding. Nokia has not open-sourced their browser. They have open-sourced a port of WebKit to their own proprietary S60 platform. The usefulness of this for other developers is limited. The UI of their browser is closed source and Nokia -- being a strong lobbyist for software patents in Europa -- are probably patenting it. Here is a quate from an article that at least asks some critical questions:

Opera Software's chief technology officer, however, doesn't expect Nokia's move to have much of an impact. "It has limited value for the open source community," said Hakon Lie, CTO for Opera. The amount of code that Nokia released is relatively small compared to the amount it kept proprietary and the innovations Nokia has made are unlikely to be useful to developers of mobile phone platforms other than S60, he said.

"What I'm seeing is they're flirting with open source and trying to get the open source community interested in their platform, but it's more of a marketing thing rather than a real technical contribution," he said.