KenC

Complete Web Browsing On Your Cell Phone? Not Yet

I think the trouble people are having or maybe it's the author is the definition of what the full internet or real internet is. I think most people don't realize that Flash is NOT a web standard. It may be popular, but not being a standard means proper code should avoid it. I don't think it is part of the real internet. Honestly, I think as the internet gets more and more mobile, more and more coders will avoid Flash, with it eventually ending up on the trash heap, unless it improves significantly. It's heavy and slow, just bad news for a mobile device.

I'm not sure whether the author knows the difference between JAVA and javascript. The iPhone browser allows JavaScript, but doesn't run JAVA. I haven't heard too many people complain about not having JAVA other than Sun Microsystems.

Further, WebKit on your S60 browser, is from Apple. Apple developed the rendering engine WebKit and gave it back to the open-source community, that's how Nokia can use it, as does Adobe for Adobe AIR, as does Google for Android and Chrome. And, there are literally a dozen other browsers or browser-based apps built on the frameworks of WebKit. This is the real story, the story of the rise of WebKit. A loose WebKit alliance between all the non-MS companies.

It's just funny to read the comments comparing Safari to S60 to Chrome, when they are all built on the same rendering engine. Sure there'll be some small differences in performance as Safari 4.0 uses SquirrelFish as its JavaScript engine, while Chrome uses V8 as its.

If the author wants to keep tabs on how the real internet is progressing into the mobile world, all he need do is go to:

webkit.org

And, you can read all about WebKit and the SurfinSafari Blog, and how WebKit was the first to pass all 100 of the Acid3 tests back in March. Of course, the Acid3 test was the acid test of meeting web standards. WebKit scored 100%. I believe Gecko which powers Mozilla scored 100% as well.

My recollection is that desktop MS IE 6 or 7, scored about a 12 of 100 on the Acid3 test. I just tested my Mobile Safari and got a score of 72. So, my Mobile Safari meets more web standards as defined by Acid3 than Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

I think history will show that Safari qualifies as the Real Internet, regardless of what the British advertising board thinks. If you read their statement, it has more to do with public expectations than published standards. Of course, since Flash is not installed by default, I really wonder what they are talking about.