November 03, 2005, The initial announcement of the Nokia-Apple collaboration in June 2005 has been realised with Nokia’s announcement of the release of its latest web browser for its Series 60 based Symbian phones.
“Open source development also enables close cooperation with the industry’s best innovators, such as Apple. Both Apple and Nokia share a commitment to Internet standards and the use of a common code. The unified and compatible browser base will offer a very compelling choice for Web content developers,” said Nokia CTO Pertti Korhonen.
With research showing that mobile browsing accounted for 60% of smartphone data traffic; the impetus for the pursuit of the “true [mobile] Web experience”, has produced a new browser that includes:
- pop-up blocking
- visual history with miniature views of Web pages
- text search, RSS support
- the ability to load DHTML and AJAX Web applications
“The new Web browser is poised to make Web browsing fast, intuitive, and more enjoyable for both consumers and enterprise users,” said Heikki Heinaro, Nokia’s vice president of S60 Applications.
At press time, the new browser is only available for the S60 3rd Edition operating system slated for implementation in Nokia’s new E-series and N-series models, including the N71, N80 and N92 multimedia phones, which will include the browser beginning next year.
With this latest development together with Apple’s recent tie-in with Motorola to produce the Motorola ROKR phone, eager Mac fans might not be faulted in believing this as early signs of Apple’s interest in the telco market.
Tie-ins are notorious as ‘win-win’ ventures that allow participating organisations to benefit from the other’s R & D of matured products. Such seemingly symbiotic relationships also keep R & D costs low for future products that may require technological R & D that the other might already possess. With the more cogent imperative allowing organisations to leapfrog the R & D of a future product. There may be hope yet for Mac fans who are still waiting for Apple to produce a pure Mac cell phone, embodied with Apple’s dedication to ease of use and elegant industrial design.