Nokia today announced the release of the source code for the S60 WebKit to the open source community. The code released is the engine behind its state-of-the-art Web Browser for S60. The move is seen as a turning point in the drive toward an open source development base for web browsers used on mobile devices.
The S60 WebKit, includes considerable mobility enhancements, which make it easier to port to other mobile platforms. This will increase standardisation in the next generation of mobile browsers and simplify the development of mobile content, which is good for developers and the end user, ultimately.
The source code is released under the terms of the open source BSD License, a highly flexible software license with few requirements that is one of the most popular licenses among free software developers worldwide. The source code will be made available to open source developers through the WebKit Open Source Project, www.webkit.org.
Nokia’s open source based Web Browser for S60 leads the way for Internet browsing on mobile devices,
said Przemek Czarnecki, executive vice president of Terminal Technology at T-Mobile International.
Its innovative handling of website navigation, which is similar to using a web browser on the desktop, is of particular interest to T-Mobile as we are closely working on Internet browsing with our product ‘web’n'walk’. The use of open source to achieve greater website compatibility is an important strategy for the mobile industry.
The first Nokia devices to include the Web browser for S60 will be ESeries (E60, E61 and E70) and NSeries devices (N71, N73, N80, N91, N92 and N93), as well as the Nokia 3250 Phone. Shipment of select models has already begun and others will come available throughout the remainder of the second quarter.
For more information about Web Browser for S60, visit www.s60.com/browser.
