The new microbrowser brings WAP and WEB worlds together,
available for licensing and on Nokia's terminals this year
Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications, today demonstrated the first XHTML microbrowser on a standard mobile phone. XHTML is the language that will be used to create all content regardless of whether it is for the fixed Internet or the mobile phone world. By narrowing the gap between wired and wireless content, this technology greatly accelerates the pace at which services can be created, and, as important, improves the usability of wireless services for consumers.
XHTML has already received tremendous industry-wide support and it has been previously announced that it will be the foundation of next generation WAP.
"With this technology we merge the best of the Web and wireless worlds," said Pertti Lounamaa, vice president, Nokia Mobile Phones. "And equally important to us and to our customers, it is a technology with great benefits for consumers that is also completely open and supported by the world's standards bodies."
In technology demonstrations held at CTIA (Booth 2822 – Sands Convention Center) and later the same week at CeBIT (Hall 26, stand E68), the new browser is shown running on the modified Nokia 6210 and Nokia 7190 handsets. The demonstrations prove that important advances in consumer services can be made very quickly and implemented in real-world phone designs.
Nokia plans to start incorporating the browser in its handsets by the end of this year.
Nokia's WAP service delivery platforms are already today designed to enable access to XML-based languages such as XHTML. The server infrastructure will be ready for testing with XHTML-handset later this year, and future releases of service delivery platforms will be deployed in time for commercial roll-outs of XHTML-based services.
As is the case with Nokia's current WAP browser, Nokia will license the browser source code to other handset manufacturers, mobile phone operators, service providers, and others. Licensing information is available from
www.nokia.com. The new software will support current WAP content, WML, as well as the new XHTML standard, ensuring both backward compatibility and the promise of exciting, next generation services. In addition, the software is designed to be extendable, so that its functionality can grow along with the capabilities coming in GPRS networks and new phone hardware designs.
The demonstration also shows the use of cascading style sheets and an innovative, new rendering engine, which together enable a graphical user interface (GUI) for content delivery. This GUI, a standard feature in the wired world, will significantly improve usability for consumers and convenience for operators. The style sheets themselves are a major advantage, as they will make it possible to easily tailor content specifically to different handsets. Nokia will collaborate with a number of companies on XHTML application technology and content creation tools. The first XHTML developer's kit from Nokia will be available this summer.
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications. Backed by its experience, innovation, user-friendliness and secure solutions, the company has become the leading supplier of mobile phones and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks. By adding mobility to the Internet Nokia creates new opportunities for companies and further enriches the daily lives of people. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on six major exchanges.
Further information:
Nokia Mobile Phones, Communications, Tel. +358 7180 08000
Nokia US, Corporate Communications, Tel. +1 972 894 4573, Email communication.corp@nokia.com
An online version of our XHTML browser demonstation is available at
www.nokia.com/xhtmldemo.
A pdf version of the "Advantages of XHTML for Wireless Data" white paper can be found at
www.nokia.com/press/nps_white_papers.html.
www.nokia.com
About the author:
Press Release
