Mobile Browser
A Mobile Browser is an web browser which desined to run on a mobile phone. Mobile Browsers(or Microbrowser, Mini-Browser or Minibrowser) are optimised so as to display internet content most effectively for small screens on portable devices (such as mobile, PDA, Smartphone, MP3's etc..). They accomodate any combination of wcss, xhtml, wap and mhtml. Essentially it is a stripped-down web browser.
Underlying Technology
The Mobile Browser usually sets up their networks themselves and get contents written in XHTML Mobile Profile (WAP 2.0), or WML (WAP 1.3 which was based on HDML or above). WML and HDML are stripped-down formats suitable for transmission across limited bandwidth, and wireless data connection called WAP. In India recently, Jataayu Software has launched new mobile browsers with its jB5 with ART HTML Browser technology.
Newer microbrowsers are full-featured Web browsers capable of HTML, WML, i-mode HTML, cHTML, plus CSS, ECMAScript, and plug-ins such as Macromedia Flash.
Pioneers
The so-called Mobile browser technologies such as WAP, NTTDocomo's i-mode platform and Openwave's HDML platform have fulfilled the first need of interest in wireless data services.
Small-Screen Rendering Limitations
Not only microbrowsers do need to be small in file size, but the display screen is also much smaller. Extreme care must be considered in displaying HTML information onto such a small screen. Bandwidth is also so limited and extreme is the stability. Connections cuts off with cordinary mobile phones and PDAs that are wirelessly connected.
Popular Mobile Browsers
Here are some of the more popular Mobile Browsers. Some Mobila Browsers are really small Web browsers, whereas some microbrowser companies also provide web browsers for the computers.
Browsers used by major mobile phone vendors:
NetFront by Access Co. Ltd. (Japan).
Nokia Series 40 Browser by Nokia.
Nokia Series 60 Browser by Nokia.
Obigo by Obigo AB (Sweden), owned by Teleca Systems AB (formerly AU Systems)
Openwave (Redwood, CA) (formerly Phone.com, formerly Unwired Planet).
Opera by Opera Software ASA (Norway).
Pocket Internet Explorer by Microsoft Inc.
User-installable Mobili Browsers:
Andromeda
Bluelark Bluelark bought by Handspring Inc.
Doris by Anygraaf Oy (Vantaa, Finland)
NicheView by Interniche Technologies Inc.
Minimo by Mozilla Foundation.
Palm™ Web Browser Pro by PalmOne, Inc. (Milpitas, CA)
Picsel by Picsel Technologies Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland)
Pixo by Sun Microsystems (Pixo acquired by Sun July 2003)
RocketBrowser Rocket Mobile, Inc. (Silicon Valley, CA).
SAS
Skweezer by Greenlight Wireless Corporation
Thunderhawk by Bitstream Inc. (Cambridge, MA)
Wapaka
WebViewer by Reqwireless
Novarra
The following list is a non-comprehensive list of some of the most known mobile browsers.
* Opera browser - From Opera Software
* Openwave Mobile Browser - From Openwave Systems
* Nokia - From Nokia
* Picsel - From Picsel Technologies
* PocketWeb - From TLogic
* Thunderhawk - From Bitstream
* Netfront - From Access Systems
* Pocket Internet Explorer - From Microsoft