RIM posts job listing for 'WebKit Developer,' gets one step closer to a real browser
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Nov 1st 2009 4:33PM
posted Nov 1st 2009 4:33PM
Needed some more evidence that future BlackBerrys may be getting a much needed improvement in the browser department? You got it. Following up on the news that Research In Motion has acquired Torch Mobile (developers of the WebKit-based Iris browser), the Candian phonemaker is now looking to fill the position of "WebKit Developer," according to a job listing. The posting calls for a number of skills which would come in handy whilst creating a next-gen browser for the BlackBerry OS, clearly calling for someone with hands-on experience coding... WebKit style. Look, if you love Canada and hate the BlackBerry browser, here's your chance to make the world a better place. What are you waiting for?[Thanks, Daniel M]
Ooh!! I need a RIM job!!
Erm... waitaminute... no I don't.
who was i kidding thinking id be the first to get that one. only thing left is the outer RIM galaxy. :( fail.
God damn it... that was mine...
+1
To separate RIM and job with only the word "post" is like wearing a condom made out of cheese cloth.
Don't forget to bring an Ainol PMP to the RIM job.
Why do they need to hire more developers.... it says they bought Torch (and I assume brought in the employees)... I'm not sure I understand why they need more people?
Probably Torch *already* wanted to hire more people, so they could improve the browser faster. This is common when a small company gets bought: often, the small company couldn't afford to increase staff, but the big company can.
Didn't they just purchase some company that makes a webkit browser?
@JohnEaglez - man, seriously, quit spaming your enormous website.
If he's spamming us with a Tech-Blog, then why doesn't he say something more constructive about this story?
They just acquired Torch, nobody from that company could fill the position?
Perhaps they just need MOAR.
Rim posts job.... hah, Rimjob.
Your mom likes giving http://rim.jobs
Good stuff. Hopefully RIM doesn't rush things. Right now there is no reason to rush anything out so RIM shouldn't have that mentality like they need to catch up. Sure the browser sucks now but they're still in a good position where they don't need to capture some of the market and don't need to worry about losing it.
It's important that RIM makes a good first impression, the Storm was pretty awful at launch and regardless of OS 5.0, most won't even consider the Storm2 even if it is an improvement from the Storm.
I think I speak for us all when I say,"finally". although opera on BB isn't half bad
It's more like 3/4 bad.
It's sad to see rim still playing catch up to the iPhone browser which was unveiled Jan of 2007. Rim u 3 years late tO the game sorry to say.
I would rather have a Blackberry and be stuck with RIM's browser, than have an iPhone and be stuck with Apple's e-mail app.
Zing!
And Skyfire still bests any browser point blank. So Apple is still behind...along with everyone else...trying to find a way to effectively put in flash and not slow down the mobile browsing experience.
I had the Skyfire browser on my Moto Q. MOTO...Q! The experience was beautiful. YouTube videos loaded perfectly, no stuttering.
I really hope Skyfire comes to Android. With the Touch HD2 and Skyfire...makes me kinda want to go back to WinMo...
i sold my iphone for a blackberry, i'd rather have NO browser at all than use an iphone again, who is 3 years behind? apple haven't updated their OS with anything new in 3 devices now...what's new? MMS? luls...sorry buddy, at least blackberry users have the option to use 3rd party browsers, and will get flash also...unlike iphone users... add that to the list of things every phone has but the iphone doesn't... list is growing
@ iDavey
Are you kidding me? the CEO of Skyfire is demoing his product with a freakin' stylus??? What is this? 1999??
http://www.skyfire.com/product/demo
Davey, skyfire? get outta here.
A stylus. Oh yes...because you use a stylus that means that the browser is inferior /sarcasm
That's the limitations of the hardware. NOT the software. Learn something.
And it's funny that Skyfire has beaten the Mobile Safari in EVERY test presented to it.
I sense a little envy.
Face it. Skyfire is the most feature filled browser, uses Flash, Quicktime, and Silverlight 2. Renders pages quickly thru offsetting work on proxies.
It bests every browser in speed and ability.
"Stylus or not" LOL. Funny that's the only thing you could point out.
P.S. Stylus is FULLY optional. If you don't want to use a stylus...you don't have to. But when demoing something on a 3in screen...you want to show as much real estate as you can.
Try again [Highly Ranked]. Try again...much harder.
Hey RIM, how about coming up with an iClone that is at least worth a damn before you try to take on Safari? And no, no one gives a damn about the Storm, even if you add a number 2 after the name.
- Posted from Safari for iPhone :)
@ iDavey, everyone else
HEY, you can't down-rank me!!! Don't you know who I am?
I am Higest Ranked!
And iDavey, Skyfire may be good. In 1999. We are in 2009.
@ iDavey
Skyfire cheats
http://gizmodo.com/5028443/mobile-safari-vs-opera-mobile-vs-skyfire-whos-the-fastest
Holy shit, our best defense against Safari Mobile is "They cheated =,("
Great work Gizmodo.
lol @ "safari cheats' i don't care if it summons lucifer to help render a page, if it displays content faster, it displays content faster, this isn't a game for merit, its a game for speed. skyfire beats the shit out of safari, period.
You said it best yourself "JohnEaglez":
"I use [Engadget] every day."
- To earn small dollars pushing a second rate techblog down our throats.
Torch Mobile's Iris browser. Nice software, still have it on my WM phone.
why don't they just buy palm? its the only way both companions can survive.
You're...joking right?
Oh...you were serious?
-exits stage left-
Cool! I got a phone number.
Thanks [Highest Ranked]!
for the amount of time I actually use the browser on a phone.. I don't think the one on my blackberry is that bad.. but it's not that good either.. I think the one on my old treo was better. actually, everything was better on the treo and I wish mine still worked.
@ John Tesoriero: A/S/L? Nevermind!
Lets chat. ;)
If competency is not an issue, then I'm available...
Why does everyone use Webkit, instead of Firefox's rendering engine. Aren't they both open source and therefore equally as good, only Firefox has a larger market share?
My impression is that Gecko is heavierweight. I use a Nokia N810, with a Gecko-based browser, and it's kind of slow on complex pages (with a 400MHz OMAP 2420--that's an ARM11 with a PowerVR GPU).
Oops, I'm wrong: 330MHz, not 400. (I looked at /proc/cpuinfo, and misread: it's 400 BogoMIPS.)
Mozilla has a pretty bad track record on mobile. Their first attempt, Minimo, is now dead after 4+ years of development. Fennec is fairing much better but still alpha/beta quality. When they actually release a fully featured, stable, browser I'm sure it will be popular but it's unclear when that will happen. As a result WebKit is a far more popular choice.
I would like to call an Engadget crusade to spam the fuck out of this guy.
just post the number on 4chan saying it's your hot ex-girlfriend.
Lol.
future blackberries? so i shouldnt pick up the 9700?
It's bound to be made available as an upgrade to existing BBs, much the same way that they have released BBM version 5.0 for existing handsets.
I hear blackberry n I think ford pinto.
Keyboards are so 2002.
Get with the times. Coworker has a 5 month old vzw bb 85**..
Browser on it blows hard on so many levels. He always using my iPhone when we in the go to look up whatever online. Ridiculous.
I loathe touchscreen keyboards, and much prefer the accuracy and tactile response of a physical keyboard. I know many others who feel the same way. Just because you think touchscreens are best does not mean everyone does.
Yeah...that just makes the Ford Pinto beating out the iPhone every quarter as best smartphone even worse...
word is right.
The BB browser is not THAT bad, and it's not even as if it's the only option on the platform: there's Bolt and Opera, both of which are quite good, along with the upcoming Skyfire. Enough already about the BB browser. It's not a strike against the platform no matter how much the BB haters want it to be.
1) Quit spamming your website
2) Your info in public access records
*your website info is in pubic records
There's a big gap between loving Canada and loving Halifax. If I were looking for a job, I could theoretically consider, say, Toronto; but I wouldn't move anywhere in the Maritimes.
Being a resident of Parrsboro, all I can say to this is hell yes, brother.
@Gus
Anon is not your personal army.
"The Candian developer" ... sweeeet!
I think they should give up and shut the doors on RIM. Then maybe my company will come to the realization that there are BETTER devices out there. The in-motion research is about 10 years old. How about something modern RIM? Hmmm?
Engadget could very well be a job portal....companies would definitely find people with the more 'right midset' than any where else.
When I see someone with a cell with buttons I feel sorry for them n immediately look Down to see if they have their 2001 style matching fanny pack. Am I alone here?
How can I find it to download
Steven
OH SORRY WHAT'S THAT I COULDN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND MY MOUSE MADE FROM REPORTING YOUR SPAM-ASS POSTS.
And that's what I get for replying to a post that's about to be deleted, I guess.