webkit
Latest
Nokia E7 review
Over the years, we've seen a steady stream of business and messaging-centric landscape QWERTY smartphones come and go, with HTC arguably leading the pack via its collection of Windows Mobile, Android, and WP7 devices featuring sliding keyboards and tilt-out displays. But few of HTC's offerings are as iconic or memorable as Nokia's line of Communicator clamshell phones -- starting with the Nokia 9000 in 1996, continuing with Symbian S80 models, and culminating with the Nokia E90 atop S60v3. The Nokia E7 is the latest Communicator in this distinguished series and the manufacturer's current flagship device, dethroning the Nokia N8 which continues on as the company's media mogul. A lot has changed in the six months since the N8 was introduced, including Nokia's recent partnership with Microsoft and the stunning announcement that it will be adopting Windows Phone for future high-end smartphones. So, is the E7 -- which is finally shipping in the US -- the greatest Communicator to date? Can it carry the torch for Symbian in the immediate future? And more importantly, how does it fare in today's shark-infested Android and iOS waters? Jump past the break for our full review. %Gallery-120805%
Safari used to hijack MacBook Pro at Pwn2Own 2011
A flaw in WebKit, the engine that underlies Safari, Mobile Safari, and several other browsers, was found to be vulnerable in this year's "Pwn2Own" competition, as reported by ZDNet and many others. This is noteworthy for several reasons: first, because the exploit did not use Flash. You will remember that last year's Pwn2Own winner stated "the main thing is not to install Flash" for browser security. Secondly, it is important because WebKit is used not only by Safari but several other browsers, notably several mobile browsers, although it is not immediately apparent whether this same bug could be exploited on a mobile platform. It's also possible that the exploit could make Windows and even Linux computers vulnerable if they are running a WebKit-based browser, but details are not fully known. Computerworld noted that Google's $20,000 reward for anyone who could break into Chrome on opening day went unclaimed, as the contestant who had signed up did not appear at the Pwn2Own contest. It is unknown whether Google paid to have him assassinated (that's a joke folks, lighten up). Computerworld went on to note that according to the current schedule no one is even going to try to attack Chrome this year, meaning that it could survive a record three consecutive Pwn2Own contests. That is particularly surprising to me since Google Chrome includes its own version of Adobe Flash, but if you're looking to use the most secure browser out there, Google Chrome looks to be your browser of choice. [via Slashdot]
Netflix ported WebKit to the PS3 to enable HTML5 goodies, a dynamically updatable UI
Netflix caused a lot of head scratching in October when it started rolling out its new, disc-free Netflix experience for the PS3. Namely, different people were getting a different UI, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the differentiation. Well, it turns out Netflix was flexing a bit of its HTML5 muscle, rapidly testing different experiences to see which ones worked best for users, all without having to push out app updates or back-end changes to accommodate its indecision. Apparently, Netflix's engineers actually ported WebKit to the PS3 to make all this possible, and hopefully it's a sign of things to come in the HTML5 iPhone, iPad, and Android apps -- which could probably use some serious sprucing, or even a bit of scattered rapid prototyping just to relieve the monotony. It's also seems to be good news for other PS3 apps which can lean on the framework -- presumably VUDU's own HTML5-based UI took advantage of this when it landed on the PS3 in November. What we'd really love is if Sony and Google are secretly in cahoots to bring the entirety of Chrome and its couch-friendly Google TV UI with it. Hey, we can dream, right?
BlackBerry PlayBook vs. iPad: The challenger looks fast so far
Over the past two years, RIM has been left in the dust by Apple and Google in the smartphone space, and RIM's first crack at a tablet device doesn't arrive until sometime in 2011. Despite the wait for the arrival of the PlayBook, RIM is trying to generate interest in an attempt to get consumers to forgo the iPad this Christmas and wait for its new toy instead. One of the numerous complaints about recent BlackBerries like the Storm and Torch is slow performance, so RIM has released a new video to show that the PlayBook can give the iPad a real run for its money. A developer from the browser group at RIM shows off the rendering speed of the PlayBook and iPad side by side, and the PlayBook certainly looks promising. Rather than a derivative of the classic BlackBerry OS, the PlayBook is running on QNX, and, like the iPad, the browser is powered by the WebKit rendering engine. Whenever a company produces a demonstration like this, it will obviously choose sites that show its hardware and software in the best possible light. Nonetheless, the PlayBook appears to load and render pages significantly faster than its Apple counterpart. The PlayBook also did a good job of playing back Flash content from Adidas.com, which the iPad obviously can't do. Both devices scored 100 on the ACID 3 compatibility test, but only the iPad showed some rendering artifacts. If the rest of the PlayBook works as well as the browser, it may yet have potential. Click "Read More" to check out the video itself and see how each device fared in RIM's test.
Insignia's Infocast gains a web browser, a little dignity in the process
Nah, it's not an officially supported browser, but it's a browser nonetheless. Chumby founder Andrew Huang has recently posted up instructions (along with a prebuilt file for those stretched thin) on how to port a WebKit-based browser onto Best Buy's self-proclaimed Internet Media Device. Currently, the browser requires a USB keyboard for text input, though the touch panel still functions just fine when it comes to window management / navigation. Hit the links below if you're looking for good reason to dust your Infocast off and put it to better use. Or don't, and just become more bitter at the world around you for no good reason at all. Your choice.
TomTom Go Live 1000 plus future Magellan units hit FCC
Surprise surprise, the Webkit interface-packing TomTom Go Live 1000 just hit European shelves earlier this month and now it's popped up at the FCC complete with a user manual and a posse of mysterious brethren dubbed the GO 1000, GO 7100 and GO LIVE 9100. Clearly the lack of Live in two of the titles implies they won't feature TomTom's real-time traffic updates, but it's still unclear how any will compare to the Go Live 1000's 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen and 500MHz ARM11 processor hardware-- which we experienced mixed results using during our early hands on with a prototype. Two new Magellan models listed as the RoadMate 9020 and 9055 also have surfaced with very few details, however considering their high model numbers we're guessing they'll be top of the line devices. Looking at the ruler in the included 9055 photos does roughly hint it has a 5-inch screen though -- exciting, we know. There's also no mention in any of the documentation about new systems to prevent dumb couples from off-roading in the Oregon wilderness. So much for safety in new technology eh?
Boxee's new browser is built on Webkit and HTML5 ready
Expect to see some changes to Boxee when its $199 D-Link-built Box ships in November, as Lead Apps Developer / Community evangelist Rob Spectre tells NewTeeVee that among them will be a new Webkit based browser. The current Mozilla based browser is clearly useful for some quick & unblocked Hulu viewing, but still doesn't render many sites properly. According to Spectre, HTML5 "absolutely should be the future for the browsers you use on your TV," with competition from Google TV we can see why he'd say that, and it should be ready to stream video from even more sites that don't build Boxee apps. The desktop versions of the software will get the new browser in version 1.0 after the Boxee Box is released, so make sure your comparison charts are appropriately updated.
BlackBerry Bold 9780 caught on video running OS 6
This new Bold 9780 is really looking like the real deal, isn't it? The phone, which includes some ultra-minor aesthetic tweaks over the 9700, along with 512MB of RAM to handle the new BlackBerry 6 OS, has been described on paper, caught on camera, and now has gotten the requisite video walkthrough. The video, obtained by Driphter.com, includes some nice WebKit browsing, with fast page loads but some slightly sluggish scroll speeds. Of course, this is still pre-release software, so we'll see where we end up when BlackBerry 6 starts landing on these RAM-bumped devices for reals. Video is after the break.
BlackBerry 6's WebKit-based browser bests the competition in a good 'ol standards showdown
It's been almost a year since RIM picked up Torch Mobile and locked its newly acquired division in a closet, telling those coders to not come out until BlackBerry had a world-class browser. Early tests from Salomondrin, the self-described "007 of the Phone World," indicates that those tired engineers can now finally go home and get some sleep. The new WebKit-based browser, a part of BlackBerry OS 6.0, managed a score of 208 on the Acid HTML5 tests, measuring browser compliance and performance. Meanwhile the iPhone 4 scored 185 and HTC's Incredible pulled down 151. Mind you, benchmark performance doesn't always equate to real-world browser responsiveness, but regardless this is good news for CrackBerry addicts. The only question now is: when will they get their fix? Update: The browsers were run through a suite of tests, and the above scores were actually from The HTML5 Test!
Android 2.2 (Froyo) versus iOS 4: the browser showdown (video)
A little while back Google boldly claimed that Froyo would have the world's fastest mobile browser, but the lack of final software back then meant we'd had to tie up our itchy hands until now. And boy, it sure looks like it was worth the wait -- Ars Technica's JavaScript benchmarks show that not only is Froyo's browser almost three times faster than its Éclair counterpart, but it also beats iOS 4's Safari by at least two-fold. That said, numbers alone don't always reflect real-life performance -- especially with Froyo supporting iPhone's much-missed Flash -- so we went ahead and conducted our own browser speed test. Read on for our videos and results after the jump. Update: for those who were concerned about the battery affecting the Nexus One's performance, we did use Android System Info to verify that the CPU was still clocked at 1GHz. We were also able to reproduce the same results with a full battery. Either way, it's still a win for Android.
Icons and World Clock created with CSS3 magic, courtesy of Webkit
Recent versions of Webkit, the browser engine that Safari and Chrome are based on, have allowed for extensive use of CSS3, as well as some proprietary CSS tricks. The result has been some very innovative art created entirely using CSS. Take, for example, Louis Harboe's set of iOS icons created using some CSS3 properties such as rounded corners, shadows and gradients (among others). The finished set is stunning. Of course, the demo will only display properly in a compatible browser, so if you're using something other than an up-to-date version of Safari or Chrome (or Webkit, of course), you won't see much. If you're not a web designer, this might not look like a big deal. What you're seeing, though, are images created entirely without images; they're built using nothing but code that defines shapes, gradients, colors, etc. You can hit View Source on the page to see the code that defines these things -- it's nothing but divs and the CSS to color and shape them. If you are using a browser that can render these designs, you'll also want to check out Jeff Batterton's iPhone world clock, rendered in pure CSS3. Considering the rectangles that CSS has left designers stuck in for years, this is some pretty exciting stuff. I can still recall the first wave of people doing really innovative tricks with CSS2, and the push that they provided to the general web design community. I hope to see web design taking great strides forward as these new standards become accessible to an increasingly wider range of the web-surfing public. Modern browsers are pushing new limits ... we just have to wait for certain other browsers to finally be put to rest.
BlackBerry Bold 9800 slides open, shows off promising WebKit-based browser
We've known RIM has had a WebKit-based browser in its rear pocket since Mobile World Congress, and with confirmation that BlackBerry OS 6.0 would have traces of WebKit throughout, this discovery was simply inevitable. The BlackBerry Bold 9800 (polarizing design and all) has just made its most interesting appearance yet, this time showing off a purported WebKit-based web browser with a trio of tabs collected up top. Never mind the fact that whoever was using this clearly wishes he / she was browsing on an iPhone -- it's the 100/100 Acid3 test result that really titillates. 'Course, that could very well be a JPEG loaded up to fool us all, but we aren't losing the faith just yet. Head on down to the source for a few more teases.
RIM shows off BlackBerry 6 on video
While RIM's WES 2010 keynote is still ongoing, the company's YouTube channel has kindly released the first teaser video for the incoming BlackBerry 6 operating system. There's a lot of movement on screen -- so much, in fact, that it's almost like RIM really doesn't want you to see the OS at all. We did catch sight of a Cover Flow-aping music organizer, an onscreen keyboard engaging in some threaded messaging, Facebook and Twitter clients, and even the briefest of glimpses at that famed WebKit-based browser. Interaction in the video is done via touch, but you'll naturally be able to utilize the new interface on more conventional, touch-less devices as well. Skip past the break for the moving pictures.
TomTom Go Live 1000 to offer capacitive touchscreen, WebKit-based UI
TomTom has just outed its new flagship PND, the Go Live 1000, and wouldn't you know it, it's the first of the company's stable to offer a capacitive touchscreen. This comes mere days after Garmin updated its lineup with capacitive options. The 1000 is a little slimmer than its predecessors, but its major feature is "instant" route planning and re-planning once it has a satellite lock -- the industry's fastest. Achieved using a custom-built Broadcom GPS module, that capability is backed up by a 500MHz ARM11 CPU (yawn), 4GB of storage, 128MB of RAM, a new WebKit-based UI, and 12 months of free TomTom Live services. Beginning in June, this suite of services will be rolled out to 33 countries across Europe, featuring local information about petrol prices, services and weather, while its headline HD Traffic -- which tracks congestion on secondary roads as well as motorways -- and safety camera alert features will come to only 16 nations. It's a decent year-long freebie to have and TomTom promises it'll cost less than €50 ($67) per annum thereafter. That's more reasonable than the previous $9.95 monthly cost, but still not price-competitive with Google and Nokia's offerings. There's also a SIM card slot, but don't expect to be developing new modes of sidetalking, it's most likely there purely to facilitate all those data transactions. Check out the new UI in the gallery below and expect the TomTom Go 1000 Live to show up in Europe some time this summer.%Gallery-91890%
BlackBerry OS 6.0 screenshots and details leak out
The leaks, they keep coming. Boy Genius has some new images and details on BlackBerry OS 6.0 today, and while we've got our fair share of questions, there's no denying that what we're seeing looks like a substantial and much-needed improvement to the platform. First off, it appears that RIM's acquisition of Torch Mobile has paid off with a totally new WebKit-based browser, complete with tab switching, redesigned favorites, and pinch-to-zoom. About time, we'd say. Pinch-to-zoom and multitouch are also said to be present system-wide, along with kinetic scrolling, and long-pressing on the screen brings up a new modal context menu. That's definitely intriguing. The media player, photo viewer, and messaging apps have all also been re-done, and we're told the new inbox offers Facebook, Twitter, and RSS integration. The best part? BGR says this is all due out in June / July, "100%." Now, here's the interesting parts. First, it's obvious that this system is made for and being demoed on a touchscreen device, yet BGR says it was being shown off by an "AT&T connect." That suggests Ol' Blue is about to get a touchscreen BlackBerry of its own to counter Verizon's Storm sometime soon -- perhaps that leaked slider? We can't say for sure. What we can say for sure is that this is the third set of 6.0 leaks we've seen that have content about San Francisco and the earthquake in Haiti displayed on the screen -- and while RIM has said the previous two leaks were just mockups, it's more than a little odd that SF / Haiti has become a theme here. What does it all mean? We may never know, but whatever -- just hit us with that new browser and we'll stop asking questions.
Apple announces WebKit2 with Chrome-like process splitting
Apple's big announcement of the day might have been iPhone OS 4, but another reveal that's gone slightly under the radar might actually turn out to be a bigger deal: WebKit2, which now runs browser elements as separate processes, much like Google Chrome. Actually, Apple's devs say it goes a little farther than Chrome, since the process model is built into the foundation so other non-Safari clients can use it. That's pretty wild stuff, considering how prevalent WebKit has become across the mobile space and the fact that Chrome itself uses the rendering engine. No word on when this will all go final, but hey -- it's all open source, and you can actually grab Mac and Windows binaries right now. Let us know how it goes, won't you?
RIM demos new WebKit-based BlackBerry browser at MWC -- it's fast!
We weren't expecting much out of RIM's presser here at MWC this morning, but the company managed to bust out one surprise -- a demo of the company's new WebKit-based BlackBerry browser. We're assuming this is what came out of that Torch Mobile acquisition, and the early build shown off on-screen looks pretty solid, rendering Amazon.com quickly and scoring a full 100/100 on the Acid3 test. Unfortunately, there's no word on when BlackBerry users will actually be able to get their hands on this, but rest assured we're digging for more info. Video after the break.
Apple's top technical feats of the decade
We're well into 2010 (OK, 4 days), but there's still a few more lists and "top tens" of the last decade to clean up. One of the more interesting Apple-related wrapups is this list by Fraser Spiers, showing off Apple's best technical feats of the past decade. There's certainly tons of technical innovations by Apple in "the naughties" to choose from -- it was the decade of the iPod and the iPhone. But Spiers' list actually avoids direct mention of either of those, instead choosing to highlight some more Mac-based technical feats. Bonjour is in there, as is the great Time Machine and Snow Leopard's Grand Central Dispatch system. Webkit is probably an obvious choice, given all the places it's shown up in Apple's various releases. And there are some more interesting picks on the list as well, including Aperture, the underrated Exposé, and even the unibody laptop design. Some might argue that a few of these aren't necessarily Apple's innovations (I wouldn't necessarily credit them with DVD burning and encoding in the 2000s), but it's true that all of these were brought into a widespread, acclaimed form by Apple. If nothing else, a list like this shows just how much Apple has done for personal computing in the last ten years -- we tend to think first, these days, of their handheld accomplishments, but they've had plenty of other technical feats as well. [via Michael Tsai]
Chrome beat Safari in December
Here's an interesting fact that dropped over the weekend: Google Chrome, the browser by the search company with a silly name, actually beat Apple's Safari browser in overall usage during the last month of 2009 (Chrome first beat Safari midway through the month, but new month-long data shows that Chrome is here to stay). Internet Explorer continues to lose users, but Chrome has been taking over the ranks pretty quickly, moving in above Safari as the number three browser of choice (after IE and Firefox, of course). Bad news for Apple -- after their release of Safari for Windows in 2009, you'd think they'd have hoped for a little more in terms of browser share at the end of the year. But it looks like they're going to have to do something even bigger than that to fight the current on this one -- that is, if they want to do so at all. With a relative newcomer topping Safari so quickly, it's possible Apple could back off of promoting and upgrading their proprietary browser entirely. Still, with Chrome using Webkit, the fact is that for the average user, things are getting better all the time.
Dulin's Books brings Onxy's 6-inch Boox 60 e-reader to US shores for $349
It has taken longer than anticipated, but the Boox e-reader that we toyed with at CeBIT earlier this year is finally available for order here in the US of A, with shipments expected to begin in a fortnight. Onyx International's 6-inch reader -- which features WiFi, a Vizplex e-ink display, a 532MHz processor, 512MB of memory, a 1,600mAh battery and an SD / SDHC expansion slot -- is bring slung across the seas courtesy of Dulin's Books, and while it won't ship with integrated 3G support, it's still coming here with a lofty $349 price tag affixed to it. Sure, that WebKit browser may impress some, and the bundled white leather cover is a pleasant touch, but we can only wish it luck as it tries to rival the (less expensive and more capable) Nook and Kindle. [Thanks, Jorge]