Update: WebKit BlackBerry Browser demonstrated at MWC 2010. It looks pretty slick…
You may have heard that Research in Motion has been working on a new Webkit based BlackBerry Browser that they say will be on par with that found on the iPhone by the summer of this year. To let the world know that they were serious, RIM purchased Torch Mobile, makers of the Webkit IRIS browser back in August of last year. Just the other day RIM filed a patent application describing a proxy based web browsing scheme similar to that found in Opera Mini, and recenytly, analysts over at Canaccord Adams have gone on the record stating they believe the new BlackBerry Browser will be out before May and that the experience will be a “game changer“.
“it is a full rendering engine with incredible speed, sub three second download speeds for the most media-intensive of websites, while retaining significant bandwidth advantages over any other device or browser on the market.”
For the sake of argument, let’s say that the new BlackBerry Browser actually turns out to be better than Safari on the iPhone. Is that enough to change the game? I am not so sure that a really good, or even a great BlackBerry Browser is enough to change the game alone.
Hopefully RIM is spending as much time addressing the way that applications use memory on the BlackBerry and the ease of which those applications can be developed. I will, however, leave this for another post.
A good browser will be a major improvement for the platform as a whole – even if it’s just a change in perception. But if this statement is true and they have something better than anything else, then it could absolutely be a game changer. Personally, I smell BS on 3 second downloads for full sites over a 3G connection – but I hope to be proven wrong! It certainly is possible RIM compression coupled with a good webkit engine might be real efficient and fast, but 3 seconds? for a full media intensive site? seems implausible.
If this turns out to be true, AND they offer free navigation like google does with Android, then I’m coming back to BB. I miss my BB but I just could not turn down the huge advancements that android has made with their platform.
I love my BlackBerry and all, but a browser that is going to be a game changer? Better than what’s out there? Comon’…I’m not buying the hype. I’m an optimist, but not insane. But anything has to be better than what they have now…
Downloading and rendering speed with low bandwidth consumption would be a game changer for browsing, but that is not the Big Game Blackberry is meant for.
Recall that the browser is also at the heart of the new BlackBerry widgets.
If RIM implements even some of the html5 features like canvas, native audio/video, etc that go beyond Gears – the easy apps we could see will be awesome.
What ever happened to the Skyfire browser for BB? It never got out of alpha phase.
This is the best multimedia browser for Windows Mobile and Symbian. It successfully renders Flash audio and video sites (ie: streaming radio & NPR.org) on a mobile device.
I believe that Skyfire is the reference standard for all others to follow.
For RIM to really get it right, any efforts to create a “new” browser needs to have the Blackberry community in mind. Your best alpha/beta testers are the customers.
Yes, I believe “new and improved” browser can and will change the game alone. It just might spark a great change to the overall feel and productivity of the Blackberry.
Just my two cents…
So in May 2010 the BB browser will be better than TODAY’S iPhone browser… sure, good to know. I wonder what the iPhone’s browser will be like 5 months from now!
The slow browser is second on my wish list. It is all about the leaking memory…BB needs more internal memory for apps. The constant battery pulls are irritating.
Well, lets wait for may to see this ‘game changer’ Browser.
Blackberry Skyfire Alpha tester here. That browser I would say is dead for Blackberry. There have been no updates since last fall. My findings were that it was a battery and memory killer. It could have been a “game changer” but the developers could never seem to get past the problems I mentioned.
There has been a first sighting of the new browser. On stage at Lotusphere 2010, a few blackberry demos were done. One was IBM Project Vulcan (a vision and direction effort) on a blackberry. After asking how it was done, I was told (by an unnamed IBM employee) that “they were using a new browser from RIM” What I saw was very encouraging.
Here’s more hope for you all:
http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/blackberry/110-hands-initial-impression-storm-3-a.html
apparently according to crackberry.com members this is a very reliable source
though, i hope that this new browser/OS isn’t just for the storm 3
That’s cool but is RIM gonna add adobe flash player to it as well since most sites use it in some form or fashion? What have u guys heard
If it’s available for the 8310 Curve, then it will be a game changer for me. If not, then it won’t change anything for me. I’m enjoying Oprah at the moment.
Something needs to be done so that my BB Curve 8310 with an OS4.5 can read 5.0 pdf documents.
I’m on nbcolympics.com trying to watch videos and of course, they don’t play on my 8310 Curve. Think this new “game changing” browser will be able to do that? If so, it will definitely be an improvement. If not, then what’s the point?
I have a STORM 2: 9550 on Verizon. I’ve tried Opera Mini and BOLT. Neither of them seem well suited to the touchscreen. The current browser may be a “dog”…but at least it works reliably all the time and is relatively easy to use. The “MINI” was impossible and the cursor on BOLT was unresponsive to the “touch”. I look forward to a full-featured browser. Apparently RIM is probably the only entity to make it work on all RIM phones.
I HAVE A NEW IDEAL FOR A CELL PHONE AND I WONT TO NO WHO OR WHAT PART OF BLACKBERRY DIVISION I NEED TO TALK TO OR CONTACT