WAP Browsers For The PalmOS

By Clayton Crooks

Although Palm is a member of the WAP Forum, it appears that they are going to continue forward with their plans to use a proprietary web clipping technology rather than endorse Palm-based WAP browsers. The web clipping technology does permit access to the Web from PalmOS-based devices, but users will be persuaded to use the option that allows them to access the greatest number of services. At this point in time, it appears that WAP has a significant advantage with a multitude of vendors lining up to provide add-ons and services. On the other hand, Palm is currently the only company that is developing web clipping-based products. While you cannot completely count Palm out, it is becoming increasingly apparent that WAP based browsers are becoming an important application for Palm users.

The Browsers

There are several companies that offer WAP-compliant browsers for Palm based devices. These include the Wap Browser by mobileID, WAPMan Color from EdgeMatrix, the AU-System WAP Browser, and the KBrowser from 4thPass. Each of the browsers have a few unique features, but in reality, there are only a couple of areas in which they drastically differ. Of the four, features available in the KBrowser from 4thpass and mobileID's Wap Browser really allow them to stand out.

WAPMan Color

The WAPMan Color browser is a Wireless Markup Language (WML) browser that is designed to enable PDAs and various mobile phones to access WML content from the Internet. It has been developed from the beginning as a browser for a global audience as it has built-in multilingual support. WAPMan supports WAP content in Roman character-based languages (English, French, etc.) or, with third party font libraries, it supports non-Roman character-based languages (Chinese or Japanese among others). This multilingual support offers WAP browsing for true global usability.

Although the browser has some additional features such as bookmarking and code viewing, the WAPMan's claim to fame is that it was the world's first color WAP microbrowser for the Palm OS. It supports color GIF images, and it is this color support that truly separates it from the competition.

Figure 1: The WAPMan Browser

WAPMan is compliant with the globally recognized WAP 1.2 specification. It also supports the standard WML 1.2 Script libraries. It squeezes all of this functionality into fewer than 170kb.

There is a free trial of WAPMan available at www.edgematrix.com, which can be used with the Palm IIIc, IIIe, IIIx, V, and Vx devices. If you're interested in porting the browser to another platform, source code is available.

AU-System WAP Browser

Like the WAPMan browser, the AU-System WAP Browser provides the software components needed to enable WAP functionality on a variety of wireless terminals such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) and pagers. The AU-System WAP Browser has been designed as a generic component that can be used by many wireless devices. It uses a core set of components that enable the functions to remain independent of the device's operating system, so they can be easily integrated to any host environment. This benefits developers in allowing for quick production of ported browsers without affecting quality.

The adaptation functionality is required in order to integrate the AUS WAP Browser in a mobile terminal and provide WAP compliant functionality. WAP 1.2 has been implemented with support for Push and WTA. Furthermore, the design is independent of bearer services and network technologies.

The size of the AUS WAP Browser is approximately 300 Kbytes and has been ported to Windows CE, EPOC, OSE Basic, Palm OS, Auto PC,VxWorks and REX covering most of the leading terminal vendors' OS requirements. You can download the AU-System browser at http://www.wapguide.com/wapguide/license.html.

MobileID Wap Browser

MobileID, which developed the world's first wireless mobile portal to provide access to email, personalized Internet content and applications for mobile phones, has developed a WAP Browser in conjunction with AU-System AB. Because of this, you are already familiar with the basic specifications for this browser. However, it's not the browser that is so interesting in mobileID's case.

MobileID clearly distances itself from the competition by delivering personalized content and providing direct access to personal or corporate email. MobileID has made significant enhancements to their wireless application and content services by extending support to IMAP4 in addition to POP3 and adding support for multiple email accounts. MobileID's free messaging service allows mobile users to directly access their Microsoft Exchange, Outlook or virtually any other email service from their wireless device.

MobileID continues to expand their offerings and have recently launched 390 additional channels of personalized wireless content bringing their total to over 600. MobileID's patent-pending personalization filters and content reformatting technology allows users to create a profile of their location, interests, and personal information that provide a unique personalized experience for every user.

MobileID may have the best developer resources of any of the four companies that are being reviewed. Their developer program is superior to most in that it offers an enormous amount of tools and information including Tools, Sample Environments, APIs, Coding interface, Sample XML and DTDs, Redistributables Documentation, Developer Communications Information on the mobileID PalmOS WAP browser, and Technical White Papers. They also have a certification program for interested developers at http://www.mobileid.com/navDevelop/certified.cfm.

KBrowser

The final browser we'll look at is from Seattle-based 4thpass, Inc. If you look at the number of downloads their browser has received in comparison to the others, the KBrowser is the most popular WAP microbrowser for the Palm platform. The single feature that really separates 4thpass from the competition is the ability to download and install PRC programs wirelessly, without requiring them to perform a Hotsync operation.

Figure 2: The Downloading Capabilities of the KBrowser

With the Preview 2 version, which is available at http://www.4thpass.com/kbrowser/download/index.html, users click on a PRC file reference within a WML (Wireless Markup Language) page just as they would on a hyperlink in a web page, and are then able to download the requested file. KBrowser Palm Edition offers a small footprint, WAP 1.2-compliant microbrowser. It was first released in May of 2000 and is currently being used by more consumers and mobile application developers than any other PalmOS-based microbrowser.

In the new release, 4thpass has added several compelling features, including support for wireless file updating and new interoperability with 3rd party WAP Gateways, making it an invaluable component of any wireless application developer's toolkit.

The new KBrowser Preview 2 can be used on Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Handspring Visor, and other PDAs based on the Palm OS. Other features include Favorites, support for WBMP images, customizable Home Page, and a new Disconnect option for users connecting to the web with a mobile phone through the PDA's IR port.

KBrowser can be licensed directly from 4thpass under a number of licensing arrangements that give companies flexibility in delivering their wireless solutions. KBrowser can be co-branded to promote brand awareness for a particular product or service and can be licensed as binary or open source code. A subscription-based wireless server hosting option is also available. KBrowser can be used together with the 4thpass Wireless Server Gateway, hosted at the 4thpass Network Operations Center, or can be configured to work with most third party Gateway software, such as the Phone.com UP.Link, Nokia WAP Gateway, or Ericsson Gateway.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, each of the browsers offer some outstanding feature and in fact, there are very little differences between them. Sometimes, a small difference is all that is needed to make one application stand out from a group. Of the four, the KBrowser has the most compelling features and content and would make an excellent choice. That being said, each of the browsers are available for download, so it would be a good idea to evaluate any or all of them to determine the one that is right for your needs.