Third-party iPhone Web browsers: Mozilla, Opera plot
June 23, 2008
Hitherto demonstrated native iPhone applications will provide functional augmentation to the the device and branch into areas untapped by Apple’s included software: gaming, instant messaging, image manipulation, and more. So far, however, we haven’t seen any planned applications that directly compete with or replicate the functionality of Apple’s bundled applications. Since the iPhone is now a true software platform with a rapidly growing installed base, hungry third-party developers are bound to seek pieces of Apple’s turf in spite of potentially mitigating verbiage in the iPhone SDK agreement. The first software category in which developers are likely to make a move: Web browsers. Firms like Mozilla and Opera aim to sink their hooks in any and all popular platforms, not excepting the iPhone.
Third-party browsers could bring a wealth of feature distinction to the iPhone. Mozilla’s recently debuted Firefox 3.0 differs significantly in form and function from Apple’s Safari for Mac OS X and Windows. A different rendering engine and fresh take on a browser’s touchscreen-optimized interface might be preferable to to some iPhone users. A third-party browser could — were it not for one nagging section of Apple’s SDK agreement — also incorporate one of the most requested features currently non-existent on the iPhone: an accessible third-party plug-in architecture that would allow the inclusion of Adobe Flash, RealPlayer and more.
The section of Apple’s iPhone SDK agreement that seemingly negates the possibility of a third-party Web browser with plug-in support:
“No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s) […] An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise.”
There exists considerable debate over what the aforementioned statement actually means, but one interpretation is that the agreement would not only prevent third-party applications’ usage plug-in implementations, but also disallow the use of HTML/JavaScript renderers that are not WebKit-based. That would make Firefox’s Gecko-based rendering engine a no-go.
Whether or not that interpretation is correct, it’s the basis of Mozilla’s current development tack. We spoke with company representatives who said that, based on their understanding, the iPhone SDK agreement excludes Firefox from running on the device. Hence, there are no immediate plans to bring the popular browser to the platform.
Regardless, Mozilla has posted a concept video ,which shows a Firefox mobile concept that would appear to work well on the iPhone. Some interesting touchscreen-optimized features are shown, including pull-to-reveal navigation controls, and the ability to see all open tabs simultaneously — a feature absent from MobileSafari. Features from Firefox 3.0, like the “Awesome Bar,” are also incorporated. The video’s narrator, Mozilla Labs’ head of user experience, Aza Raskin, notes that the concept is for touch interfaces, “not MultiTouch.”
If Mozilla’s conceptual designs reveal that the company has guarded optimism about the prospect of Firefox on the iPhone, the same can be said for competing browser developer Opera. An Opera representative told iPhone Atlas:
“Our goal is to make the Opera browser available on as many devices and platforms as possible. So while we can’t currently confirm that we’ll make an Opera version for the iPhone, it’s certainly something we have the opportunity to do in the future.”
Opera has already developed and shipped a version of its browser for other touchscreen-based mobile devices, including HTC’s Touch Diamond.
The distribution terms of Apple’s iPhone AppStore present intriguing complications for the prospect of sanctioned third-party browsers. Presumably, third-party iPhone browsers would be free, and Apple has promised to host and distribute approved free applications in the AppStore at no cost to the developer (Apple will yield a 30 percent cut of for-profit applications). As such, were, say, Firefox to make its way to the AppStore, Apple would essentially be hosting, promoting, and distributing a competitor’s product for nothing in return.
Firefox and Opera aren’t the only developers with a potential interest in bringing browsers to the iPhone.
Adobe has made it clear that it wants to see Flash on Apple’s mobile platform, and claims to already have Flash working in an iPhone emulator. The firm could, at least in theory, develop a browser based on Apple’s included WebKit API that features built-in Flash playback capabilities without a genuine plug-in architecture. Whether or not Apple would allow such a beast, however, remains to be determined.
via http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/06/20/third-party-iphone-web-browsers-mozilla-opera-plot/#more-764