BlackBerry webkit browser demoed at MWC, did we see Flash?

By on Feb 16, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Software February 16, 2010

RIM WebKit Browser

Today, RIM co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis, and Director of Developer Relations, Mike Kirkup, gave us a little taste of what the future of browsing on a BlackBerry will look like…and it’s much better. While the UI is familiar, the rendering accuracy is what really shines through. The browser, which uses the WebKit rendering engine, fully supports HTML 5, still uses RIM’s compression schema for data efficiency, and gets an impressive 100/100 on the Acid 3 browser test. Now, we’re not 100% sure,but…we do see a web ad at about 0:41 in the video that appears to be running in Flash; if you go to live4soccer.com, you’ll see that only Flash advertisements seem to run on that particular spot in the page (middle left). Will the BlackBerry WebKit browser deliver Flash support? We sure hope so. No word from RIM on a release timeline or supported devices, but our connects tell us it is coming relatively soon. We’ve got a video of the browser in action set up for you after the break.

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  • iphone user/wannabe android user

    my iphone scorres a perfect 100/100 on acid3! but it still has that red x meaning it didn’t pass. at least its better than INTERNET EXPLORER 8 WHICH SCORES 20/100

  • Michael Scott

    I took a few acid test in college if you know what i mean…but seriously, 26/100 on my berry.

  • Totofigo90

    There’s no flash in the new browser. I went on the website on my iPhone and the ad also changed. So people keep the jiz in until Steve jobs does something amazing.

  • jazzyl

    Good news i hope the new browser supports flash….

    Sent via BlackBerry.

  • Cynder70

    The live4soccer site, like many, uses jpeg/gif images as a stand-in when Flash isn’t detected.

  • dwayne

    The new WebKit browser is nice, but I dont see how that puts RIM ahead of the game. The competion has already had WebKit browsers. WebOS, iPhone, and Android all have WebKit browsers. RIM needs to do some other things to remain competitive.

  • blah

    it seems to support flash…check the banner on the left side around 0:41..it changes

  • boomKABOOM

    Strange.. on Opera Mobile 10 beta 3 I get 99/100 maybe it’s my ISP? or cuse I was on WiFi?
    Ill try Skyfire next

  • blah

    While acid3 tests are a good barometer, the real test is how does it with real sites. Given the complexity of the HTML5 standard, it’ll be interesting to see how this new browser acts with sites like NYTimes, CNN, and Amazon. In theory, using HTML5 will allow full web apps like Google’s to work in a browser. Let’s hope RIM tests with a few real sites, and not just acid3.

  • C

    Wow it was painful to watch someone surf the internet on a blackberry, I forgot how quick and easy my iphone really is!

  • http://www.MarkWarner2008.com Don

    Wow! I got 90/100. I love it! This new webkit browser is really cool!!!

  • http://www.laneros.com Julian

    It’s not flash. I’ve seen those ads and are just animated GIFs

  • sprint4life

    It’s GIF files, or HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol files. No Flash.

  • s0y

    My old 8310 got 98/100 using opera. This, with combined with previous posts of limiting internet, makes me sad.

    The one thing you can’t do with an iphone, wear 1/4″ acrylic nails and have it function properly, unless there’s an app for that.

  • Dragon

    Honestly, I just hope it has Flash and is competitive speed-wise when it’s launched. I really prefer my BB for almost everything but the very poor browser speed was just unbearable. Obviously, it’s not ready for prime time yet and while very promising, we can’t expect that performance all the time on non-wifi speeds. But it is still in developement, so I’m encouraged that their original targetnof late summer 2010 seems very attainable for a competiive browser bfingers crossed b

  • TxdoHawk

    It’s seriously about time. I like my Tour, but if you asked me what the most glaring flaw was, it’s definitely the terribad browser.

    Now, the question is, will recent models get this…or will RIM use the program as a carrot to get people on newer hardware?

  • LOWFLYER

    My Storm2 native BB browser got a 97…………

  • LOWFLYER

    Actually make that a 91, linktest failed.

  • LOWFLYER

    100/100 with Bolt for BB

  • thenext1

    You BBfags gotta all thank Torch Mobile devs for betatesting their Iris Browser on Windows Mobile, and then just after getting a decent version, jumping ships to the blackberry and withdrawing that WM version istantaneously.

  • ChiTownDude

    Is it possible it has flash lite? Kinda like how opera mobile 10 beta 3 for windows mobile has? (Just opera makes you run each flash thing manually)

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