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Both AJAX and CSS support are very important with any Web browsers. As they are pretty complicated to support, not even desktop browsers support them entirely, let alone Pocket PC-based ones. Therefore, it’s always worth devoting some (?) time to test the alternate solutions to see which one is the best.
In these tests, I strived to find out in what extent the (most) current Pocket PC and desktop Windows Web browser versions support both AJAX and CSS. The results can be found in the comparison chart below (don’t forget to click the links there to see the screenshots) in a tabulated form – it should be the first thing you check out.
CSS
For this test, I’ve used the well-known Acid2 test. This is a very complex CSS + PNG + other page marker tests with very-easy-to-evaluate results. It's really thoroughly explained here (you won't need to understand what this page is all about though). Also see this reference and, in addition, the somewhat older reports here, showing how other (older and no longer current!) browsers render this test page.
I’ve also given a try to the old, pre-Acid2 test to find out more about the CSS1 compliance. Note that this test is superseded by the Acid2 test and, therefore, you should pay much more attention to the results presented by Acid2. It was, however, nice to see for example that, while both the WM2003 and the WM2003SE browsers crash at trying to display the old test (as with several other – it can’t be stressed enough that most PIE crashes are caused by CSS constructs like this, as I also have thoroughly elaborated on for example here), unlike WM5, in which this bug has also been fixed. (Yeah, WM5 has a LOT of advantages like this. Don’t believe people that say the opposite. People that mock and ridicule WM5 don't obviously know how more stable it is.)
As can be seen, on the desktop, you can expect the most of the Opera browser. On the Pocket PC, Mozilla and Opera Mobile have the best CSS compliance.
Note that while the desktop 9.0.1 Opera is able to render the page flawlessly (it’s the ONLY Windows browser to be able to do so – check out the screenshots showing how the other browsers fare), the 8.6 Windows Mobile version still has some problems with it. These problems will surely go when Opera Mobile is updated to the current, 9.x core. (Opera Mobile uses the same core as the desktop Opera browser. This is why it has the same numbering. This also means the next Opera Mobile version can be expected to be based on the 9.x core, which will also means really flawless CSS support.)
While the browsers had no major problems with this test, the other, pre-Acid2 test sometimes caused major problems with them (see the screenshots and comments). Once again, this test isn’t as sophisticated as the Acid2 test and, therefore, the sometimes absolutely negative results (except for for example the WM2003(SE) crashes, which are important because they do show the WM2003(SE) Pocket Internet Explorer is really sensitive and can crash really easily) obtained aren’t as important as with Acid2.
AJAX
I’ve also thoroughly tested the Ajax compliance; this time, unlike with my previous, not that thorough Ajax tests, paying special attention to running all kinds of tests, not only ones requiring a big screen estate.
The tests I’ve made are as follows (feel free to click the links from for example your desktop browser to see what happens):
This and this page linked from AJAX: Getting Started.
Google Image Labeler
Simple Ajax Address Book version 1 and version 2 linked from Getting started with Ajax
As can clearly be seen, both (the latest, current, 09/13/2006 nighly build of) Minimo and Opera Mobile have excellent Ajax support. The other browsers fared much worse in this respect: NetFront only offers partial support and Thunderhawk / Internet Explorer Mobile (almost) none.
Note that I’ve used a pre-AKU 3.0 WM5 Internet Explorer Mobile in the tests (please read this article for more information on what AKU's mean). As soon as I get a REAL AKU 3.x ROM for any of my WM5 devices, I re-test their Ajax compliance. (No, bepe’s/Ktamas’ cooked 3.2 RC1 HTC Wizard ROM does NOT contain any kind of AJAX support – yes, I’ve tested this and am absolutely sure. I’m not sure about the similarly “cooked” HTC Universal 3.2 ROM.)
All the current versions of desktop Windows Web browsers passed all the Ajax tests.
The comparison chart can be found here (CLICK THE LINK!)
Verdict
If you really want the best Ajax and/or CSS compliance possible, go for Opera on the desktop (it has the best CSS compliance) and either Opera Mobile, or, if you find it fast/stable/powerful enough, the latest nightly build of Minimo (scroll down to the bottom to see the latest, most up-to-date directory, go into it and get one of the installers). Unfortunately, now, none of the other browsers support CSS, let alone AJAX, as good as these applications.
(Again, I'm speaking about pre-AKU 3.0 IEM's. Hope the Ajax support in AKU 3.0+ IEM's will prove at least as good as that of Opera Mobile / Minimo!)
Recommended links
The Web browser category in the Smartphone & Pocket PC Magazine's Expert Blog - needless to say it’s full of my other, similar articles. Note that I’m pretty sure you will find answers to ALL your Web browser-related questions in there – I’ve published hundreds of Pocket PC Web browsing related articles so far.
You may also want to check out Microsoft’s own Ajax-related tips and Does AJAX Threaten Java ME in the Mobile Ecosystem?. Note that there are a LOT of very cool other Ajax-related pages on the Web - use Google.
Everything you need to know about USB networking in WM5 - all secrets explained!
I’m cross-posting this, just-updated article to here too (originally posted to here) because it sheds light on a LOT of WM5 issues. Please note that the first part of the article was written way before AKU 2.2; I haven’t touched it now that 2.2 is out, just added a brand new, “UPDATE” section.
You will want to read particularly the second section because, as I also point out in there, switching back to the old networking model may be really advantageous in numerous cases and is, therefore, highly recommended for casual users.
The original article follows:
In my previous article on the secrets of ActiveSync-based Pocket PC networking, I've elaborated on the pre-Windows Mobile 5 Internet pass-through capabilities of ActiveSync.
As has been stated there, the ActiveSync Internet pass-through is in no way a full-fledged Internet connection. In no way can you access a Pocket PC through a simple, plain ActiveSync connection as a TCP/IP device.
With Windows Mobile 5 (WM5 for short) devices, the situation has changed a lot. Now, they're recognized as an entirely different, fully-fledged network card by Windows, as can be seen in this screenshot.
Also, if you, with, say, the great, (for individuals) free networking utility, vxUtil, check the IP it got from ActiveSync of your Pocket PC, you will see that it's no longer 192.168.55.101 (the IP ActiveSync gives to pre-WM5 devices) but a "true" local network IP; in this case, 169.254.2.1. The services of this PDA will, therefore, be fully accessible to your desktop computer (in this screenshot, you can see I can directly ping my WM5 PDA from my desktop computer) and, if you configure your desktop computer to forward ports (please read my previous article on the meaning of this!) to the PDA, to the entire outside world.
This means Windows Mobile 5 devices connected to desktop Windows PC's via ActiveSync are, now, fully accessible by TCP/IP-based applications. You don't need to build a(n additional) Bluetooth PAN or ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection between the two devices any more for the Pocket PC to become accessible.
The importance of this can't be stressed enough: a lot of - with pre-WM5 devices totally impossible - tasks become really easy:
you can run applications on your Pocket PC that behave like a server: for example, a lot of peer to peer (non-central server based), TCP/IP-based multiplayer games
chatter/VoIP applications like the very good Microsoft Portrait
IRC clients with fully usable DCC capabilities (without full, unrestricted Internet access, it's not possible to initiate DCC send/chat requests from the PDA)
FTP/Web servers for remote access
remote, TCP/IP-based Pocket PC controllers like SOTI's Pocket Controller, PocketVncServ, dotPocket and Microsoft Windows Mobile Developer PowerToys. Now, if your mate/client has a problem with his/her Pocket PC, you will be able to access it distantly without his explicitly logging in to a, say, unrestricted Wi-Fi network. All he'll need to do is doing some port forwarding with either WinGate or the built-in, free Windows Internet Connection Sharing to connect it to the Internet through his desktop computer.
Sharing the Internet (say, Wi-Fi) connection present on your PDA with the not directly internet-enabled desktop via my Web proxy server running on the Pocket PC as described here
And, the list continues...
Please note that you will still need to configure port forwarding (which is in detail explained in my previous, networking-related article). But now, at least this is allowed and can be done – unlike with previous Windows Mobile operating systems.
Kudos to Microsoft – this is a really-really welcome addition! With this, ActiveSync-based networking has become far-far easier!
Of course, every bean has its black. The new networking model does have its share of problems. For example, many firewall/viruskiller applications will sense the WM5 PDA as an intruder, unlike with previous Windows Mobile / Pocket PC versions. You will, therefore, may end up having to fine-tune/reconfigure your firewall/viruskiller applications (if you have any) to let your WM5 devices work. Still, I think the advantages the new networking approach has (for example, the much easier Pocket PC control capabilities from distant locations) far outweigh these minor annoyances/one-time configuration needs.
UPDATE (09/15/2006): Old networking model reintroduced in a later WM5 upgrade
If you have a WM5 device that has AKU (please read this article on what AKU's are) 2.2 or later, then, you have the capability of using the "old" networking model if you just deactivate (screenshot here) the, by default, enabled "Enable advanced network functionality" checkbox in the newly added Start / Settings / Connections / USB to PC applet (x51v screenshot here, HTC Wizard here).
The list of WM5 devices already having AKU 2.2(+) includes for example the HTC Wizard, HTC Universal and Dell Axim x51v - these are the WM5 devices I could test in this respect. Note that, as the 2.01 WM5 upgrade for the iPAQ hx4700 is still AKU1.1 only (screenshot of this here), it has no USB to PC applet and, tehrefore, you can't switch back to using the old networking model using this device (a screenshot showing the Connections tab is here; as can be seen, there is indeed no applet there).
In real life, unless you really need the advantages of the WM5 USB networking model outlined in the above article, it's preferable to disable this checkbox. The reasons for this are very simple: as no additional local networks are created when you connect a WM5 device to your PC, 1. there won't be firewall problems 2. the ActiveSync connection will be active (that is, the device becomes visible to the desktop) far earlier than in the other case (again, because no additional network-creating, IP assigning etc. handshake is needed).
As can be seen in thix vxUtil screenshot (compare it to the new model - that is, this one), the IP of the device will be the old, well-known "192.168.55.101". That is, everything I've ever published about the networking model of pre-WM5 devices' USB connections will be topical with AKU2.2+ WM5 devices with disabled WM5-type USB networking.
Much as this is not strictly a Windows Mobile-related post, a lot of my readers may be interested in this, particularly because I've constantly been reporting on the protocol / W3C compliance of desktop browsers.
Recently (as far as Firefox is concerned, an hour ago) two, brand new, final major desktop browser versions have been released: that of Internet Explorer (version 7) and Firefox (version 2.0).
Note that if you (still) have the previous, 6.0 version of Internet Explorer, it won't prompt you about the new version. You must manually download and install it from HERE. Neither will do the same the last, pre-2, 1.5.x version of Firefox - not even its Help / Check for Updates will notice the brand new version (this may change in the future when the new version will be more closely integrated in the Mozilla homepage, though). You'll need to manually download it HERE (if you need it in other languages, please check out this).
If you're still an IE6 user, I certainly recommend the upgrade to IE7. The new version is a major step ahead and while I still prefer Opera to thee two alternatives on my high-resolution (1600*1200) notebook (it's far better at zooming in to page contents, which is a must on such a high-resolution screen), IE7 is getting closer and closer.
As far as the new Firefox version is concerned, I've just started testing it and, therefore, still don't have much to report.
Well-known, great business & connectivity-related Windows Mobile site - also having (re)published some of my articles - Modern Nomads has just published a great article on the brand new Windows Mobile 6, also known as Crossbow. Highly recommended!
I’ll also promptly (hopefully still today – I’ll try to publish the RDM updates today as, currently, no existing WM6 article seems to have it compared to the predecessors) update my previous roundups and compatibility tests with WM6-specific information; most importantly, the Bible of Accessing Remote Desktops (the new Remote Desktop Mobile client is VASTLY superior to the Terminal Services Client of previous WM operating system versions), the PPC Mailer Bible (where I’ll elaborate on, for example, the new HTML-related capabilities of the new Messaging version), the CSS/ Ajax Compatibility Report (where I publish info on whether the new, AKU3+ Internet Explorer Mobile indeed supports AJAX better than its predecessors) etc.
1. After publishing my review of VirtualCE 4 (Cross-posts: AximSite, XDA-Developers - 1, XDA-Developers - 2, BrightHand, HowardForums, MoDaCo, PocketGamer.org, PPCT, SPT), there have been some changes:
a new MyMobiler version has been released, implementing, for example, manual screen rotation and the ability to hide the Today screen icon
some of the bugs of VirtualCE 4 have been fixed (for example, BMP24 crashing). Hope the developer also finds a way to completely (even from the bottom taskbar) hide the main selector / controller screen as is asked in the above-linked HowardForums thread
Pocket Controller 6 has turned out to support LAN discovery and hiding the connection “bubble” upon TCP/IP connection (as opposed to the ActiveSync one).
2. I, after more than a week’s waiting (see my previous post HERE), still haven’t received any feedback from the Strategy Analytics Inc. folks regarding the lack of Opera Mini in their 5-Star Safari Leads Mobile Browsing Experience, which, in many Windows Mobile users’ (including me) opinion, is the most useful / quickest Web browser for the Windows Mobile platform. And, for other mobile platforms too – on my Symbian Nokia N95 and BlackBerry 8800, I almost exclusively use this browser to access the Web. Not including it in the test makes the entire report pretty hard to depend on – it’s like completely ignoring, for example, Ferrari (a top-performing car) when evaluating the cars of Formula-1.
And, of course, I’ve already elaborated on the bad ranking of Nokia Web (running on Symbian S60 3rd edition devices – that is, NOT on Windows Mobile) and, particularly, Opera Mobile (running on all major mobile platforms). Again and again, if you do learn the dialpad shortcuts and/or, with Opera Mobile running on a dialpad-less Pocket PC, use a third-party tool to assign its key functionalities (accessing favorites, current tabs, back etc.) to Pocket PC hardware buttons, they both become quicker and easier to operate than Internet Explorer. It’s clearly at this point (in addition to the lack of Opera Mini) that Strategy Analytics Inc.’s report severely lacks – it’s evident the test folks didn’t really make an attempt at learning the dialpad shortcuts / configure Opera Mobile for easy and much quicker access / use.
3. Still as far as Windows Mobile and Symbian are concerned, a brand-new Web browser, Skyfire has been released. See some of the related threads HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE (a preview) and HERE. I, as I’m located in Europe, still haven’t had the choice to test it (it's, currently, only available for US residents).
Based on the first reports, it’s based on a similar architecture than Microsoft’s, for the time being, discontinued DeepFish (RIP!) and Thunderhawk’s Java applet emulation. That is, it, in practice, generates an image of the page on the server and transfers this to the client – there isn’t local HTML (?) / Flash parsing / execution on the client side at all. This has both pros and cons, as has already been explained in my Web Browsing Bible.
I REALLY hope Skyfire is WAY better implemented than DeepFish (or Thunderhawk's applet emulation). DeepFish was really slow – not only because its beta servers were, generally, really overloaded, but also because it was implemented using the slowish Compact Framework, as opposed to the much faster Win32 API. Unfortunately, Thunderhawk’s (remote, image transfer-based) Java applet emulation isn’t really capable of emulating running it on the local mobile either. Therefore, I seriously doubt you’ll be able to, say, play fast Flash action games under Skyfire – you’ll still need a local Flash interpreter (only available Opera Mobile or Internet Explorer - and, also, NetFront, but the latter has a pretty buggy and definitely less compatible Flash engine) for that.
I’ll meet the Skyfire folks at Barcelona; hope I’ll be able to play with their browser a bit so that I can quickly test its usability, small screen-friendliness (for example, does it have the same, excellent text boundary recognition engine than that of Opera Mini in full layout mode) and Web standards compliance.
4. There are new builds of both Jbed and Jblend (two excellent MIDlet Managers – see the Java MIDlet Bible for more info). Due to lack of time, I haven’t tested them. Both has been done by Da_G (his projects’ homepage is HERE) and are accessible HERE. Note that you MUST register yourself (it’s free and is done quickly) in order to access the page above (along with the download).
I hope I’ll be able to test them some time – along with the default Blackberry MIDlet manager. (I might wait with testing the latter until version 4.5 of BB OS is released, though.)
5. the new, in addition to the venerable and no-longer-developed Pocket Humanity, Civilization-clone, Revival (see the links to (p)reviews HERE), has been released! It’s a bit pricey for Pocket PC’s (and Palm OS 5 models): $24.95. Fortunately, if you have a non-touchscreen MS Smartphone, you only end up having to pay $15.95 - just like with Symbian S60v3 and UIQ3 devices. Finally, if you have an old Symbian S60 or UIQ device, you’ll only need to shell out $9.95 for the game. Definitely worth a try! Also note that, in addition to the previews linked above, there’s a brand new JAMM one HERE well worth checking out.
Menneisyys said:
I’ll meet the Skyfire folks at Barcelona; hope I’ll be able to play with their browser a bit so that I can quickly test its usability, small screen-friendliness (for example, does it have the same, excellent text boundary recognition engine than that of Opera Mini in full layout mode) and Web standards compliance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
look forward to your thoughts on this eagerly anticipated web browser...hope its not a let down
PS:try to bluejack a copy if you can j/ks