Section 47. About BlackBerry Web Browsing

47. About BlackBerry Web Browsing

SEE ALSO

48 Navigate to a Web Page

Although it runs on a handheld device with a relatively small screen and limited memoryat least in comparison to a desktop web browserthe BlackBerry 7100 web browser packs a fair amount of punch. Before getting into the specifics of the BlackBerry browser software, it's important to nail down a few important concepts related to mobile browsing. You've probably heard the expression wireless web . If so, you quite likely heard someone talk about WAP , even if they didn't realize it. WAP, which stands for Wireless Application Protocol and is pronounced so that it rhymes with slap , is a technology that enables wireless devices to receive data from the Internet and display it on their constrained displays. You can think of WAP as essentially a technology that supports a minimal web browser on wireless devices. However, as its name clearly states, WAP is not an application but a protocol.

KEY TERM

WAP Wireless Application Protocol, a protocol similar in concept to the popular Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Instead, though, it's designed for delivering compact web pages over a wireless network to mobile devices.

WAP must be supported on both the client (device) and the web server, and there must also be a WAP gateway, which is an intermediary between the Internet and the device's mobile network. The WAP gateway is responsible for converting WAP requests into traditional web requests , and vice versa. Web pages for WAP are somewhat different from traditional web pages in that they are written in a special markup language called Wireless Markup Language (WML), as opposed to the familiar HTML. WML also supports a scripting language called WMLScript that is a simplified version of JavaScript.

WAP is an important part of BlackBerry web browsing because many mobile websites are designed to be viewed by WAP web browsers; many popular websites such as CNN.com offer mobile versions that use WAP. The web browser in your BlackBerry 7100 actually supports both WAP and HTTP, as well as another data service known as the BlackBerry Mobile Data Service (MDS). These facets of the BlackBerry web browser are known as browser configurations and are available to all BlackBerry devices. Your device might have separate icons to distinguish between the three browser configurations, but they are ultimately just variations of the same browser software.

NOTE

I don't make a big distinction between the different browser configurations because they all operate fairly seamlessly. So, when I refer to the "BlackBerry web browser," I'm referring to the browser in general, not a specific configuration.

The BlackBerry web browser application is designed to maximize the content area in which web pages are displayed. There is a short title bar along the top of the browser screen that includes a fair amount of information, considering it is such a small space. The following information is included in the browser's title bar using text and small icons:

• Page title This text is simply the title of the web page being viewed.

• Unread messages The unread messages icon doesn't relate to the browser at all; instead it lets you know whether you have unread text messages waiting. Different icons identify unread text messages as opposed to "unread" voice mail messages.

• Pending service books This icon lets you know whether any pending service books are waiting to be accepted.

KEY TERM

Service book Used to support a specific service on your device, such as remote address lookup for email or wireless calendar synchronization. You can add new services to your device by obtaining service books for them.

NOTE

Service books function sort of as software plug-ins for your BlackBerry device and add support for additional services. Generally speaking, you don't have to worry about installing, removing, or configuring service books because they are managed automatically when you install new features.

• Connection information This information consists primarily of an icon to indicate whether you are connected to a wireless network.

• Security settings This icon indicates whether the page you are viewing is secure. The icon is a padlock like the one that plays a similar role in desktop web browsers.

• Network signal strength This icon is the same one shown on the Home screen, and it simply conveys the current wireless network signal strength.

You can easily hide the browser's title bar, which puts the browser into full-screen mode and provides more viewing area. To toggle between normal mode and full-screen mode, simply press the Q W key on the keyboard.

The BlackBerry web browser includes an application menu with a lot of commands for performing various browser operations. Most immediately familiar are the commands for navigating among web pages:

• Home Navigates to the home page

• Back Navigates back to the previously viewed page

• Forward Navigates forward to the previously viewed page

• History Views the browser history

• Refresh Refreshes ( reloads ) the current page

These commands are all standard commands found in any web browser. The BlackBerry web browser functions just like a desktop web browser in terms of maintaining a history of visited websites and keeping track of opened pages as a sequence you can move through either forward or backward.

NOTES

The BlackBerry web browser history can contain up to 20 entries. After 20 entries are reached, the oldest entry is dropped to make room for each new entry.

The BlackBerry web browser doesn't support frames, but it does display a list of frames for pages that use frames . You can then select a frame from the list and view it as an individual page if you want.