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BROWSER VERSION 4.7.0
User Manual
42 pgs1.32 Mb0
Table of contents
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Blackberry BROWSER VERSION 4.7.0 User Manual

BlackBerry Browser
Version: 4.7.0
Fundamentals Guide
SWDT432285-432285-1205031032-001
Contents
1 Understanding the BlackBerry device browsing environment............................................................................................. 3
Characteristics of BlackBerry devices........................................................................................................................................... 3
BlackBerry Device Software version considerations.......................................................................................................... 4
Trackwheel.............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Touch screen........................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Keyboard.................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Network gateways and BlackBerry Browser configurations...................................................................................................... 8
The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service network gateway............................................................................................. 9
The BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway............................................................................................ 10
WAP network gateways......................................................................................................................................................... 11
2 BlackBerry Browser content support and features................................................................................................................. 13
BlackBerry Browser content support............................................................................................................................................ 13
BlackBerry Browser features.......................................................................................................................................................... 14
Network gateway features............................................................................................................................................................. 15
3 Content and network management in the BlackBerry Browser........................................................................................... 16
Content rendering........................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Browser content views........................................................................................................................................................... 16
Style sheets and CSS support............................................................................................................................................... 17
Form support........................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Table support.......................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Images..................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Support for media streaming................................................................................................................................................ 21
Support for web feeds............................................................................................................................................................ 21
Script processing............................................................................................................................................................................. 22
JavaScript support and DOM access................................................................................................................................... 23
Support for AJAX and the XMLHttpRequest object........................................................................................................... 24
Content navigation......................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Page navigation...................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Link behavior........................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Navigation history in the BlackBerry Browser.................................................................................................................... 26
Bookmarks in the BlackBerry Browser................................................................................................................................. 27
Content storage.............................................................................................................................................................................. 27
Content caches....................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Cookie storage........................................................................................................................................................................ 28
4 Content optimization and delivery........................................................................................................................................... 29
Content optimization by the network gateway........................................................................................................................... 29
Content transcoding.............................................................................................................................................................. 29
Content preprocessing and filtering.................................................................................................................................... 30
Image optimization................................................................................................................................................................ 30
Progressive downloading of images..................................................................................................................................... 31
Pushed content delivery................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Pushed content supported by the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service........................................................................ 32
Pushed content supported by the BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway........................................ 33
Pushed content supported by WAP network gateways..................................................................................................... 34
5 Glossary......................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
6 Legal notice.................................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Fundamentals Guide

Understanding the BlackBerry device browsing environment

Understanding the BlackBerry device browsing
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environment
When you develop web content for the BlackBerry® Browser, you must be aware of the web standards that the BlackBerry Browser supports and determine how to develop web content that functions within those supported standards. However, to create an effective browsing experience on the BlackBerry Browser, you must understand more than just what the BlackBerry Browser supports. You must also be aware of the physical components of the wireless browsing environment in which the BlackBerry Browser exists, and how they contribute, positively and negatively, to the user's wireless browsing experience. These physical components include the following:
• The BlackBerry devices: BlackBerry device models have different versions of the BlackBerry Device Software, different screen sizes, and different input methods.
• The wireless network: Wireless networks possess less bandwidth than wired networks or Wi-Fi® networks. Wireless networks provide reduced data transfer rates, which results in increased network latency.
• The network gateway: Network gateways connect the wireless network, over which the BlackBerry devices communicate, to the wired network, on which web servers and data systems exist. Different network gateways offer different support for content optimization and content delivery strategies. The BlackBerry Browser is designed to communicate through several network gateways.
Developing content with the wireless environment in mind can help you to work around some of the limitations inherent in wireless browsing. With a greater understanding of theBlackBerry Browser, you can make the content development decisions necessary to provide the functionality that users require, while also providing a positive wireless browsing experience.

Characteristics of BlackBerry devices

BlackBerry® devices come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and capabilities. Among the currently available BlackBerry devices that might request your content, there is a range of software and hardware. The different hardware and software characteristics of BlackBerry devices have an impact on the user's browsing experience, and might influence the decisions you make as you create content for the BlackBerry® Browser.
BlackBerry devices can differ in the following ways:
• BlackBerry® Device Software version
• screen size
• input methods, including the navigation method (trackwheel or trackball) and the keypad (QWERTY or SureType® keypad)
The User-Agent header that accompanies every request from the BlackBerry Browser provides the BlackBerry device model number, from which you can determine the physical characteristics of the BlackBerry device, and the version of the BlackBerry Device Software that the requesting BlackBerry device is running.
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Fundamentals Guide
Characteristics of BlackBerry devices

BlackBerry Device Software version considerations

The BlackBerry® Browser is a BlackBerry® Device Software application that is included with every BlackBerry device. The version of the BlackBerry Device Software that is running on theBlackBerry device determines what content the BlackBerry Browser supports and how the content is rendered.
Two generations of the BlackBerry Browser exist.
• The first generation of the BlackBerry Browser, included with BlackBerry Device Software version 4.5 or earlier, supports simple web page presentations and wireless-specific content very well. In BlackBerry Device Software version 3.8 or later, the BlackBerry Browser provides basic JavaScript® and CSS support. In an effort to make more of the web accessible to the BlackBerry Browser, support for more complex presentation formats has been added over a number of releases. However, the first generation of the BlackBerry Browser focuses on managing and mitigating the effects of the wireless network.
• The second-generation BlackBerry Browser was introduced in BlackBerry Device Software version 4.6. The BlackBerry Browser rendering agent and JavaScript engine were completely redesigned to provide much greater support of existing web standards. With full support for standards such as HTML 4.01, CSS 2.1, and DOM Level 2, the second generation of the BlackBerry Browser has the ability to render most existing web content.
You should consider the BlackBerry Browser that is included with BlackBerry Device Software version 4.6 or later as functionally distinct from the first generation of the BlackBerry Browser that is included with earlier BlackBerry Device Software versions.
When you design content for the BlackBerry device, you need to decide the version or versions of the BlackBerry Device Software to target. Keep in mind that the number of BlackBerry device users who use a first generation BlackBerry Browser to access your content is likely to be much larger than the number of users with a second generation of the browser. If you want to create content that makes use of the presentation and scripting support offered by the second generation of the BlackBerry Browser, consider also providing simplified content that targets BlackBerry device users who are browsing with a first generation of the BlackBerry Browser.
For more specific information about what is supported with each version of the BlackBerry Device Software, see the BlackBerry Browser HTML Reference, the BlackBerry Browser CSS Reference and the BlackBerry Browser JavaScript Reference.

Trackball

On BlackBerry® devices with a trackball, the trackball is the primary control for user navigation. Users can
• roll the trackball to move the cursor
• click the trackball to perform default actions or open a context menu
• click the trackball while pressing the Shift key to select objects
BlackBerry devices with a trackball also include a Menu key that is located to the left of the trackball. Users can press the Menu key to open a full menu of available actions.
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Fundamentals Guide
Characteristics of BlackBerry devices

Trackwheel

BlackBerry® devices that precede the BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8100 Series use a trackwheel as the primary control for user navigation. The trackwheel is located on the right side of the device.
Users can
• roll the trackwheel to move the cursor vertically
• roll the trackwheel while pressing the Alt key to move the cursor horizontally
• click the trackwheel to select objects or open the menu

Touch screen

On BlackBerry® devices with a SurePress™ touch screen, users use a finger to interact with the applications on the device. Users type text and navigate screens by performing various actions on the touch screen.
In addition, users can click common actions on the shortcut bar that is located at the bottom of the screen. Or, users can press the Menu key, which is located to the right of the Send key, to open a full menu of available actions.
On BlackBerry devices with a touch screen, users can perform the following actions:
Action Result
touch the screen lightly This action highlights an item or places the cursor in a specific location. It is
equivalent to rolling the trackball or trackwheel to highlight an item or place the cursor.
In applications that support a full-screen view, such as BlackBerry® Maps, this action hides the banner and shortcut bar.
On the shortcut bar, this action displays a tooltip that describes the action that the icon represents.
touch the screen twice quickly On a web page, map, picture, or presentation attachment, this action zooms in to
the web page, map, picture, or presentation attachment.
click (press) the screen This action invokes an action. For example, when users click an item in a list, the
screen that is associated with the item appears. This action is equivalent to clicking the trackball or trackwheel.
On a map, picture, or presentation attachment, this action zooms in to the map, picture, or presentation attachment. On a web page, this action zooms in to the web page or follows a link.
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Fundamentals Guide
Characteristics of BlackBerry devices
Action Result
slide a finger up or down quickly on the screen
Sliding a finger up quickly displays the next screen. Sliding a finger down quickly displays the previous screen.
When the keyboard appears, sliding a finger down quickly hides the keyboard and
displays the shortcut bar. slide a finger to the left or right quickly on the screen
This action displays the next or previous picture or message, or the next or previous
day, week, or month in a calendar. hold a finger on an item Holding a finger on the progress bar while a song or video is playing fast forwards
or rewinds the song or video.
In a text field, this action displays an empty rectangle cursor to help users position
the cursor more accurately in a text field. touch and drag an item on the screen This action moves the content on the screen in the corresponding direction. For
example, when users touch and drag a menu item, the list of menu items moves in
the same direction.
In a text field or in Month view in a calendar, this action moves the empty rectangle
cursor in the same direction. touch the screen in two locations at the same time
This action highlights the text between the two locations or the list of items, such
as messages, between the two locations. To add or remove text or items from the
selection, users can touch the screen at another location. press the Escape key This action cancels a selection.
On a web page, map, or picture, this action zooms out one level. Users can press
the Escape key twice to zoom back to the original view.

Keyboard

Users use the keyboard primarily to type text. On BlackBerry® devices with a trackwheel or trackball, users can also use the keyboard to move around a screen (for example, to move around a map). However, navigation using the keyboard should always be an alternative to navigation using the trackball or trackwheel.
BlackBerry devices with a trackwheel or trackball have either a QWERTY keyboard or SureType® keyboard. Both types of keyboard include character keys and modifier keys. Character keys send a character to the BlackBerry device and include text keys, the Menu key, and the Escape key. A modifier key alters the functionality of character keys. Modifier keys include the Shift key and the Alt key.
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Fundamentals Guide
Characteristics of BlackBerry devices
QWERTY keyboard
The QWERTY keyboard provides users with a keyboard that is similar to the keyboard on a computer. Users type as they would on a computer keyboard except that numbers and symbols are located in different places.
To type common symbols, users press the Alt key and the appropriate character key. To type other symbols, users press the Symbol key. When users press a modifier key, a typing mode indicator appears in the upper-right corner of the screen.
SureType keyboard
BlackBerry® devices with SureType® technology integrate a traditional phone keypad and a familiar QWERTY-style keyboard with intuitive software. SureType technology is designed to predict words as users type them.
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Fundamentals Guide
Users who have a BlackBerry device with SureType technology can type text using the SureType input method or the multi-tap input method.

Network gateways and BlackBerry Browser configurations

• When users use SureType technology, they press the letter key for each letter in a word once. For example, to type run, users would press the ER key once, the UI key once, and the BN key once. As users type, a list of possible letter combinations and words appears on the screen. SureType technology selects letter combinations or words from the list based on context. If users type a word or letter combination (for example, a web address or an abbreviation) that SureType technology does not recognize, users use the list that appears on the screen to build the word letter by letter. SureType technology is designed to "learn" new words or letter combinations that users type and add them to a custom word list.
• When users use the multi-tap input method, they press a letter key once to type the first letter on the key and twice to type the second letter. For example, to type run, users would press the ER key twice, the UI key once, and the BN key twice.
SureType technology is the default input method for most fields. Multi-tap is the default input method for phone number fields and password fields. If users switch from using SureType technology to using the multi-tap input method, a typing indicator appears in the upper-right corner of the screen to indicate the current input method.
Network gateways and BlackBerry Browser configurations
The BlackBerry® Browser can be configured to connect to the wireless network through one of three network gateways.
Network gateway Accessed by Protocol
BlackBerry MDS Connection Service BlackBerry Browser configuration HTTP/IPPP BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing Internet Browser configuration HTTP/IPPP
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Fundamentals Guide
Network gateway Accessed by Protocol
WAP-compliant gateway WAP Browser configuration WAP 1.2 and WAP 2.0
Users can choose the network gateway that the BlackBerry Browser communicates with by choosing the configuration that is associated with that network gateway. For example, users might choose the WAP Browser configuration to access bookmarks provided by their service provider, the Internet Browser configuration to access Internet content, and the BlackBerry Browser configuration to access their organization's intranet.
Users can specify the settings for each configuration to help optimize the performance. For example, to ensure the correct operation of an organization's web application, users might want to turn on support for JavaScript® for the BlackBerry Browser configuration; however, to download content more quickly over the Internet for personal use, users might want to disable JavaScript for the Internet Browser configuration.
On Wi-Fi®-enabled BlackBerry devices, users can choose to use the Hotspot Browser to browse the Internet when they are in a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Network gateways and BlackBerry Browser configurations

The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service network gateway

The BlackBerry® MDS Connection Service is designed to provide users with secure access to their organization's intranets, and access to the Internet. The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is a component of the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server that exists on the organization's network behind a firewall.
The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service acts as a proxy for the BlackBerry® Browser, and makes requests on behalf of the BlackBerry Browser. The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service optimizes the content in the response, to enhance network efficiency and improve display on smaller screens, before it sends the content to the BlackBerry Browser .
The BlackBerry Browser accesses the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service network gateway using the BlackBerry Browser configuration. The BlackBerry Browser configuration communicates with the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service using HTTP/ IPPP.
To browse the Internet or an intranet through the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service network gateway, users must specify the BlackBerry Browser configuration in the Browser Configuration settings.
Because the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is a component of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, administrators can specify a number of settings for the BlackBerry Browser configuration. For example, to help control the amount of bandwidth used, administrators can specify whether the BlackBerry Browser supports JavaScript®.
BlackBerry MDS Connection Service security
To provide access to a requested web page, the BlackBerry® MDS Connection Service opens a connection to the Internet from within the organization . The BlackBerry MDS Services can use SSL and TLS protocols to encrypt communication over the Internet between the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and the web server.
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Fundamentals Guide
Communication between the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service and the BlackBerry® Browserconfiguration is always encrypted with the same Triple DES that is used for all communication between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the BlackBerry device.
The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service and the BlackBerry Browser configuration support HTTPS in the following modes:
• End-to-end mode: HTTP communication is encrypted using SSL or TLS for the entire connection between the BlackBerry device and the originating content server. Communication over the wireless network between the BlackBerry device and the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is also encrypted using Triple DES encryption.
• Proxy mode: The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service performs SSL handshaking and sets up the SSL connection on behalf of the BlackBerry device. Communication over the wireless network between the BlackBerry device and the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is not encrypted using SSL, but it is encrypted using Triple DES encryption. Communication over the Internet between the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service and the content server is encrypted using SSL or TLS.
The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service network gateway supports several types of network authentication, including Basic authentication, NTLM, and Kerberos™.
To restrict wireless network access, administrators can turn the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service on or off for specific users or user groups. Administrators can also specify policies to control the organization's servers that users can access and the servers that can open push connections to the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service.
Network gateways and BlackBerry Browser configurations

The BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway

Wireless service providers can use the BlackBerry® Internet Service Browsing network gateway to offer BlackBerry device users access to the content optimization and compression features provided by the BlackBerry® Infrastructure without using the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server.
The BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway acts as a proxy for the BlackBerry® Browser, and makes requests on behalf of the BlackBerry Browser. The BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway optimizes the content in the response to enhance network efficiency and improve display on the smaller screens before it relays the content to the BlackBerry Browser.
The BlackBerry Browser accesses the BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway using the Internet browser configuration. The Internet browser configuration communicates with the BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway using HTTP/IPPP.
To browse the Internet through the BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway, users must specify the Internet browser configuration in the Browser Configuration settings.
To use the Internet browser configuration, a BlackBerry device user requires a service book that is issued to the BlackBerry device by the BlackBerry® Provisioning System.
BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing security
The BlackBerry® Internet Service Browsing network gateway does not support Triple DES encryption and it is not designed to access intranets that are protected by firewalls; however, it does permit users to access secure sites using HTTPS. The BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway supports SSL encryption.
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Fundamentals Guide
The BlackBerry Internet Service Browsing network gateway supports HTTPS in end-to-end mode. HTTP communication is encrypted using SSL or TLS for the entire connection between the BlackBerry device and the content server.
Network gateways and BlackBerry Browser configurations

WAP network gateways

WAP network gateways are hosted by wireless service providers. WAP network gateways must support WTP-level segmentation and reassembly. Proprietary WAP extensions are not supported.
The BlackBerry® Browser accesses WAP network gateways using the WAP Browser configuration. To browse the Internet through a WAP network gateway, users must specify the WAP Browser configuration in the Browser Configuration settings.
The WAP Browser configuration supports the following protocols:
Protocol Description
WAP 1.2.1 The WAP Browser configuration caches the WSP headers to decrease the transmission time of requests.
The WAP Browser configuration sends common HTTP headers to the WAP network gateway when it sets up the WAP connection. In subsequent requests, the WAP Browser configuration sends only headers that are specific to the request or that contain values that are different from the initial values.
WAP 2.0 The WAP Browser configuration sends HTTP over wTCP. The BlackBerry Browser sends the HTTP request
to a WAP 2.0 proxy, which then forwards the request to the server. The WAP network gateway determines the content types that the BlackBerry Browser can access. For example, some WAP network gateways might convert HTML content into a series of WML pages, or impose a limit on the size of content that the BlackBerry Browser can request.
For more information about WAP protocols, visit www.wapforum.org and read the specification WAP-203-WSP-20000504-a.
WAP network gateway security
WAP 1.2.1 and WAP 2.0 protocols provide different security models.
Protocol Description
WAP 1.2.1 The WAP 1.2.1 protocol uses WTLS to access secure WAP services, including WTLS Class 1 (encryption
only, no authentication) and WTLS Class 2 (encryption and server authentication). The WAP Browser configuration supports both DES (40-bit and 56-bit) and RC5 encryption (64-bit, 128-bit, and 168­bit). Communication over the wireless network between the BlackBerry®device and the WAP network gateway is encrypted using WTLS. Communication over the Internet between the WAP network gateway and the web server is encrypted using SSL or TLS.
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