subject: Web development tools vendor Sencha examined Apple's iPad 2 and Motorola's Xoom [print this page] Web development tools vendor Sencha examined Apple's iPad 2 and Motorola's Xoom
Sencha's "HTML5 Developer Scorecard" has profiled RIM's mobile BlackBerry browser, Apple's iOS Safari, and Google's mobile browser in both Android 2.2 on the Galaxy Tablast fall, and the new tablet-optimized Android 3.0 appearing on the Motorola Xoom (andforthcoming Galaxy Tab and Acer Iconia Tab products later this summer).
While all of these mobile browsers are based upon WebKit, they're not equal in their support for web standards. WebKit provides a rendering engine for handling DOM and CSS, but specific browsers based on it provide their own implementations of things like caching, screen drawing, location services, memory management, and usability features such as tabs, gestures, and printing.
Further, WebKit itself is rapidly evolving. Senchanotes that Apple's iOS 4.3 just introduced a new implementation of Safari based upon WebKit version 533.17.9, which it says is "a very recent build" and incorporates Apple's Nitro JavaScript engine. The latest Safari 5.0.4 update for Mac OS X uses WebKit version 533.20.27. Android 3.0 uses WebKit 534.13.
In contrast, Sencha wrote, "our experience to date with Android has been lackluster, starting with the disappointing browser in the Galaxy Tab and the Xoom [running Android 3.0 Honeycomb]." Note that various Android licensees rarely replace or enhance Google's included web browser, so Sencha's findings on the Motorola Xoom will also relate to the web performance of other Honeycomb tablets, including new models from Acer, Samsung, and Toshiba.
Acid3
The latest Android and iOS browsers both score 100/100 in the Acid3 test, but both exhibited rendering issues. Apple's browser had "a few light red squares in the top right and in the bottom right of the test results," Sencha reported. "Without a doubt, the iPad 2's Acid3 results are solid, but it would have been nice to see this come up to full compliance."
Google's Android 3.0 browser in the Xoom "has two noticeable rendering bugs first, the letters 'Acid3' are the wrong color and are missing the drop shadow. Second, in the top right there's a small red box, which is an obvious rendering bug. The Xoom has a perfect numeric score, but it still fails Acid3," the site noted.
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