Web Browsers on PDAs

From the moment the technology arrived to allow personal digital assistants (PDAs)1 a connection to the internet, people started connecting them to the internet, as is the natural order of things. Initially their connections were just for the most fledgeling of information fetching, but as the ’90s progressed and the World Wide Web became a feature of the digital landscape, PDAs received browsers. Existent from when technology permitted to when society moved on and the smartphone took reign, browsers on PDAs were some of the first and most popular entries to the mobile web but held out only briefly while the incoming technology got settled. There can be two main ‘types’ of browsers on PDAs considered: Those which could only access i-mode (iモード), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and Wireless Markup Language (WML) pages and those which comply with larger web standards and interface with sites written in HTML. This article covers the latter, full web browsers.

Note Even with web browsers as a subject, the web was in such an infancy during early years of PDA availability that much information either never reached it or has been lost since. I'm sure a wealth of information exists hidden away in archives, but it is isolated such that discovering it is difficult. Corrections and leads are welcome.

Unfortunately, to cover every PDA released and the browsers available to each is unrealistic, so instead PDA browsers are presented here by operating system. Through the ’90s, PDAs had to make use of computer syncing systems, external modems, and dial-up to facilitate internet access. Towards the very end of the ‘90s, infrared (IR) connections became reasonably popular, where by lining up the IR port on a PDA with the one on a mobile phone, a very slow and unreliable connection could be established. Around the turn of the millennium, some devices started to receive inbuilt antennas, and expansion systems became popular – often bulky additions with Wi-Fi cards or cellular modems. By 2003, high-end PDAs began to release, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in. EPOC Also called SIBO or EPOC16 (in reference to being 16-bit), EPOC was developed by Psion and first released in 1989. Unlike later PDA operating systems, EPOC never developed a broad browser ecosystem.

The earliest browser available for EPOC was PsiMail Internet, which had a web browser simply titled ‘Web’. It roughly complies with HTML2, though shows tables improperly, cell by cell. It supports the display of forms and GIFs, though not JPEGs, and images default to being disabled. They also bundled STNC HitchHiker, which was built by British start-up STNC. However, in 1999 STNC was acquired by Microsoft, who were launching their own Windows Mobile operating system for PDAs, and subsequent releases of HitchHiker on EPOC ceased. Following this, Psion made a deal with Opera, who began supporting the EPOC in 2000 with the release of Opera 3.62 touting:

Opera 3.62 for EPOC features Web browser functionality, full colour (256 colours) support, full zooming key mapped to a range of zoom levels, 128-bit encryption, SSL 2 and 3, TLS 1.0, HTML 3.2, Support for Java Applets using EPOC native Java implementation, JavaScript 1.1, and CSS1.

Opera became the default browser on EPOC devices. Apple Newton The device for which the name ‘PDA’ was coined,2 the Apple Newton, released in 1993. With help from the 1996 Newton Internet Enabler, which included an application titled Internet Setup, a TCP/IP stack, and a NewtonScript API, the Newton could get online. First announced as NewtonWWW before later changing its name, PocketWeb released in late 1994 and received several updates throughout the Newton’s life. Developed by TecO, it could make use of an external proxy in some cases to bypass the Newton’s limitations. Version 2.4 brought the ability to display GIFs, though other images could be loaded via the proxy. NetHopper, which was developed by AllPen Software and released in late 1996. It has image support (defaulting to disabled), with ability to scale images to fix the screen, as well as the ability to create, edit, and delete bookmarks.

A button exists to list the current webpages’ headings so they can be jumped to easily, and the browser has plug-in functionality, though it requires plug-ins for even basic functionality like support for HTTP. NetHopper versions 3.0 and 3.2 were bundled on some Newton devices and on November 17, 1997, AllPen was acquired by Spyglass. Spyglass later dropped support for NetHopper with the announcement that Apple would be discontinuing the Newton, and were then acquired themselves by OpenTV. Newt’s Cape, also going by Newtscape, was released by solo developer Steve Weyer in 1999. It supported HTML 2.0 (with some HTML 3.2 features), basic forms, text formatting, and image loading. The browser could also create Newton books from webpages. It was released as freeware in 2018. A tool designed to compliment Newt’s Cape, titled Hemlock, was available and compiled search results from multiple sites together. LunaSuite Pro released in 1997 or 1998, complete with LunaSuite Web, the Newton’s most capable web browser. It adds three ways to access the web. Via the app Go-To, which lets a user directly input a URL; via Bookmarks, which provides a selection of pre-selected pages (that can also be managed); or via LunaRoamer, which is a complete browser interface. Through LunaRoamer, Go-To and Bookmarks can also be accessed. The browser supports GIF and JPEG images, including animated GIFs; audio in Sun Microsystem’s .au format; some of HTML 3.2, including frames, tables, and forms; and configurable URL filtering. Unfortunately, being the most capable browser, it pushes the Newton a bit too far at times, leading to instability. Courier is a simple, text-only web browser for Newton OS 2.1 which first released in 2003. Unlike typical browsers, Courier treats webpages like notes in the Newton’s notepad, which itself acts like a normal notepad. There are no ‘bookmarks’ for you can save a page by simply opening a new note, almost like a browser tab. However, these tabs can be filed into folders and renamed arbitrarily, and their individual history is saved.

It is a very interesting system.

Courier version 1.1.1 on Newton OS 2.1 searching on DuckDuckGo.

Palm OS Later known as Garnet OS, Palm OS was released in 1996 and made available on a wide range of PDAs. Before full-fledged browsers quite made it to Palm OS, web clipping apps (also called Palm Query Applications or PQAs) were popular as a method to scrape websites and display parts of their content in PDA-optimised forms. They persisted even once browsers were available, but browser’s more comprehensive capabilities largely obsoleted them. Around the turn of the millennium, Softview brought their very rudimentary proxy browser to Palm OS. Developed by ILINX, Palmscape was a very popular browser released in 1997 for Palm OS devices. Palmscape supports HTML 3.2, including frames and tables, and supported displaying images via a proprietary external proxy. A companion program for Windows called Palmscape Cruiser could download pages and send them to Palm OS devices for offline perusal. Sales of Palmscape ended in 2002.

Xiino on Palm OS v5.2.1

After Palmscape, ILINX moved focus to Xiino, a successor to Palmscape. It kept Palmscape’s features, but introduced support for JavaScript, SSL, and a few more minor configuration options. Like with Palmscape, a companion program for Windows called Xiino Cruiser was made available. Qualcomm had entered the Palm OS market in 1998 with their phone/PDA hybrid, the pdQ. A couple of years later in 2000, they launched Eudora Internet Suite (EIS). One part of EIS is the Eudora Web browser, which comes complete with bookmarks and offline reading capabilities. Qualcomm continued to improve their suite, releasing updates in subsequent years. Released in late 2000, Blazer was an incredibly popular proxy browser for Palm OS 3.1 and higher. It was first developed by Bluelark Systems, who were acquired by Handspring a month after the browser’s launch. It received four major versions. Blazer 2 brought an improved interface, SSL, the ability to use proxies, and better colour display.

In September 2005, Blazer 1 and 2 were rendered inoperable due to the proxy service being turned off. Blazer 3 was a complete overhaul, moving from a proxy system to using Access’s NetFront 3.0 engine. Blazer 4 improved the interface, integrated a VPN, allowed saving pages, and added bookmarks. Release 4.3 added a fast mode, which disabled images and/or CSS for quicker page loading. Blazer 4.5 was the last version of the browser to be released, and added video playback support via Kinoma Video Player. Palm OS 5 received an inbuilt browser when it released in 2002 in the form of Access’ NetFront 3.0 browser. The first ARM-native, proxy-less browser for Palm OS, it supports HTML 4.01, CSS, JavaScript 1.5 and other web standards. Access would later acquire PalmSource, who owned the rights to Palm OS, in 2005, turning it into Garnet OS. Also in 2002, the company Novarra released WebPro (also written Web Pro) for Palm’s high-end, business-oriented Tungsten line of PDAs. It received at least three major versions. Prior to WebPro, Novarra had a browser titled PocketScape and then Novarra WirelessWeb Enterprise Suite, which included a proxy-based browser. It is unclear if these browsers were built upon each other or the base for WebPro. Nokia acquired Novarra in 2010. In 2007, a developer by the name of Donald Kirker released the beta of Universe 3. The open-source browser is built upon WAPUniverse, a previously developed browser which only supported Wireless Application Protocol content. Universe 3 is feature-packed, with support for a range of image formats, private browsing functionality, up to three tabs, and an integrated RSS reader. Unfortunately, development fizzled out, and it never left beta. Symbian OS Starting its life as the 32-bit version of EPOC, often referred to as EPOC32, it would be renamed Symbian OS in 1998 and first released on devices in 1997. As far as dedicated PDAs were concerned, they mainly continued running EPOC with the same browsers.