Openwave Position Paper

W3C Mobile Web Initiative Workshop

Doug Dominiak (doug.dominiak@openwave.com) - Openwave Systems Inc.

Introduction

This document presents Openwave's recommendations for the W3C and the Mobile Web Initiative Workshop. Openwave believes that to improve the user experience of mobile Web applications, the mobile communications industry needs to bring information to users when and where they need it most. The ubiquity of the mobile Internet terminal is key, of course, but the browsing model needs to be extended to enable these advanced services. Instead of waiting until the user clicks a link, tomorrow's services should deliver information when, or where, it is most relevant.

Achieving this objective will require technology that goes above and beyond the mobile Web browser environment that exists today. New specifications will need to be developed, primarily in the area of Web applications. But good coordination among industry groups and good standards practices are equally as important as choosing the appropriate technology, and this paper advises on both.

Goals

The goal of this initiative should be to develop a rich toolbox for mobile Web developers to use to enhance the user experience of their applications. The mobile Internet terminal is unique in that it is mobile, traveling with the user wherever he goes. The application experience should travel with the user too, delivering information when and where it is most needed, anticipating the needs of the user.

This specification must have good usability, low barrier to entry, and good interoperability among implementers. Conformance criteria should be clearly identified. Building a strong, comprehensive test suite to verify conformance, and fostering interoperability testing are crucial. Finally, it should have a distinct brand identity to build mind share and avoid fragmentation.

The specification must optimize for mobile environments. Optional components or features must be removed, clearly specified to a limited set, or reduced to a minimum. Mobile environments have higher constraints on available resources and interoperability which must be considered in developing a specification.

Attention must be given to building and rallying support from a strong developer community. Listening and adapting to feedback from the developer community and putting effort towards studying the environment's usability is crucial. Early versions should be made available for thorough review by existing Web application developers.

Lastly, it's important to define a viable, usable, practical solution that can withstand strong competition from proprietary solutions. The industry standards development organizations must cooperate and align behind a single solution. That solution must be developed in a timely manner aligned with market needs.

Recommendations

This specification should provide a set of features that builds upon existing Web technologies to address the specific needs of Web applications. The following features should be developed:

• Web App Model - Web pages are no longer just documents, but are the user interface of Web applications. Just as pages are linked at the server by common logic, they should be linked at the client as well via a formal application model.
• Network Events - Events that propagate from server to client, reflecting changes in the real world, such as mobile terminal movement, breaking news, newly scheduled appointments.
• Async Network Access - Network access tied to events other than hyperlink navigation initiated by the user. Connect and communicate with the network, at a socket layer (TCP), transport (HTTP, WSP), and/or application layer (XML-RPC).
• Security - Integrated into the Web app model, security model keeps an application's data private to that application.
• Local Storage - Secure storage on the client for Web app data and resources (separate from the browser cache).
• Mobile Device User Input - Mechanisms for leveraging all the available input capabilities of a mobile device to provide for more efficient user input, instead of being constrained to a least common denominator approach.
• GUI Extensions - Widgets for building sophisticated application user interfaces, such as context-sensitive menus, tabbed panes, flexible view panes.

This specification must acknowledge existing profiles for mobile environments, including XHTML Basic, XHTML Mobile Profile, CSS Mobile Profile, WCSS, SVG Tiny, and ECMAScript Mobile Profile.

About Openwave

Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OPWV) is the leading independent provider of open software products and services for the communications industry. Openwave's breadth of products, including mobile phone software, multimedia messaging software (MMS), email, location and mobile gateways, along with its worldwide expertise enable its customers to deliver innovative and differentiated data services. Openwave is a global company headquartered in Redwood City, California. For more information please visit www.openwave.com.